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

matzel tov to @thecarlover for the silverware

Yup, I called it xD

I need to win to defend my honor as a car maker, so…

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Well, I’m hoping the next challenge is something I’m good at. Got a narrow skill-set where I do things well enough, and everything else, I might as well not even bother.

Wow, as much as I’ve been hoping to win a round, I really wasn’t expecting it :smiley: Thanks @KLinardo for the great round!

I just got back from a concert and have to head to bed, but I’ll put together my ideas for Round 16 tomorrow and try to have it all ready sometime in the evening.

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Don’t forget to make it enjoyable for everyone :slight_smile:

Round 16: The Canadian Supercar

The year is 2006 and following my father’s death I have inherited his large snowmobile company. He was quite the penny pincher, even with the fortune he made, and as such our family has not had cars worthy of our wealth. Now that I am in charge of the company and most of the family’s money, I am looking for a supercar, but it cannot be any supercar. My father has pushed his “save every penny” mentality on me so much that I don’t feel I can completely cut loose quite yet. I feel that I need something that makes the most of what it’s worth and can last me a long time. Here are what I need:

  • Maximum $160,000 (estimated) with 100% profit margin. It is a supercar after all and while I may enjoy saving money, I still want a quality product and so going well below my budget with low/average quality is not recommended.

  • AWD or 4x4 and suspension Bottom Out at 0.0%. I want to actually drive the car the whole year, not just the warmer half when there’s no snow.

  • Engine reliability and overall reliability of at least 70 so I don’t have to spend too much on maintenance and can keep the car for a long time, making this a worthy investment. This also means engine cooling equal or above the required cooling.

  • Fuel octane 95 RON (91 AKI) or lower and at least 15 MPG (less than 15.68 l/100 km). Anything above 95 RON is virtually non-existant here, and I don’t want to spend too much money having to constantly refuel.

  • Environmental resistance of 85 or above so my car won’t rot away during the winter.

  • Advanced 00s safety, just in case I encounter a moose or lose control on an icy road.

  • No semi slicks

  • Minimum top speed of 321.9 km/h (200 mph).

  • Model name CSR16 - username, with the trim name having the company, model, and trim (such as Solo Jetstream SM). Engine name can be anything except the default “Family #”

After these restrictions, I will also be looking at drivability, sportiness, acceleration time, and I will also test the cars on a track. This needs to be a car I can fairly easily drive for a long time and enjoy pushing to its limits. As I am now the owner of a snowmobile company, showing up to business events with something ugly and average simply won’t do, so styling and prestige are also important factors. I don’t have a body type preference, so if you can make a sedan, SUV, minivan, etc, fit into what I’m looking for then go for it. What I don’t want a stripped down track monster or something very difficult to drive. My ideal supercar is one I can drive daily and that can handle what Canada has to throw at it.

The deadline will be 12 AM EST (GMT-5) on Friday, July 1st.
I’ll use the Canada Day long weekend to do the reviews and declare a winner.

(I realise there are quite a few rules, but I want this to be a challenge that involves things that are not normally considered when building a supercar, rather than just another supercar competition.)

Edit: added deadline

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You practically gave this one to strop :stuck_out_tongue:

Also, I’d shy away from having a set ride height, as the devs have stated that it is more relative than an absolute number. Perhaps set a minimum offroad rating instead? Or something like, ride height must be more than 3/4 up the slider.

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The issue with the offroad stat is that it can be affected by more than the ride height. I will however change it to Bottom Out above 0.0%, rather than a fixed ride height.

I would still hesitate to build an all-out supercar here (even though on principle I keep ride height from bottoming out). I’m going to have to do a bit of research to see what maximum can be wrought from the conditions.

How important is the in-car radio to you? I know, sounds like a silly question to ask, but, there’s two practical purposes behind it. One, would you prefer not having a radio but having better parts elsewhere to make the car better overall, and two, if you can’t go without a radio, would you prefer a more expensive, but standard quality unit, or a less expensive unit of higher quality?

Also, any preference on color?

Colour isn’t an issue (unless it’s a terrible snot green or something). I’ll consider that if I don’t like a colour I can get something different, so just worry about how the colour affects the presentation of your car.

As for radio, that’s up to you. Consider how it affects the the stats I stated as important and how it might fit in the type of car I’ve described.

One last question from me: Normal or Open Beta? I’ve got no problems using either, so I figure I’ll ask before I get too far into building something.

I think I want to use the current stable release (build 160420).

In addition, I have already built a test car in the current stable release (not open beta) which meets all your requirements (estimated price <$160,000, AWD with no bottoming out, car and engine reliability >70, 95RON fuel, environmental resistance >85, advanced 00s safety, sports compound rather than semi slick tires, top speed >200 mph, all model, trim and engine names follow the formats stipulated).

Do you know what the major differences between stable and beta are? I’m running the beta, so I wouldn’t want some submissions to not work properly because they were made in the stable release.

I don’t know what the differences are, but I have no problem swapping to the Beta. I’ll see if anything changes majorly in my car design when I do.

Edit: Appears the design is mostly the same. All the stats check out, but it looks like somewhere, I gained $20 total cost and a few extra points of utility. Still in budget, though, so it looks good for sending.

Alright, I’m not looking at the utility stat, so that’s not an issue.

As for anyone using the stable release, just let me know when sending the car so that if something is just outside the rules I can confirm if it happened because of the different versions.

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Another reason for the AWD requirement: with enough power, a car can go from 0 to 60 mph in <3 seconds with ease since the power is distributed across both axles. However, I didn’t use 4x4 because such a configuration is only intended for off-road use. Besides, although turning a big saloon or even an SUV into an AWD supercar-baiter is possible, it would take a lot more work for me, so I went with a coupe.

that’s what i just made :smiley: SUPER SALOON

So, you want a fast car, something that’s fun to drive, very fast, and yet manages to not be a stripped-down track toy that you can’t drive anywhere? Storm Automotive’s newest design, the Storm Taipan, may be for you.

Bold looks are the name of the game here. Those side pipes are functional, as are the twin exhausts at the rear. The main exhaust goes through the rear exhausts, while the side pipes are used under hard acceleration, bypassing the mufflers entirely and allowing all of the sound out. This means that you can enjoy your radio and a conversation with your passenger when you want to, without taking away your ability to rattle the brains of other, slower drivers.

The dual-plane rear wing is functional, providing large amounts of downforce at speeds exceeding 200 MPH. Active technology allows decent fuel efficiency, as does the quality only afforded by Storm Raceworks. A double-clutch sequential gearbox, fitted with titanium gears, transmits power to all four wheels through a beefed-up version of our AWD system. Everything on this car was built just that little bit stronger, to ensure that 20 years from now, your Taipan will still live on to become a classic American supercar.

This, however, is not a stripped-down track-machine with no rights to be on the road. This has a comfortable, high quality interior, and some of our best safety systems to date. The brake rotors are cooled to provide superior stopping distances with no fade, despite the high curb weight. Why does this car weigh so much? A high quality interior, track-ready safety systems, and a unibody made from AHS Steel all add to the weight. And should you wipe out in the Taipan, rest assured that you will be able to just open the door and walk away.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Why is that massive hood-bulge on this car?” Because we shoved an 8.2 liter V12 in it. That hides the otherwise rather-unsightly engine sticking through the hood. Sure, we could’ve just cut a dirty great hole in the carbon-fiber hood, and claimed it as ‘ventilation,’ but we decided instead to do a nice, clean finish, or at least something less foul-looking than a big engine in your face.

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Harris Cars Ltd. would like to present the SCR4 Twin Turbo, an innovative solution to the demands of supercar buyers in the 21st century.

Built on the same platform as our existing SVM sports car, the SCR4 is even more extreme and far more advanced, to the point of practically being an all-new vehicle. Despite being heavier due to its AWD system and turbo hardware, carbon-fibre panels keep the weight gain to a minimum and guarantee improved environmental resistance.

Powering the SCR4 is a twin-turbo 4.0-litre flatplane V8, codenamed AF8T, developing well over 640 bhp and mated to a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Even with so much power at one’s disposal, it is still economical enough not to completely drain your wallet at every fill-up. Turbo lag is minimal, and with ample torque throughout the broad rev range, the AFT8 exhibits considerable flexibility.

An active rear wing ensures that the car produces optimal downforce at any speed with minimal drag. In addition, the electronic limited-slip differential works with the AWD system (split 30/70 in favor of the rear wheels) to provide torque vectoring, thereby improving handling even further. 20-inch forged magnesium rims shod in sports-compound tires put all that power to the ground with minimal fuss.

With a well-sorted suspension tune incorporating semi-active dampers and active anti-roll bars, the SCR4 Twin Turbo boasts excellent dynamics without any risk of the suspension bottoming out under any circumstances. Large-diameter vented disc brakes at each corner provide top-notch braking performance at all times with no chance of fade. A high-quality premium interior and satnav system make this car a surprisingly good daily driver, and an advanced safety suite minimizes the risk of injury should you get it wrong. Extensive testing ensures that reliability exceeds the exacting standards of our clientele.

Its understated yet distinctive design makes this car stand out from anything else on the road, even in Pure White, which is just one of many exterior color options available (you can even specify your own if you want). In short, this car is both beauty and beast.

Testing at the Airfield Track revealed some eye-widening statistics, including a 0-60 mph time of 2.8 seconds, a lap time of 1:13.81, and a top speed of over 200 mph.

At an estimated price of well under $120,000 (including markups) this thing is priced to move compared to some other supercars. Go on, you know you want one!

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