Very happy to be the winner of this round and to sell my car to 8bs! Thanks 8bs for all the reviews, must have taken awhile, and cheers to all fellow competitors, this tight budget sure was tough on everyone I think.
Anyhow, speaking of reviews, I’m not the most outspoken or detailed person, but I’ll try my hardest to give plenty of content as host for this round, although bear with me if the judging may take longer than a single day.
[size=200]Old vs Older[/size]
So, the year is 2017 and I’m looking to get my first car after years of saving up, I’m still a student, but soon I’ll graduate and have to get a job. I’d love to have a fun to drive, sporty car that can hold its own on a track, while being comfortable and “torque-y” enough to enjoy cruising with. I don’t need a very practical car yet, two seater is perfectly fine, although it would be nice, whilst entirely optional, to be able to transport atleast a small ikea building kit for when I need something in my dorm, or be able to carry a suitcase or two to go on holidays with.
However, as a young driver under the age of 25, insurance companies are a nightmare to deal with if you want anything sporty, and fuel costs can be killer.
Also a possibly important note for this challenge: nearly all forms of tuning are forbidden where I live (Belgium), thus you should assume that I won’t be able to alter the car.
[size=150]Approach 1:[/size]
A nice used car of 2010-2012 (model and trim year), depreciated enough to be affordable. This means a market price of roughly 22.000 Automation moneys as new (including profit margin).
[ul]
]With the insurance companies it’s safe to assume that they’ll be near impossible to deal with if I’d want to insure something that has over 160 hp, lower hp certainly will be appreciated when judging due to being cheaper to insure./]
]As you may have deducted the introduction, driveability and sportiness matter to me a lot./:m]
]Next to them lap times around Circuit Zolder (the nearest race track) do matter, although lap times matter less to me than the car being fun both on the edge and during the daily grind./:m]
]The car should be pretty reliable, I don’t want to visit a garage too often, let alone the wheels coming off if I take the car to a trackday or autotest, especially engine reliability* matters to me, rustproofing does too considering it’s an used car./:m]
]Keep it comfortable, although young I don’t have the greatest back anymore, having a snug driving position with some music and a suspension that doesn’t murder my spine on every bump is what I’m looking for./:m]
]Safety should be above 40 in case I fck up./:m]
]Please do keep the tyre dimensions* quite realistic, Automation allows for some crazy low tyre profiles, but try to keep it above 40./*:m]
]Loudness below roughly 35, I wouldn’t want to wake the neighbourhood up if I get home late./:m]
]Last but definitely not least: low running costs, especially still as student they’re important. Fuel economy of 7.5L/100km or below is key /:m][/ul]
[size=150]Approach 2:[/size]
An older sportscar from 1987-1991 (model and trim year), once again needs to be depreciated enough to be affordable, I estimate that this means roughly 34.000 Automations moneys as new with profit margin included.
This is a lot harder to convince me with, thus the more risky approach, it probably can’t be my daily driver anymore once I get a job, and I will have to find another solution for that then, thus I won’t be able to enjoy the car as much. However, if the car turns out to be a dream, it can be worth the sacrifice.
Same preferences as approach 1 asides for these differences:
[ul]
]Being older than 25 years, a car can be registered as “oldtimer” here in Belgium. With its own specialized insurers, who are significantly less trouble to deal with, although they still probably wouldn’t want to insure a youngster with a car that exceeds the 0.2 HP/KG mark, lower hp will certainly be appreciated when judging due to being cheaper to insure./:m]
]reliability is very important, as is environmental resistance. The car will have seen abuse over the years, yet mustn’t let me down (too often)./:m]
]comfort is less important, although it still would be nice for it to be comfortable enough for a holiday/trackday trip./:m]
]practicality can fully be neglected now./:m]
]Not being my daily driver, the fuel economy can be worse, although preferably not above 11L/100km/:m][/ul]
Feel free to ask if something is unclear 
The deadline is 13 Feb at Automation midnight, I’ll try my best to get the results out at the 14th.
Entries accepted and reviewed:
[ul]
]carskick/:m]
]Vri404/:m]
]Leonardo9613/:m][/ul]
Entries accepted:
[ul]
]thecarlover/:m][/ul]
Also, I included the files of the Dragotec Sagitta from last round, if someone wishes to take a look.
[size=65]EDIT: being the first to share my car while this round having similarities with the previous definitely isn’t my one of my best diplomatic moves, I didn’t intend this to be used for this round, but merely for possibly educational/legitimacy purposes. Although ofcourse you’re entirely free to go modern MR if you do so desire.[/size]
Dragawn - Dragotec Sagitta.zip (97.5 KB)