The Car Shopping Round (Round 64): Tears in Heaven

24-ish hours to deadline now.

If you use very exotic trim pieces, you may want to PM me a screenshot of your riced trim, just to be sure I can do it full justice.

Six hours left to deadline.

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How are the reviews going? :slightly_smiling_face:

"82 LLA Vengance FP1



Released In "82 as LLA’s Answer to the poor mans sports car the Vengance offers an invigorating 2.2L Naturally aspirated, fuel injected v8 driving the rear wheels through a 5 speed gearbox. With Air suspension and adjustable ride height the car can be smooth with much adjustability through the centre console mounted Computer ( Enter 8 Bit Mode). Finally with styling that enhances the sportiness, such as plastic do-nothing wing and pop-up headlights the Vengance hits you with, well vengance.


My game is currently stuck on shite graphics settings as I cannot open the launcher on my pc due to .net issues, may have to re-install windows :frowning:

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Entries are now closed

Reviews are underway and will likely be up in 24 hours at the latest.

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Well, ok, about an hour late, but here goes:

The Results

Since the next Bosozoku event was still two and a half months away, bane-of-vintage-cars-turned-man-on-a-mission Haruzake decided that he wouldn’t wait that long. Instead, he headed straight for the next combini and grabbed a couple of classifieds.

Kenji returned home, the papers tucked under his arm. He spread them out on the table next to his laptop, where he opened up a couple of relevant websites, poured himself a glass of Asahi, and started to pore over the plethora of ads, eight of which he highlighted with a marker. He checked the state of the cars, paid the owners of the more interesting ones a visit and returned home to ponder his choice, ranking them to help him make up his mind. Here are his results from bottom to top:

8th: @undercoverhardwarema


The first one was something that was rather in these parts: A 1988 Orion Panther. The western coupe was nothing really special, but certainly not an everyday sight here in Japan. Mostly because it wasn’t particularly well loved: With its two valve turbo four banger and 160 hp, it was reasonably quick, but it wasn’t V8 enough to pass as american muscle, which might have lured some, nor was it high tech enough to seriously compete against domestic offerings. Style-wise, it was a precursor to the 90’s marshmallow design, which Kenji wasn’t really fond of. This particular one has obviously been fiddled with:

Not too much, though – Kenji was used to WAY more than that. The owner bespoilered it a bit, fitted it with huge rims with silly narrow tires on them (145s on 20“ wheels – damn, where would Kenji even get a replacement for these?). The engine has been tweaked to deliver some 50 more horses, though now it will go on strike as soon as the rev counter drops below 4000 rpm. The biggest change may actually be the inadvertant weight saving measure of removing the rear bench for an empty space where, to all appearances, a sound system once resided.

All in all, this just wasn’t the kind of car Kenji was looking for: A bit of haggling, and he could probably pick it up for less than two grand. Maybe it will grow to be a classic of the ilk of a Ford Capri one day, but at this point in time, this day is still far, far away – as of now, this is just an old beater, a good deal too young to be collectable. Kenji stuck the ad through and moved on to the next.

Styling+Heritage: 3+1
Ricing: 4
Base Score: 4x4=16

Tech Value: 445$
Heritage Value: 1765$
Total Value: 2210$
Car isn’t valuable enough to be considered a classic.
Total Score: 0

7th: @Jaimz


Next was a NCC Lance. It kinda jumped at him because he remembered driving one back when he earned his money as a food delivery driver – a bare fleet spec model with the 60 hp base engine. This one was – has been, rather – the 2.0 model with 130 hp. A reasonably attractive hatchback, not exciting, but nice enough to look at. Hardly a classic, though. His was brand new some 20 years ago, and that’s exactly how old this one is. The fact that he knew this car quite well was actually not the only thing that jumped at him; There was a couple more reasons:

The paint scheme was one of them. That garish green, those dragon decals – this was one hell of a paint job for sure. The owner appears to have carefully tailored the exterior to his likings: The bodywork is largely untouched, bigger rims, some vents along with some fancy light items here and there. The hatch, however, has been replaced with one that features completely different taillights, apparently specifically to better fit the dragon design. The owner also shoehorned a 3.0 Litre I6 into the engine bay, endowing this thing with 250+ hp.

The thing is: On a different car, this mod job would have likely made this a good candidate, Kenji actually even liked it, but as it was, this thing was based an old hatchback, not on a precious icon, so this wasn’t what Kenji was looking for, either.

Styling+Heritage: 4+1
Ricing: 6
Base Score: 5x6=30

Tech Value: 1200$
Heritage Value: 1030$
Total Value: 2230$
Car isn’t valuable enough to be considered a classic.
Total Score: 0

6th: @LordLetto


Kenji turned to the next paper and found something more to his liking: A 1983 Otto Sei. The first car he found that actually looked like something from a decade long past, and he rather liked it. It was not quite old enough for collector’s plates, though, and these things were actually still fairly ubiquitous. Nonetheless, it was an idol for a whole generation of boyracers, with its classic hard-edge styling and revvy little engine, it wasn’t exactly a beast, but super fun when pushed to the limit. The owner – like most guys who buy this kind of car – didn’t leave it in pristine condition:

The front skirt had to go in favor of a more aggressive design, a rear wing was added along with a big central exhaust pipe, the tape deck has been stripped out. But that was basically it, apart from some moderate engine tuning. This was a likable little car, but neither really collectable yet, nor in really desperate need of being rescued.

Styling+Heritage: 5+3
Ricing: 4
Base Score: 8x4=32

Tech Value: 00$
Heritage Value: 4510$
Total Value: 4510$
Score modifier due to value: 0,36
Total Score: 11,7

5th: @VicVictory


The next car that caught his attention was a 1977 Suzume Kaminari GS. More of a two-door sedan than an actual coupe, Kenji always liked the lines of these. Technically, it was a rather interesting car, as, to Kenji’s knowledge, it was the cheapest way to own a six cylinder car back in its day – and what a nice one at that. 126 hp was enough to give it brisk performance, and with an aluminium block, a 24V dohc head and forged internals, it was a quite advanced powerplant for its time. The one advertised was not exactly in its original state:

A bright yellow paintjob, bigger rims, a lip up front and a fairly big wing at the back. The hood has been adorned with an airscoop, and the rear wheel arches with something that’s probably supposed to look like vents – has the owner cut these out with a can opener? The engine had a turbo slapped on it, along with a new cylinder head boasting a third carb, resulting in a rather substantial power increase of around 80 hp. The car itself was certainly worth a rescue – these things were really beginning to become rare – the rice job, however, was still a far cry from the worst Kenji had seen and done on classic cars.

Styling+Heritage: 5+4
Ricing: 5
Base Score: 9x5=45

Tech Value: 00$
Heritage Value: 5540$
Total Value: 5540$
Score modifier due to value: 0,73
Total Score: 32,7

4th: @doncornaldie


The Sora GTR was similar in format to the Kaminari, but quite different in nature: Lacking the rear bench and boasting an almost racy I6, squeezing 160 hp out of 2.0 litres (quite impressive for its day and age), it was a much sportier car that belied its rather unassuming looks. It was also a lot more expensive than the Suzume. It was popular as a „would-like-to-have-one“-car, but they didn’t actually build too many of these, as it punched below its weight in terms of bang for the buck. Ironically, the fact that it used to be too expensive for most back in the day makes people actually want to pay the premium all the more readily now that rarity is kicking in – if they find a pristine example, that is, unlike the one advertised:

Obnoxiously green, stanced, with wings and a diffusor slapped on (Kenji wasn’t sure if these actually did anything) as well as an assortment of vents and a big scoop on the hood, this specimen had all the markings of a boyracer’s ride. The real surprise was under the bonnet, though: A turbo kit from hell upped the power of that thing to more than double the original value, and then the owner apparently thought that it would be a good idea to entrust all that power to a set of cheap chinese all-weather tires! Well, this thing surely begged to be saved, but there were even more urgent candidates out there.

Styling+Heritage: 4+4
Ricing: 6
Base Score: 8x6=48

Tech Value: 00$
Heritage Value: 10650$
Total Value: 10650$
Score modifier due to value: 0,74
Total Score: 35,7

3rd: @LinkLuke


Even more peculiar was the LLA Vengeance FP1: Even more expensive than the Sora, this fibreglass featherweight was never intended to be produced in large numbers. As far as looks were concerned, it was rather handsome, but not exactly spectacular: A nice little mid engined coupe. It was what was under the hood that made this car a bit of a legend among the knowledgable: Its 162 hp came courtesy of a tiny 2.2L V8 (well, the notoriously vicious handling played a part, too). The example Kenji found in the classifieds was not yet eligible for collector plates, so the price didn’t skyrocket yet, but this little car would become a classic for sure. Would, mind you, for some truly horrible things had been done to it:

An aggressive stancing job and fake chrome vets galore were just the tip of the iceberg here: The rear featured a wild assortment of tailpipes so big that any bro would wonder if he should try to fit his hand or maybe rather his head into them. Under the hood, Kenji found one of the maddest tune-ups he had ever encountered: Two huge turbos and an upped redline were the usual stuff – but he had never seen an aftermarket direct injection conversion before. Combined, all the tuning measures resulted in a whopping 487 hp. This car was most certainly worthy of Kenji’s compassion, but it was still not quite the worst he could find.

Styling+Heritage: 5+4
Ricing: 7
Base Score: 9x7=63

Tech Value: 210$
Heritage Value: 5050$
Total Value: 5260$
Score modifier due to value: 0,64
Total Score: 40,5

2nd: @ramthecowy


Kenji was just about flip to the next page when something cought his eye: Could this really be? How the hell did a Cavallera find its way here? He knew this european 300-hp-thoroughbred quite well, even though he had never been lucky enough to see one in the flesh: This thing most definitely got Kenji excited, even though he had a feeling that it would likely be just out of his league financially. He paid the owner a visit to take a look at it in person, though what he saw could hardly even be described as a 1976 Falco anymore:

A rallye-style bar of beams would illuminate the road – in vain, as the driver probably can’t see shite anyway, what with the huge, useless airscoop and wing slapped right on the front hood. Just in front of the rear wheel arches, two huge fake sidepipes (no worries – there are six real ones at the rear) ise into the air like cobras to the flute of a snake charmer. This is clearly one of the most spectacularly hideous rice jobs Kenji has ever seen. The chassis was still intact and the mechanics haven’t actually been meddled with – and this here was a proper, high calibre classic. Kenji would have loved to save this one so much, but he just had to realize that he probably wouldn’t be able to afford this operation. He made a few calls. Maybe one of his buddies would be able to take care of it – he himself would, sadly, not be the saviour of this gem. With a bleeding heart, he turned away and to the next candidate.

Styling+Heritage: 5+5
Ricing: 8
Base Score: 10x8=80

Tech Value: 00$
Heritage Value: 10980$
Total Value: 10980$
Score modifier due to value: 0,66
Total Score: 52,8

1st: @conan


The Mitsushita Kuraun was a recognized classic by now, so Kenji was all the more pleased to find one among the adverts. It wasn’t awfully long ago that one could spot one of these as a taxi more or less regularly, but most of these had been handed over to the scrap press by now with, like, a billion km on the odo each. The Kuraun was a very formal looking car: clear lines, quite a bit of chrome on it – the stuff of which classics are made. It wasn’t even super luxurious or anything, more an upper-midrange, full size sedan, but the conservative styling helped it stand the test of time, and now that they get seriously old and rare, they are starting to become properly precious. Apparently, the owner was no fan of cautious design decisions, so he turned his into this:

If the Batmobile saw this, it would shuffle back to the Bat Cave and hunker down in some dark corner, ashamed of itself. A Huge air scoop on the bonnet, countless fake vents, that huge Countach style wing, riveted-on wheel arch extensions – this was truly an abomination, just barely second to the grisly fate that the Cavallera had met. This here was, however, somewhat cheaper than the Falco, and Kenji also reckoned that replacement parts might be easier to source. The decision was not an easy one, but in the end, this one had to be it. Saving this would be Ricing-san’s first step on his road to his absolution.

Styling+Heritage: 6+4
Ricing: 7
Base Score: 10x7=70

Tech Value: 00$
Heritage Value: 10430$
Total Value: 10430$
Score modifier due to value: 0,79
Total Score: 55,6

13 Likes

After this round I think I need to pray to the car gods for forgiveness, I made a respectable little sports car with 8-bit goodness to then ruin it with fake chrome and drainpipes :sob::sob:

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Very nicely done! This was certainly a unique round, shame that the initial confusion seems to have driven off some entrants. Hats off to Conan of course, master of making old autoshite classics haha, you nailed it. I had a bit of a lore limitation as there aren’t many models under my company that end up becoming relevant in Japan, but oh well. Maybe reviving Stallion for a proper muscle car would have been a better bet. Whatever. Congratulations to Conan, I shall be looking forward to the next round! :wink:

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Quite an interesting round, but one which was sadly off-putting to most users, for some reason. Anyway, well done to conan once more, but since he hosted the previous round, whether or not he will host CSR60 is currently uncertain.

haha. Good job @conan

Nice reviews @bastormonger, I liked this challenge. It was very interesting and different despite all the complications.

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At least my Tofu Wasn’t Last!

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ouch

Nice.

I’ll have a round up in a couple of hours.

pls be ue4

I’m not promising anything.

CSR60: A Whole New World.

This round is now UE4!

UE4 Open Beta.

The year is 2072.

Since the first fully Autonomous car have arrived on the scene in 2020’s. The automotive technologies have moved forward at an incredible rate. Not only with the redundancy of drivers, but also the electrification of automobile. From the year 2035 on many countries started to ban non-autonomous driver on the public road. It was a natural process, and by the year 2055, almost all countries have resort to a ban. Road fatalities dropped, traffic congestion now a distant memory, even in the worst of the metropolis.

But what of those car enthusiast people? Those existed in drove since the infiltration of internal combustion engine? Where would they’ve all gone? The answer is, they’ve never left.

It all depends on your means though. If you are very, very poor, your only option to experience the activities that is “driving” is through good simulation. While autonomous driving tech have developed, the simulation business boomed as well. While 2020’s sim might’ve been a bit crap, but the current crop of simulations is said to be just as difficult as the act of driving itself by people who don’t care, even with basic 2 pedals stuff.

While the richer people can still actually operate the automobile itself, although with heavy regulation. These are not too expensive that those people cannot afford them. Also, with electrification, there’s plenty of power sources left for these cars. And the development of biofuel for use in commercial vehicles means there’s still plenty of fuel for internal combustion engine.

The slightly lower-middle class may own a classic little car from the last years of Internal Combustion Engine or early non-autonomous Electrics car. Model year developed in around 2030’s or 2040’s for third world market. But the hardcore enthusiasts circle usually regards those electric model as nonsense. Why would you drive yourself an electric car? You may as well do commute, which is more comfortable as you don’t have to drive. Although not many of these hardcore enthusiasts exist anymore. Most people accept that electric cars can be just as fun.

Because driving was banned on public road. The driving enthusiast must find the venue of their hobby. A lot of new business popped up along with a host of historic site. The driving tracks. Every day at places like Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, Castle Combe, Suzuka, Of course the NĂŒrburgring. People who wish to drive their own cars put their non-autonomous vehicle on an autonomous personal car carrier and travel to those places. Economies of scale means the cost is actually very little, while the fuel isn’t too expensive either. These allowed even the poorer people to afford it. While the richer people looks down on these people, they have their own personal driving tracks.

Another group of hardcore enthusiasts also exist. These people see driving on the track as untrue driving. During the early day of universal autonomous transition. There’s actually a business of people moving to underdeveloped countries just to be able to operate non-autonomous driving. It got so popular that some countries did “driving tourism”. Building beautiful roads and having companies renting out, or offering good, used or new non-autonomous automobile. But with the time passes, less and less people are interested. And local populations despised the driving enthusiast and wish for the government to start adopting autonomous driving for once. As a result, most countries are now fully adapted to autonomous driving.

It was during the time of universal autonomous driving. That some government in the first world made the decision to allow non-autonomous cars on the road again. Taxed heavily, these cars are allowed to drive anywhere you wish for. But they’re instructed to stay the hell away from autonomous lane. Because those are usually travelling at much higher speed, and higher accuracy than non-autonomous cars. But because they’re taxed so heavily, only the richer type of enthusiast can afford to operate their car on public road again. It was seen as the result of many elites who wished to exercise their wealth of exclusive automobile.

Driving people have been stigmatized by the general public, they’re seen as people who get stuck in the past or activities for those capitalist elite to express their opulent by making themselves inconvenient for the sake of spending more money.

That doesn’t deter Michael Sinclair from trying to drive though. He’s a New Zealander born in 2000. During time he was not interested in cars at all. In fact, he never got his driving license during the period of non-autonomous driving being the norm. But when he retired from his job as a solicitor 5 years ago. He started to take driving as a hobby.

New Zealand in 2072 is one of the first country to start allowing people to drive on the road again, and one of the cheapest.

The only reason Michael got into driving was exactly to show his opulent and taste. While driving is stigmatized, it’s still see as a huge luxury. Paying more to have less convenient tends to do that do an activity.

Michael bought a 2030’s vintage EVE electric car in 2067. He learns to drive it and he drove it as much as he liked. It did open a new world for him. He finally got why driving enthusiasts love driving! It was the sensation, the feeling of being in control. While being a passenger is a chore and something that’s just a way to get around. Driving is an entirely something else. It’s the experience that only those who do it know what it is.

Michael started it as a way to show his wealth, but now he does it because he cannot stop doing it.

But now, he thinks the electric, later model EVE is not enough. He has the mean to own an older Internal Combustion machine. And those, he’d been told to be even more amazing


Michael didn’t know what he’d buy. There were many types of cars that will fit his taste very well. Perhaps a 1990’s vintage Tishillyman AWD Turbo? Or a little 1980’s Znopresk? Maybe those are too finicky for his liking. Owning and operating these vintage cars are hard because not many people still know how to maintain them. So later, more reliable model is a better option for those who wish to only drive.

It was around this time that Michael went and look for old family pictures. Usually from when he was a teenager in 2010’s.

He was captured by a sight of a car.

He didn’t remember it until now, but in one of these pictures showed a rather big, convertible 2-door model that his mother owned from around 2020. His mother bought it brand new despite it being a large, excessive car. But it was a car of her dream, something she wished to have for many years.

Michael still remembered the day his mother got it, her glee with joy. He couldn’t remember if she was a driving enthusiast or not, most people then still drive their own car. It was very expensive, but dad thought that it would make a nice anniversary present for mum.

That car of course got sold off long ago. His mother kept it only for a few years before she traded it for an electric car.

But something about it
 Something that made his mum happy
 Mum wasn’t happy much during her later years. And that car was something else.

Michael is now 72. Medical technologies meant that people living to be 100 is very common. With the most common type of death after old age being suicide. Most old people stopped working when they’re 65. Some lasted until 75. But after that they languished in the land of free time. Young people don’t care, they’re only interested in simulations.

Michael doesn’t have children, nor a wife. These day the only joy he has is through driving. He started smoking and drinking while he was in college and even though most people stopped after they become a proper adult, Michael never stopped. And as a result, he’s getting increasingly frail. But plenty strong enough to operate another car. Maybe he should do it before he’s dead.

And maybe THAT car, will give him reason to live.

There’s a prestigious vintage machine auction coming up soon. Michael already sold the EVE electric car to a young enthusiast. With money burning hole in his pocket, he wishes to get something from that auction. Something a bit like the car that made his late mother smile.

Rules.

  • Year: 2018-2020
  • 2 Doors-Convertible Body only.
  • Minimum wheelbase 2.59m
  • Catalytic Converter required.
  • No Limit on Price.
  • No limit on PU/ET.
  • Must post an advert (just the car full name is required).
  • UE4 requied! Open beta.
  • Usual naming convention. Username-carname.

Guide.

  • Looks are very important. Make it gorgeous.
  • There are a few stats that is important. It’s a car that somebody would long for, a really good car. Comfort, Performance, Reliability, the usual stuff.
  • I’m not looking for sheer number, like all the previous round, a car has to be sensible for the time period. Which is today.
  • Driving experience must be amazing, a nicely sorted car. Doesn’t mean it has to be extremely fast or agile, just nice to drive.
  • Don’t make the car too expensive. A vintage, popular model 50 years ago would go for massive money at auctions today, even if it wasn’t expensive back then. I don’t have specific number in mind, but something that’s excessively more expensive is going to be very obvious.

Tips.

  • If it’s not in the rule, it’s not required.
  • This again is a highly subjective round. And a highly realistic one as well. Be sensible, be VERY sensible.
  • Stats are important, but not THAT important. As I said, this is a very subjective round. Do not go for absolute number.
  • Now, the rules made it seems oddly specific as to which body to choose, that’s correct. There are only a few logical bodies you could use. Here are all the recommended bodies. If you manage to make anything that fit the rules while being good enough, you may use it.

Deadline for entries is 7th January 2018 @ 17:00 GMT.

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Does this round use the latest open beta build for UE4? Especially since I just opted into it a few days ago.

Anyway, it takes balls to host another round so soon after CSR58 (which you also hosted
 And in UE4 to boot!

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Latest open beta.

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One of the cars sold at the auction was a 2018 Salinger D10-55 AWD Cabrio in Sunset Orange Metallic.

There were rumours regarding the potential revival of that brand by their owner, Cossack Motors (some of their models were also being auctioned off, but they were not what Michael was looking for), following the human-driven car revival, but let’s be honest. Classics is where it’s at. This variant of the D series is a 2-seater convertible, powered by a 5.5 liter naturally aspirated V10 engine, powering all wheels.

Look at that front fascia. at those led lights people back then believed to be futuristic. Look at that retro touch-screen you control all the interior things with. This is what 2010s were about. Totally radical.


“Radical”
? That damn whippersnapper auctioneer can’t even get the slang right.

You remember that a while before this car was put on auction, a vintage newspaper advertisement for this exact model was being sold.

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UE4 HYPE! Time to Get used to Using it!:
Edit: Preview of my 1st Attempt, Not sure if I Should Enter it or Not:


5L V10 that makes 318 hp @ 6300RPM of it’s 6900 RPM Redline & Gets 8.32L/100km with a Top Speed of 236 km/h, 0-100km/h in 6.55 seconds, can get around the Airfield Test Track in 1:30.95 Seconds.

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