Meliora Automotive - 1989 Alba update

[Sillyworld]

The Primus

Back in 1946, after being a seasoned pilot both in military and civilian flights, Eugenio Quiroga retired and opened a small car repair shop, following his passion for cars. A year later he wanted to buy a car for his son (which at the time was working as an engineer in ACM) but due to the lack of nice and cheap cars in the country, he decided to design one himself.

What started as a simple side project soon became time consuming and Eugenio saw lot of potentian on what he was building, so in 1948 officially founded Meliora Automotores (meliora is a latin word which means “better things”, “always better”, “ever better”, or, more fully, “for the pursuit of the better”) and presented his first prototype called Primum (“first” in latin).

The body work was inspired on european sports cars and made of aluminum, along with the steel spaceframe chassis everything was designed in home, except the drivetrain. Both the engine and the transmission came from ACM, but were modified to get more performance. The 3.5 liters inline 6 engine originally produced 103 hp, but Eugenio adjusted the pistons for more compression, modified the camshaft to a more agressive design and added a second carburetor, boosting the power up to 144 hp and the torque to 192 ft-lb. The transmission was the same 3 speed founded in the ACM-35, but with a differential with lower gear ratio. Since it only weighted around 900 kg, the car could easilly reach almost 180 km/h and hit 100km/h in 10 seconds. Since the car was still low budget, some compromises had to be made, like the lackof interior or the absence of sway bars.

2 more were produced, and used as a marketing to attract investors and future buyers to the new company.

Finally, in 1950 the Primum got road certified and hit the production line, just in time to participate in the Carrera Panamericana. Only 96 were produced from 1950-1952.
The production model has the same engine as the concept, but was less modified, producing only 138 hp and 187 ft-lb. Also includes a 4 speed transmission (from ADM) and safety bumpers (but no sway bars).

Top speed: 177.4 km/h
0-100 km/h: 8.6 s
1/4 mile: 16.74 s @ 139 km/h
Automation TT: 2:50
Airfield track: 1:42.65

[Sillyworld]

In 1952, when the production of the first Primus trim was to end, Eugenio Quiroga bought a farm outisde the citiy, and transform it into the new factory for Meliora, leaving the small workshop.
In 1953 presented a new trim, the Primus Advanced. It got the same engine, but with a better fine tuning it was more efficient, faster and with better drivability. It was a sales success. 576 were produced from 1953 to 1954.

Top Speed: 206 km/h
0-100 km/h: 8.3s
1/4 mile: 16.50 @ 144 km/h
Automation TT: 2:45.15
Airfield track: 1:39.44

Market price: $15,640
1953 price: $1,915

[Sillyworld]

1955 Olimpo

In 1955, after the success of the Primus advanced, the Olimpo was launched to the public. This time, the car was more close to an actual road car, instead of a track car, with comfortable seats and a simple AM radio, plus leather seats with actual padding.

The engine was designed in home, the first Meliora engine a 2 liters inline 6 with 90 hp. At first it was planned to have a more powerful engine than the Primus, but after the designing began it was obvious than Meliora won’t be able to pay for a expensive design, so they went with a more low tech approach, at the end with good results, as the car was lighter and with a better weight distribution.

The car has a modest success in comparision with the previous cars, but it was the first semi mass produced car of the company, selling cars to the US, south america and even a few units were send overseas to europe.

Figures for the fruinian market
Market price: $12,610
1955 price: $1,426

[DeusExMackia]

Superbly pretty car!

[Sillyworld]

1958 Rino

Meliora was slowly growing, with more staff working in a bigger factory. By the mid 50s, Eugenio’s son, after being an engineer in ADM for a couple of years joined to his father’s company, and soon he began to work in a new car. It was called Rino, and it was based in larger (and rejected) Olimpo chassis. As the car was to be sold in US and Mexico to a bigger scale in comparison to previous models, a ladder chassis was used, since spaceframe will take too long to make and monocoque was to expensive for the small company.

The car was launched in 1958, using a soft top. The engine was provided by ADM, a Venturi 400 unit heavily modified (more agressive camshaft and twin DCOE carburetor) paired to a manual 4 speed.

The Rino convertible did 0-100 in 9.7 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 17.34s with a top speed of 221 km/h. It also had power steering, and all the commodities you will want in an premium car, such as leather seats and a hi-fi stereo.
Despite the departure of the Meliora style (light weight fast cars) the Rino was an instant success.

1959 Rino Maximum celeri

A year later, a new trim was released, called Rino Maxium Celeri. It was a fastback version of Rino, with the same engine, but ligher due to a more simple interior. It had an improved suspension tuning as well, and the result was the fastest Meliora so far:
0-100 in 8s, 1/4 mile in 16.4s and a top speed of 224 km/h.

Figures for fruinian markets.
Rino Convertible - 1958 price: $2,058
Rino Maxium Celeri - 1959 price: $1,838

[Sillyworld]

In 1962, the first complete tooling of the farm-factory had been completed, and so, Meliora will now start selling more vehicules with different technologies.

1962 Rino Gran Turismo

In 1962 a new trim of the Rino was released (basically because there were some chassis and engines left, plus, this give time to Eugenio’s son to work in a new car), this time, going in an opposite direction of the last version. This was a more comfortable and heavy trim, with an sports-premium interior, a better radio, improved safety and new brakes. Being more heavy but with the same engine, it was a tad slower.
0-100 in 8.3s and a top speed of 224.5 km/h

Figures for fruinian markets (this car was designed for fruinia, but now Meliora will be selling in Gasmean markets).
1962 Rino Gran Turismo price: $3,800.03

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1962 Perenne

With the new tooling ready, Meliora was ready to sell its first monocoque car, with a brand new engine designed in-home.
The Perenne was the spiritual follow of the 1955 Olimpo, a light car with an small L6. The chassis had Mcpherson struts front and solid axle with coils in the back, made of steel panels (instead of aluminum as the old models were).

The engine in question was a DAOHC 2L in-line 6 with a twin 2 barrel carburetor and 111 hp. Inside the car had a quality standard interior with a standard radio, power steering and nice safety. All of this resulted in the car weighting a little over a ton; sadly this car was slower than the other national competition, the 1960 ADM Madero, that was cheaper and quickest, even using less cylinders and having the same power.
Also the looks of the car wasn’t good recived, as it was simpler than previous designs. This and the lack of speed was contributed to the fact that Eugenio, the company founder, didn’t supervised the project as he used to, due to health issues.
0-100 11.5s
1/4 mile 18.18s
top speed 176.9 km/h.

1962 price: $2,441.10

[DeusExMackia]

The Perenne is a thoroughly modern looking car for the time. Me gusta.

[VenturaBay]

Props to Perenne! Would buy one if Perenne exist in real life.

[Sillyworld]

@DeusExMackia @VenturaBay Thanks guys. I’m glad to hear someone actually liked the Perenne. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure of the design, specially the rear, but I’ll do a face lift later

1962 Ocelote

1962 also saw the launching of the Ocelote, a brand new car designed for Eugenio’s son, that was supposed to take the place of the Rino, while being a mass produced car, just like the Perenne. Both were sold across America (the continent).

It had a steel ladder chassis and steel panels, with double wishbones in the front and solid axle with coils in the back. The power came from another ADM engine, this time, the 4.9L OHV Mastiff V8. While the regular version used for ADM in the Rivera and the Mástin had 148 hp, the meliora engineers worked their magic and extracted 222 hp out of it.

It was only offered in one trim, with a manual 4 speed transmission, power steering, 14 inch wheels, 2+2 interior with leather seats and a modern std radio. The brakes were discs in the front and drums in the rear.
It was’t as fast as the Rino (being mass produced mean the car should be more reliable, more heavy and less powerful than it could be), it did 0-100 km/h in 8.5 seconds with a top speed of 224.5 km/h.

Overall it was a good car and it defined the course Meliora will take during the 60s, with Eugenio working in the light sports 6 cylinder powered cars and his son in the heavy and more powerful V8 muscle cars.

1962 price: $2,753.34

[alternatesteve2]

Love this car, Sillyworld! Where did you get the body? Or it is one of your original creations yet to be released for public consumption?

[Sillyworld]

It’s not a mod, it’s this body →

It does look better in the picture than it looks in game lol

[alternatesteve2]

Ah, I see now! I’ve actually used this body before…thanks, and keep up the great work!

[Sillyworld]

1964 Perenne Fastback

In 1964. the perenne received a facelift, and introduced a totally new trim.

It had the same engine (2L DAOHC L6) as the original, but this time, Eugenio himself re-design the front and the rear, maintaining some elements of the original, plus adding a more familiar grille design.
The changes in the convertible were only aesthetical, but the fastback was modified from the original.

It had 4 speed manual gearbox, disc brakes in the front, drums in the back, a quality standard interior in 2+2 layout with a standard radio.
Overall, it was faster than the convertible and was pretty good received by the people.
0-100 10.4s
1/4 mile 17.58s
top speed 182 km/h.

1964 price: $2,259.51

[Sillyworld]

1965 Leopardo

Following the '62 Ocelote, with another big cat name, it came the '65 Leopardo. Initially it was available in 2 trims, the regular coupé, that was a direct evolution of the Ocelote, and a more powerful version, the Rally Sports.
###Leopardo Coupe

This was the regular trim, powered by the same 4.9L OHV V8 as the Ocelote, with the same 220hp output. Design by the Eugenio’s son, this time the car was bigger than the previous model, and with a more agressive looks, but retaining the same black stripes and a similar front.
It was available with a 4 speed manual gearbox, discs brakes at front and drums in the back. It was again a 2+2 layout, with a premium interior and a std radio, with the standar safety for the time.

It reached a top speed of 215 km/h and it did 0-100 in 8.6s. The 1/4 mile time was 16.5s according to official sources. Even tho it had a surprisingly soft suspension, the ride wasn’t bouncy, and it ended up being a good all-around car in despise is muscle nature.

###Leopardo Rally Sport

After squishing all that was reasonable available in the ADM Mastiff V8, it was obvious that Meliora needed a better engine, one that was specially design for performance, instead of adapt a truck engine to a car, but Meliora didn’t had the infrestructure to develop a new engine, let alone a big V8, so Eugenio’s son contacted American Eagle Automotive, a company with V8 experience.
And after some negotiation, the Leopardo Rally Sport was born, powered by a Big Block Cleveland engien (BB - 455C). The engine 400ci (6.5L) OHV V8 was rated at 325hp, but in reality, after dyno testing it, it make 334hp and 437 ft-lb of torque, not bad at all.

After the lack of engine was resolved, it came the rest of the engineering. The exterior was pretty much the same, except for a re-worked rear spoiler, and side vents. It was offered only in black color.
In the interior the car only had 2 seats and a more complex safety.
The suspension, the brakes and the transmission were completely new and differed a lot from the coupe trim.
The result? top speed of 241km/h, 0-100 in 7.5s and the quarter mile in 15.42s. Even tho it was a whole second quicker than the Coupe, the car was still pretty slow compared to other cars from its time. Still the car was a sales success, thanks to the AEA engine and its nice power curve, combined with the reworked suspension, the car was very very good at cruising and cornering, and only for that experience people bought the car, plus it looks bad ass in black.

Coupe 1965 price: $2,824.88
Rally sports 1965 price: $3,657.34

[Razyx]

Me encanta el Leopardo, muy bueno.
(Good one, I really like the Leopard (o) ).

[Sillyworld]

Gracias!
(Thanks)

[Sillyworld]

1968 - 1973 Perenne GT (facelift)

The money was flowing to Meliora, and its name was starting to gain recognition among the automotive world. 4 long years later after the last trim of the Perenne, several things have change. Eugenio, the company founder was having health issues more often, and for the first time, Meliora was thinking to finally enter to the international racing world (it had participated before once in La Carrera Panamericana) and a prototype was actually being built, but for that, money was needed. So instead of renew the light sport model every 2 years (as the muscle models were renewed) in 1968 the Perenne received a new make over, with a re-designed in-home engine.

The new trim was simply called “Perenne GT” (but it wasn’t a GT per se) and it featured a re-worked exterior, as well as a re-tune engine and suspension.

The powerplant was derived from the original 2L DAOHC in-line 6, but this time with a larger bore, giving a total of 2.2L of displacement and 127 hp, paired to a brand new 5 speed manual gearbox. The car weighted less than a ton, so it had more than enough power to push the car up to 188 km/h and reach 100 km/h in less than 10 seconds and it can be stopped with a simple solid disc front - rear drums brakes combination. It wasn’t the fastest car Meliora offered at the time, but it sure was one fun of a ride.

It came only with 2 seats and a simple interior with no radio, because must of the effort was into making it a light car (so GT was a weird choice for a trim name), trying to emulate the sport European cars.

1968 price: $2,496

[Sillyworld]

1968 - 1971 Puma [corporate]-- 3 trims --[/corporate]

The last mass produced car of the old Meliora age, and the last attempt to a muscle car, the heritage of cat cars was about to end, and what a way to go.
As the Leopardo Rally Sport, the engine came from AEA, in different configurations and displacements.

The first trim, was simply called Base, and it was the entry level, with a price of $3,816, ranging above the average Muscle car, but it was better looking than anyone of them (or so, it was said [by me]). The engine was an american 383ci/6.3L OHV V8 that was rated at 300hp, but in reality it did 16 good hp more.

And for a good more amount of money ($5,653 more expensive than a C3 corvette), you could get the Puma 440 (named after the 440ci engine) which was faster and better in every way, (except fuel economy). You could get it in the classic Meliora Orange and with 363 hp you could go all the way up to 260 km/h and do the quarter mile in 14.22 seconds.

Finally, in 1969, in the same year Meliora participated in the 24hr le mans, a commemorative model was presented, the Puma Motorsports, with a mighty 7.2L V8 HEMI engine pushing over 400hp. Captable of 0-100km/h in about 5.9 seconds, the quarter mile in 13.74s. It was not only fast in a straight line, this trim was also quite good turning. Only 444 were produced, for the ludicrous price of $6,081.

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Thanks to @findRED19 for providing the engine

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1968 - 1971 Puma Base

1968 price: $3,816

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1968 - 1971 Puma 440

1968 Market: $5,653

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1969 Puma Motorsports

1969 price: $6,081

[Fayeding_Spray]

H-How do those headlights work? they look so good!

[phale]

So, how would this have done in the Fruinian Muscle Car Cup?