I have not seen Hugi take such lunacy to new heights before… But the world would be a duller place without it!
Honestly, though, nothing about it makes sense in real life. Except maybe for that bright green exterior color… But it should be reserved for true high-performance cars.
Some men just want to watch the world do that Jackie Chan meme face
Thing is, that bright green is not even Hugi’s official sports car color. If you look closely at previous green Hugi cars (i.e. all Lion Rioters), the color used is a two-tone combination of dark green and black.
Not quite CSM’s own green, mind you… ahem
And now, time for something completely different.
Yep, this is something new, isn’t it? Not just this cover, but also the car which is a part of it. Consider it a prelude to a new Mark 2… 
And countless thanks to @Mr.Computah for creating this fantastic edit, after a car discussion turned into a manga discussion which wound up bringing this car into play!
The cover is based on the original third release of the Shades of Gray arc, part of Kenichi Sonoda’s 1993 Japanese manga Gunsmith Cats. Here is the original cover, if you want to see who stood before this mysterious red car…
Truly a picture that’s worth all the words I could use for it.
attached picture
And you too can meet it here! Say hello to the first, non-comic book look at the Fleuma Mark 2, courtesy of @Mr.Computah and his Motores Garcia company. Of course, time has done some changes to it, but the Hugi heart is still there…
The Fleuma… Truly a story which easily describes the “wasted potential” mindset of the '80s. In a bid to preserve big names through castration, most unique ideas were underdeveloped to avoid market clashes should their new technology prove successful.
For the Fleuma, its start was a rough one. Despite a futuristic-looking body and capable handling, both its engine and body designs leaved much to be desired. Between an outdated family I4 and cumbersome rear fascia, the Mark 1’s first impressions were hardly lasting ones.So, a new revamp was in order. A new design, new engines, refined handling… It all seemed fine and well for the Mark 2. Until Hugi Aleixo decided to stick his nose in. In 1985, Hugi marketing materials promoted a brand new V6 as part of a sports version package. However, only one month after said materials came out, they were recalled for corrections. And said corrections striked the V6 off the promotional text, as future owners looked on dumbfounded.
According to Hugi, the engine had been tested with wrongly-calibrated emission machines, and further testing showed it to be non-emission-compliant. According to reality, however? It was corporate fear. The new V6 engine would have put the Fleuma above the Rioter Mk.4 S, in terms of offering far more bang for your buck. The Rioter name was too strong for Hugi to allow such a clear “overtake”, so he ordered the V6 program’s cancellation and forced the Fleuma’s development team to rely on a different engine.
The result is what you see above; the Fleuma GT. Or, to be more exact, the Fleuma GT’s 2.3-litre, 163-horsepower inline-5 engine. Gone were the carburettors and hampered-down family tunes. All Mark 2 engines featured single electronic fuel injection, and the GT took that two steps further by pairing its SOHC, 20-valve head to aluminum materials, making the engine lighter than the new MS4’s. Plus its compact size suited the transverse setup within the (limited) engine bay. Above all else though, this meant the GT barely cleared the 1-tonne mark, making for a very zippy mid-engined runabout.
The suspension helped it zip better. Instead of the Mark 1’s MacPherson struts, the Mark 2 replaced all of them with a brand new double wishbone setup, which greatly improved the car’s road-holding abilities. And made for a far more connected driver-car pairing, a key improvement for a sports car.
Of course, the GT needed more than just engine pizzazz to stand out in an era of edge and excess. And the design provided the sharpness required out of a 1980’s sports car. Completely revamped from front to back, the Fleuma ditched its “edged arrows” rear fascia for a more elegant, straight-lined light arrangement. Additional cooling was provided by the new rear grille, and rubber bumpers replaced the Mark 1’s “rubber bumps” design.
Luxury touches were the GT’s staple, which furthered its status as the finest of Fleumas. All-around chrome trim was paired with color inserts in the rubber bumpers, while the colors themselves were an array of two-tone paintjobs, featuring black as the secondary color. Completing the set were the quad exhaust pipes… and a targa-top! Indeed, the GT offered the same T-top setup seen in the more expensive Rioter Mk.4s, albeit only as optional equipment. Still, it showed how hard the Fleuma’s team wanted to convey the car’s recently-changed stripes, to display it was finally the competent car it was meant to be.
Unfortunately, it was too late for the Fleuma to join the party. Hugi Aleixo was not happy with the Mark 1’s poor sales, and the GT was showing too many signs of improved competence. All the cars were against the Fleuma, and the Mark 2 only lasted a year and a half before being axed completely. EHSC tried to give it a fair farewell, buying unsold stocks to create the Formula BR as a run-off special. But the Formula BR was less powerful than the GT. Plus, its edgy design was too much for owners, even for the excessive '80s.
There was a happy silver lining in all this. On October 1st, 2018, a golden car graced the stands of Mexican engine parts manufacturer Motores Garcia. And wouldn’t you know it, there was a familiar shape beneath all the gold. None other than a heavily-modified Fleuma GT, used to promote Garcia’s newest performance cams, common rail fuel injection and exhaust headers. The gold paintjob and modern-day camber may be argued against, but the results are hardly something you argue with.
All 235 results, that is…
Specs:
Countless thanks have to go to @Mr.Computah and @Elizipeazie for their invaluable feedback on this car, as they helped me finally match the '80s to a decent design language. I must also thank Computah for loving the car so much, he went as far as to make a customized manga cover, from one of my favorite mangas of all time! As well as giving it quite a lot of go with Garcia’s input… 
Hey, thank you for checking all my 80s boxes, that’s a proper car you got there 
And now it’s time for something different, yet again…
In this case, a new more elegant first impression. Meet the new corporate Hugi logo, which will be featured in all new Hugi cars from this point onwards.
Originally created from a… shall we say, racy need of a more unique brand image, German designer E. Peazach designed a logo which encompasses Hugi’s desire to bridge any and all gaps, as well as display unity between designers and engineers. From this new first impression, Hugi promises to retain all signs of linking driver to machine, regardless of class or tone. Watch this space!
Many thanks to Elizipeazie for the original logo idea, whose true purpose you will see a bit later. And Mr. Computah, for designing a fancier version for PR purposes. Hopefully this is a step up from the remarkably MS Paint-y original logo from this guy! 
