1982
“We’ve never built a sports car,” Luke said to his design team during a design meeting, “and I don’t intend to start now. We’ve been making front-wheel-drive cars for a while now. Our biggest technological advantage is our familiarity with the Longitudinal Transaxle, and if we make a sports car, we’ll have to throw all that out.”
“So, what do you want us to make, then? This V6, it’s far better suited to a sports car than anything else.” Jeff Martin, the new head of the Engine Design Team, seemed more than a little upset that Luke wasn’t going to use his new all aluminum 60-degree V6 in a sports car.
“Let’s compromise. A sporty sedan. Compact, with a powerful V6. Might not set any speed records this year, but we’ll get 'em next time. Bloody Erin and their ‘spend a fortune to buy the fastest car on the planet’ when our 60’s Savage is faster. Start research into Project Snail, Jeff, if you haven’t already. They want a battle of speed, we’ll give it to 'em with the front wheels frying.” Luke said. “Just not this year. Mid-to-late 80’s, early 90’s will be better, I promise it.”
“Glad to see you approve of the idea, just, why not put the engine in the back?” Jeff replied. “It’d solve the transaxle problem.”
“Because we’re running out of time to make something. Stick with what we know, but prototype that idea. I am authorizing an experimental budget increase of 200%, so make it work. I want to sign my name in rubber on the Erin importer’s doorstep.” Luke said.
With that, the Sinistra Swift returned as a boxy 80’s car with the pinnacle of design achievements under the hood.
The GS-3900 was the ‘hot’ trim for 1982, packing the 3.9 liter all-aluminum 60-degree V6 under the hood. Rumors quickly grew about the sudden switch from cast-iron to aluminum, but Luke’s response seemed cold and logical. “Weight is the enemy of fuel efficiency. It’s also the enemy of performance. Sure, Aluminum is more expensive, but it saves you, the customer, in the long run.”
Not much else changed in the car, other than the adoption of the top-tier safety package, favoring a shiny new Driver’s Side Air-Bag designed to keep you in your seat during a heavy impact. This was met with concern and criticism, as it was a new technology, and one that seemed better suited to expensive luxury cars. Luke again responded with, “Should safety only be available to those who can afford it? Should your children drive around in cars made of materials little better than tin-foil, where an accident launches the engine into their lap? Should you have to fear driving because a crash might kill you? I don’t believe that should be the way of the future. I believe in a future where two cars collide, head on at highway speed, and the drivers and passengers of both cars can get up and walk away.”
When criticism was made about this new engine being designed to save fuel, and yet it gulped just as bad as the 1979 Traville, which had an automatic, Luke shot back with, “The Traville had 94 horsepower. The Swift has 152. Yet the fuel consumption is nowhere near ‘nearly double’ the amount. This is technological progress being used to make a better performing car, not just merely a more efficient one.”
Sure, the Swift was expensive, but it was a technological leap for Sinistra. They now had a modern V6, and not a cast iron relic. But, they weren’t quite yet done with cast iron, not by a long-shot. But that’s a story for another year.