Automation Detroit Auto Show 2017 [BEST IN SHOW REVEALED]

ramthecowy · 17 January 2017 08:58

Oskiinus, please. You’re cluttering up the thread, that wasn’t necessary.

Oskiinus · 17 January 2017 08:58

Alright, deleting.

However, I must admit that vmo did probably something that can be called street legal F1 car for Automation actually. Pretty neat thing, but Montes always has been a brand that surprised me for several times.

DeusExMackia · 17 January 2017 11:19

@vmo I do hope you’re not trying to bribe Gavin Anderosn with excellent music choice, I f*cking love that song

vmo · 17 January 2017 11:59

That’s it.

Darkshine5 · 17 January 2017 12:37

Im just gonna say it… music was better in my day bring back the late 80’s and 90’s

Jaimz · 17 January 2017 17:40

In 1947 SiTh Engineering decided to try and bring a coupe sport car to the market. Designers had a model which they adapted from a 2 seat to 4 seat coupe. It was codenamed the Monique. They made 1 model, made it premium and called it the Esquire.

The car was released in 1949.

It was powered by a 2.3L, inline 6, engine which produced 120hp.
Top speed was 120mph and the 0-60 was 9.3 seconds.

Fast forward 70 years and we, at First Order Automotive, decided to honour this car, along with the engineering history of the company, and launch our new modern version of the car.

It is powered by a 2.3L, inline 6, engine which produces 239hp.
Top speed is 166mph and the 0-60 was 6.1 seconds.

We decided to badge the car with the SiTh Engineering emblems in honour of the company history.

ramthecowy · 17 January 2017 19:05

I’m really sorry people, I know I had a design due to air here today but I’ve got bogged down due to RL commitments, so hopefully it’ll join tomorrow’s roundup. Thanks for your understanding

DeusExMackia · 17 January 2017 20:30

##Daily Round-Up - Day 10
Welcome back to Detroit for our 10th round up of the show. It was a quiet day today, with only a handful announcements, so I spent much of my time just wondering round the exhibits.

Time to round-up day 10!

Today’s musical accopniament is Candle by Sonic Youth

Montes tease incredible looking new vehicle
To the awesome soundtrack of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Two Tribes - thoroughly recommended by Mr Anderson over here - Montes revealed a teaser for what some predict could be a breakthrough for aerodynamics. No title or name has been given yet, other than this incredible is being tagged “the revolution of downforce”. That’s enough to get us excited, and that’s before the styling. Serious hype is now gathering for this thing, stay tuned folks!

First Order Automotive make surprise late appearance with new coupe
Sitting alongside yet another goregeous 40s GT coupe, the SiTH Monqiue, was what appears to be an all new sports coupe from the company. Baring the same name as the classic its inspired by, this new version of the Monique has some unusual retro looks that somewhat puzzle us, as do the specs - 0-60 in 6.1 seconds and a 2.3l i6 in what appears to be a mid-sized coupe. It was certainly very comfortable on the inside, and we’re told it averages over 37 mpg, but we’re very confused as to where it fits into the current coupe market.

The lack of anything happening today meant we had time for a long chat with Mason Odge, Head of Engineering at DSD, discussing their wide ranging collection of vehicles shown off at this years show.

DSD have really shown themselves to be branching out into all sorts of different directions at the show. Would you say the company is becoming more of a specialist car maker rather than focusing on particular area?
"We have always been a tradition Australian manufacturer and with that comes the obligation to build large v8 or inline 6 powered vehicles. However with the demise of the local auto manufacturing industry and having to reboot the company after nearly having to close our factories, we decided to look at alternative vehicle options to keep our employees paid.

"The CEO was very clear about how DSD was to evolve. The reality of which is that without the Australian Military contract for the SFRAV DSD would have closed its doors in late 2015. So we started looking towards hybrid technology and to find a niche in the market that we could exploit. That came with the Saratoga which was designed to take on some of the fastest cars in the world whilst severely undercutting them on price.

“With that came about new relationships with brands such as Maesima and Gryphon Gears, and as such new technology became available to use that has changed the entire direction of DSD from a small time muscle car manufacturer to a high end prestige brand specializing in vehicles in the $35000-$70000 range.”

The SFRAV has been one of the more impressive announcements at this year show. Was this the result of a military contract, or did you just build it for the hell of it?
“Ah the SFRAV one of my favorite vehicles to come out of the Broadmeadows factory. The SFRAV was designed as a final attempt to restore DSD. It was built specifically for the Australian Border control forces and we were incredibly lucky to receive a contract to build and supply vehicles to the Australian border forces and S.A.S operating in Afghanistan as well as the French Foreign Legion operating out of Madagascar, French Guiana, and The Ivory Coast.”

Tell us more about the Arowana. Has it really been a 15 year long development project?
"Yes from 2003 Darkshines has been working on what he calls “the ultimate drivers supercar for under $70000”. There are tech sheets and drawings from his personal computer from before DSD was formed. You must understand that we as a company could not just go out and build a supercar without first having the research and specialist employee’s to do so, as well as having to have an actual well known brand image so as not to seem like a half arsed company.

“The Saratoga was a huge step forward however even though it is technically faster around GH the cost and complexity of manufacturing the engine units means that we could never hope to sell for under $90000 per car. The Arowana has had the manufacturing process streamlined and the engine capacity is now low enough that European taxes are affordable for most blue collar workers.”

Could we see more hybrid vehicles like the Samba from DSD in the future?
"Yes, but not as you may think. The hybrid is simply a novelty, not so much a fuel saving device but rather a performance device think of it as type of mechanical supercharging to make a small engine seem much larger. We are lucky enough to have Maesima’s engineers on call and to be honest without this partnership we would still be using large v8 engines to power our cars. However the electric engines provide an instant torque increase throughout the rev range boosting the efficiency and performance of the petrol engine.

“We are lucky enough in Australia to have e85 fuel from most petrol stations and we hope to use this as a flexible fuel option in the future as we believe at this stage the corn juice is the better option than electric vehicles plugged into the Australian power grid (reliant completely on coal power) or hybrid technology that simply is a band aid fix to the internally combustion engine.You can expect to see e85 flex fuel powered vehicles from DSD in the very near future.”

That does it for today’s round-up. As expected, the show is starting to get quieter, so I may end up bulking daily round-ups together for the sake of content etc. Bye for now!

Gavin Anderson

stm316 · 18 January 2017 01:52

I have to ask… is DSD’s Broadmeadows factory in the (old) Ford complex, or the, as far as I know, “abandoned” Yakka workwear building?

Fayeding_Spray · 18 January 2017 06:30

MaGM only has one thing to show, and it’s not even for America.

This is The Loup. A concept for an insane workman. Known as the Hunter Sport Concept (HSC) it sets a boundary as the most powerful engine thrown into a Ute to come from Arzami. 1090hp, 10.9L V8, No Turbos. However, don’t expect this to go into production at this state. The Loup will come to Australia, The UK, and Canada, being the first car from MaGM not sold nationally.

#Arzami Stinger

[quote][i]Made to go fast, the Stinger was built in 1986. Using a crashed Emeraude 982LM chasis, the man behind this monster said it had 1008hp when new. A 7.8L V12 is the heart of this machine. This reached a speed of 380km/h on the 9th of December, 1986.

Many people have said that they saw this monster racing at the 1986 and 87 LeMans race, however no-one can attest to ever seeing it race, due to the fact it is made for speed in a line.

We at the Arzami International Museum have made it a feature point for our new exhibition, “Speed Through The Ages: Going Faster.” Please, companies around the world, share with us your records, be they big or small. We will share it with the world.

~Jules Algarane, Arzami International Museum Autos Curator.[/i][/quote]

ramthecowy · 18 January 2017 19:36

Suetes Cabriolé [color=grey]Concèpte[/color]

It's time for some more sex.

“Calm your very soul.”

“…the essence of this car: an airy ride that wafts you along stably at high velocity with effortlessness.”

Another project undertaken by our Design House students, they proposed a prestigious GT cabriolet for the customers of the future. The name Suetes is the strong south-eastern wind that flows over Cape Breton Island, they are lifted by the Eastern side of the Island and large bodies of air often stably reach high velocities. That name captures the essence of this car, an airy ride that wafts you along stably at high velocity with effortlessness.
Powered by the same twin turbo V12 that went into the Karakaze, this one has been refreshed with higher end technology, suitable for updating when the car comes out in the future, boosts power output to a powerful 765hp. Expect no tradeoff in drivability, torque or smoothness - this car is absolutely built to the highest standards to calm your very soul. It even manages 10.5L/100km. You can expect only the ultimate experience of luxury and prestige. The Suetes, then, is the first cabriolet that Cavallera has ever built and will ever build.

Predicted release in 2019.

Nomade0013 · 18 January 2017 20:06

What a beautiful rear end! How you did this rear light?

ramthecowy · 18 January 2017 20:13

Ah, I laid down the basic shape with the Razyx strip lights and then went ahead and totally redid them in Photoshop.

Also, these Photoshops weren’t the greatest, so if I have any time between now and the 20th, I will make sure to release at least one more.

Speedemon · 19 January 2017 03:00

@DeusExMackia day 11 round up?

Deskyx · 19 January 2017 03:45

He said he’s not going to do daily round ups unless people are displaying alot.

Grandea · 19 January 2017 16:30

A change of plans have occurred and a concept car will be taking the stage first.

Zenshi S.F. Concept

The S.F. (Small Fun) concept is Zenshi’s recent take on a small, lightweight RWD roadster.
The design of this concept car is a more aggressive take on the shinka design, a design first forged with the 2016 GT. One notable detail one can see about the car is that the car looks more like a prototype car ready for production moreso an extremely dynamic concept car design-wise.

Powering the S.F. is the 1.5L Turbocharged CF15-GDAT Inline-4 engine producing 187 HP @ 7000 RPM and 148 lb-ft of torque @ 6500 RPM mated to a 6-Speed Manual. Weighing in at a rather light 1087 kg, the purpose of the S.F. is to be a pint-sized powerhouse that the balance of speed and handling, thanks to the viscous limited slip differential equipped.

4 more cars are planned to make their appearance later on today.

DeusExMackia · 19 January 2017 20:07

##Daily Round-Up - Day 12
We’re back at Detroit where the 12th day has closed up. There’s just 3 days of the show left, and we’ll be opening the voting very soon.

Time to delve into days 11 and 12!

MaGM show off bonkers new super-ute
Machines à Grande Main [MaGM] revealed an insane creation yesterday, the 10.9l V8 powered, 1090hp Loup. Or rather, the Hunter Sport Concept version of the Loup - sadly, this exact version won’t make it to production, but this car will be coming to Britain, Canada and Australia soon. No other specs have yet been released.

Aslo on display at the Azrami stand was a gorgeous road-going, Group C era supercar called the Stinger. 7.8l of gleaming V12 sits under its sleek, angular body, though sadly we didn’t get to hear it fire up. The company has invited other companies to share the speed and racing records for an exhibition called “Speed Through The Ages”, though where such records are to be shared is not clear.

Gorgeous new GT concept from Cavallera revealed
We thought we were done with GT cars for this years show - we were wrong. Cavallera are right when they say “It’s time for more sex”, the Suetes Cabriolé Concèpte is sexy as hell. Fine detailing, sweeping lines and 765 hp of V12 goodness - hell yeah, sign us right up. Sadly, it won’t be with us for a another 2 years, but we can wait!

Zenshi display new mini sports car
The new ‘Small Fun’ concept was introduced by Zenshi today - it’s a miniature, rear wheel drive sports car powered by a buzzy little 1.5l Turbo i4 and even comes with a limited slip diff. That sounds like one fun little package, certainly living up to its name. Production details have not been revealed, but we hope it makes it to that stage for sure.

CEO of Cavallera Ram TheCowy popped in for a chat this afternoon about his company’s display

Your company mentioned that most of your display cars at auto shows would be designs from the Design House, and now we’re seeing a number of cars from Cavallera’s Design House. Can we expect more in the future?
“Most definitely, we strongly believe in encouraging talent and recognizing designers when we see them. The Design House project’s ambition since 2012 was to grow an industry where everyone is passionate in bringing their abilities to their table. We wouldn’t see why these people shouldn’t be given a chance. We get to tap into these human resources to create increasingly better cars, and they get recognition, money and experience. Who’s losing?”

Why did you decide to fit a V6 in the Fiacci instead of a more conventional i4?
"Mainly because it is just a prototype and we didn’t have any regulations holding us back from turning up the dial to the max. See, every engine configuration has it’s own characteristics. While I4s do have their own qualities, we felt the high-revving, sort of “possessed child gone amok” character of the V6 would add a lot of drama to a rally car.

So many fans throng to these race venues to see these monstrosities that look and sound bonkers while going like stink. The Fiacci has a restrained physical appearance but I’d wager that it wouldn’t disappoint fans looking for some noise."

What was the key inspiration behind the Suetes?
"I had the privilege of speaking with the young man who designed this very car, and it was fascinating to hear the things he had brought into the design room as inspiration. The Suetes is really what it’s name means, it’s a GT car that is meant to waft one along effortlessly. Imagine being a bird, being carried along by the wind. In terms of design though, most of the credit really has to go to Mother Nature herself, there are so many forms and phenomena that are so organic, so rounded and balanced. The interior design was done based off music, as that is what can easily help soothe most; it was like “I’m listening to this song and it’s really lowering my blood pressure. Now what kind of position would I like my body to be in? What kind of tactile experience from the materials surrounding me would help in relaxation?”

“And GTs by nature are designed to be for the sophisticated man, one who is of higher taste and has good appreciation of aesthetics. We’re not talking cars now, I’m talking about the experience inside the car, for nothing relaxes the soul like a quiet ride by a still lake. Nature, again is doing the work, so why close off the car? Bring an element of nature within the car - in other words, expose the driver to it. That was the reasoning behind making it a convertible.”

How do you see it ranking up against rival GT cars revealed at this years show?
“To be fair, the Suetes is an experience, not a vehicle designed to compete numbers wise. Of course, it needs to be able to eat up the miles, there’s no use being in a state of bliss if you’re not going anywhere, so indeed it does have, as mentioned, some 765 horsepower. The best way I can put it to you is this: imagine a car with the weight and stature of the Aston Martin DBS but with as much power as a Vulcan. That’s it. The Suetes is a competitive ultraluxury GT cruiser, but outside of that, it wouldn’t be fair to make comparisons I think.”

That does it for today’s round-up. The next one, likely out on saturday or sunday, will be the last one of the show. Then, full details of voting will be revealed!

-Gavin Anderson

rcracer11m · 19 January 2017 20:17

And theres still more to come, i just need to get the time around to finish my writeup

ramthecowy · 19 January 2017 20:38

You can just call me Ram V because that is my name and it sounds a little more professional

stm316 · 20 January 2017 01:43

I’m goming to suggest the background music for Gavin’s final wrap up this weekend.
Either: Also sprach Zarathustra (perfect for a Gryphon Gear/Rennen reveal), or Woomp There It Is by Tag Team