twin turbo ls swapped would have been a awesome car indeed
I appreciate the writing you’re doing for the reviews, and they do seem pretty good so far. Just a couple minor things I noticed:
You seem to mention that my car runs on “Super unleaded” when, on my side, it runs on 95 Premium. Also, you mention that you are “disappointed by the average quality of the lightweight sports interior and luxury infotainment suite”, and go on to describe it as “cost cutting”.
Beyond the lack of quality sliders (+1 interior and 0 infotainment), I fail to see how this is “cost cutting”. It was meant as more of a compromise between weight and comfort, if anything.
But yeah, good enough reviews so far. More than I could be arsed to do anyway 
3 Likes
CSR26 Reviews and Results, Part 4
29 cars were entered in this round, and to be honest, I had a field day reviewing each of them. Some of them, like the Sofa and Vapour, were absolutely horrendous in every way; others, such as the Taipan and Buffalo, were not attractive enough to be finalists despite their performance. There were even a few cars (such as the TwoFourtyFive and Socala) which looked the part, but sadly didn’t have a drivetrain befitting of a hypercar. In the end, from 29 cars, my shortlist eventually consisted of just five outstanding machines: the Ventnor Bambino, the Solo Lightning SM V8, the Smooth Keelen GT, the Pragata Prima 1, and the Gryphon Gear Jormungandr. I deliberated for the next few hours on the final finishing order, but it was very tough indeed considering the caliber of the finalists. So I had to recap the pros and cons of the top five.
The Bambino may have been underpowered, with just a twin-turbo V6, and should have had a carbon-fiber tub instead of a steel space frame (although I was surprised that it would have remained under budget if it did - just), but made the most of what little power it had, and in fact wasn’t the slowest car around the test track, although it was the slowest finalist. What really sealed its place among the top five, though, was that it was the most comfortable, and that plenty of quality points had gone into the body, chassis and fixtures. It was also beautifully understated, though not to the point of blandness. On top of that, it was the least expensive and most economical car of the five finalists. One question remained, however: could a relatively sensible supercar really compete with a few unhinged hypercars, or would it just be out of its depth?
By comparison, it was easier to make a case for the Keelen GT. Yes, I was aware of reliability issues caused by the combination of a stratospheric redline and an undersquare engine, but it was the only normally-aspirated car in the top five, and also the only front-engined one as well. It was, without doubt, the most conventionally beautiful car in the whole field, and had a weight distribution closer to 50/50 than anything else in the test. Certainly, the Keelen GT put driver involvement first and foremost, and incredibly, I could happily live with this car on a daily basis. But what about the other three cars, which were on another level of performance in comparison?
The Prima 1 was a scorching performer, but unlike the Jormungandr and Lightning, it had much less turbo lag, which made it far more tractable in daily driving. As I had stated in my earlier review, however, the interior and infotainment system should have been better built, although this is understandable given that Pragata wanted to save some weight. I also found the Prima 1 to be almost as beautiful as the Keelen GT. Clearly, the bar had been set very high indeed.
Incredibly, the Lightning proved to be even more extreme. In terms of performance and styling, it was much more extroverted, and capable of turning heads everywhere for all the right reasons. It could also deliver white-knuckle thrills every time the boost built up to its maximum threshold. However, its rock-hard suspension made it very specialized indeed. And while using a standard infotainment system from a mass-market car helps save weight, I wanted something more advanced than that. Still, few cars this side of something from Gryphon Gear are as unhinged…
…and speaking of which, their entry, the Jormungandr, looks and drives like it came from another planet. It may be purely rear-drive, and was even more challenging to drive than the Lightning as a result, but the extra power made it the fastest in a straight line and around the test track, thanks to the most powerful engine of the bunch. It wasn’t as comfortable as the other finalists, though, which meant that using this vehicle on a daily basis would be even less likely than with the Lightning. However, as the most prestigious car in the top five, I would be stared at whenever I drove it, for better or worse. With the recaps out of the way, I had only one thing left to do: decide the final finishing order.
Given that my dream car needed to be usable on a daily basis (even if only just), the Lightning and Jormungandr were, somewhat surprisingly, the first finalists to be cut; after further deliberation, I had finally realized that they were actually too extreme for daily use, and that my sanity would be stripped away very quickly if I tried to exploit their performance envelopes on the road. The Keelen GT was the next to fall; some slight concerns about reliability prevented it from finishing any higher, but it deserved its place on the podium, since it sounded and drove as well as it looked. Yet, surprisingly, this was even more true of the Prima 1, which offered most of the Lightning’s performance in a more user-friendly package. In complete contrast, the Bambino, proved to be the lovable underdog of the round: underpowered compared to most of the entrants here, but still fast enough to mix it up with the big boys, and with plenty of comfort to boot.
After three days of testing, followed by several hours of determining and judging the finalists, it all came down to my final decision. It was an extremely difficult one to make, considering the merits of the Prima 1 and Bambino, but I could not declare a tie. So, after many hours of deliberation, the winner of CSR26 is…
…
…
…
…
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…the Ventnor Bambino.
I was originally going to award this round to @Denta and the Pragata Prima 1, until I realized that a modern supercar should have build quality commensurate with its price tag. In that regard, the Prima 1 just fell short, and that’s why it takes second place. But that doesn’t take anything away from the fact that the Bambino deserved to win this round as much as the Prima 1, if not more. Understated yet attractive, comfortable enough to serve as a daily driver, and more frugal than most other supercars and hypercars, yet fast, nimble and exciting enough to put the driver on the edge of his (or her) seat every time, Ventnor’s supercar is a true giant-killer. And so, after the most difficult car-buying experience in my whole life, I chose to buy a Ventnor Bambino.
Congratulations to @BobLoblaw, the winner of CSR Round 26!
Many thanks to all the users who submitted a car for this round. Special mentions go to @thecarlover, @strop, @AirJordan, and @Denta for creating true world-class hypercars. Now, I will wait to see what rule set @BobLoblaw comes up with for the next round, assuming he doesn’t pass on hosting duties. I have to admit, though, that this is the first round of CSR I have ever hosted, and it could be a long time until I host another round, so hopefully I will have improved my writing style by then.
9 Likes
Thanks for the round! Admittedly caused some heat, that’d might actually be down to the theme in hindsight. Many would like to pride themselves of building the most prestigious, prettiest and most performant super duper ultracar there is, while expectations actually differed. If the round was about econoboxes, it might’ve been a bit more casual
2 Likes
Wow, I took a gamble with the V6 and it paid off, I’ll have the next round criteria up shortly.
3 Likes
The Car Shopping Round 27: Municipal Decisions
Setting: The year 2000, in the city of Tatum Heights.
The Tatum Heights City Council has just approved a vehicle renewal millage with the goal of replacing several dated vehicles in their Police Department. At present the city is using a fleet of older Police Cruisers due to limited budget. Our newest Police cars are three 1991 Petoskey Gran Romeros which were picked up at a large discount since they were going out of production. Our goal is to replace as many vehicles as possible within our budget, but also to make sure that they are improved over our present fleet. Our vehicles currently consist of:
Two 1978 Petoskey Romeros
Five 1980 Petoskey Gran Romeros
Fifteen 1985 Petoskey Gran Romeros
Three 1991 Petoskey Gran Romeros (Identical to the 1985 model year only these are in better condition since they’re newer)
The Millage has granted us an operational budget of $250,000 to use towards acquisition of new Police vehicles. This means you will be balancing quality vs. quantity as our goal is to replace as many cars as we can, however also to make sure we have decent cars to use. We will be testing the cars close maneuverability as well as durability and ability to hold up in a pursuit. As mentioned above, the City of Tatum Heights has had to deal with very restrictive budgets and despite this millage, that is still the case today. Therefore not only are we looking for good cars, but ones that have relatively low service costs as well.
Here is a rough breakdown of what I am looking for:
Must have at least 4 doors.
Driveability is a factor as the cars should be forgiving when driven hard.
Sportiness is not on the top of my list, so long as the car is capable in a pursuit scenario.
Comfort is also on the lower end of priority within reason, we don’t need luxury cars, but on the other hand our boys in blue do work long shifts and would appreciate something that is at least decent.
Practicality and Utility are also factors to consider as the cars will need to carry hardware at times (barricades, speed cameras and such)
Reliability is a major priority for both engine and the car in general. With most of our fleet being considerably old, breakdowns are more common than we care to have. The more reliable, the better.
Safety is also a high priority in case our officers are involved in a dangerous pursuit.
Fuel economy also sits high on the list as fuel costs for municipal fleets is a considerable expense.
Environmental Resistance is something to be considered as we may end up hanging on to these new cars for a while.
Individual vehicle prices will be based on 10% markup.
I will leave the rest to your judgement, just bear in mind that Tatum Heights (A fictional community, unless there’s one that actually exists somewhere) is a suburban community with access to the freeway. Think about what would be involved in maintaining a fleet of vehicles and base your designs off that.
For reference I have included the Gen II Gran Romero Interceptor (1985-1991)
El Rushbo - Gran Romero.zip (109.0 KB)
Deadline is Saturday, December 3rd.
Entries must be named as follows:
Car model: CSR27 - username
Car trim: any
Engine family: CSR27 - username
Engine variant: any
Good luck to everyone.
18 Likes
Sweet! Couple of questions right away:
is 4 doors a minimum? I mean, are we allowed wagons/SUVs/vans if we think they’ll be good?
As far as comfort, would there be any room for a stereo within that or should that be avoided in place of police equipment? Or would you count the stereo as the quality of the police computer/radio (or something of the type)?
Edit: Also, does the trim/variant have to be in 2000, or can we make something older to save money (but get a stats penalty from the older tech).
5 Likes
so we need a police fleet lovely
/watch?v=PNjG22Gbo6U
when you just wake up then read the result and hoping the tag/mention was the announcement to me as winner but turned out someone stole my position in very last minute… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THE REGRET
well play on emtion on feeling rollercoaster there and conggratz to bobloblaw
2 Likes
By any chance would you be able to give us some more info on “Tatum Heights”? Is it more like an American place (V6s and V8s) or a European one (I4s and maybe I6s)? The more details the better 
Tatum Heights would be an American suburb. I’m not going to rule out whether you choose to use I4s or I6s, that’s entirely your call to make. I’m willing to overlook conventional wisdom if something fits the bill.
4 doors would be a minimum, if you want more, throw in more.
Wagons/SUVs/vans are acceptable if you think you can make one good.
Trim/variant does not have to be 2000, it could be older. I wouldn’t go too crazy however, anything before 1995 would probably be overlooked.
Stereo is your call to make, police equipment would be installed afterwards so the choice of stereo has no effect on that. (ultimately anything above a stripped out box would suffice)
5 Likes
What about fuel types? And are emissions a concern as well?
No restrictions per-se, just think about operating costs when you consider fuel type. I think 500 and below should be acceptable for emissions, I think most of my late 90s cars fall way below that anyway.
I was gonna enter an edited version of a minivan I did months ago then I realized Direct Injection is unlocked in 2001. D’oh!
Congrats on a well deserved win mate. @abg7 good reviews it seams you have learnt something.
Bob are you looking for multiple trims or a all in one vehicle? And can we assume u will fit lights/sirens and radios to our vehicles or should we include them in our build
4 Likes
I see now, in the end the winner did suit the given criteria the best without further explanation required. That much I’m glad to see! Good job @BobLoblaw, this one’s a nice change of pace.
3 Likes
Also, how many seats should we aim for?
Storm Automotive is no stranger to contract vehicles.
In 1998, we built cargo SUV’s for the Postal Service.
It just makes sense, then, that in 2000, we could give it another try for the Tatum Heights Police Department.
Now, we believe the traditional problem with the average patrol car is that we come from an age where RWD is so uncommon that you spend weeks or months, sometimes years, training officers to handle a high-power rear-wheel-drive car. That time is better spent elsewhere, behind the wheel and taking care of the city.
So, we set out to create the Storm Interceptor. A beautiful compromise between brute force and elegance. This is not a car we will release to the public, but it uses technology we’ve worked on for more than a decade.
Unibody construction, done with AHS steel for safety and durability when using the car to stop a pursuit. Steel panels for easy and inexpensive repairs. Double-Wishbones on all four corners for exceptional handling.
The Interceptor rides on 16 inch steel rims wrapped in medium compound tires, a compromise between long life and road handling. Your finance department can determine whether they continue with our choice of tires, but you should have no trouble finding suitable replacements.
Power is provided through our Pursuit Special engine, a 6 liter V8, DOHC, capable of providing 400+ horsepower while using regular unleaded gasoline. This engine is mated to a 5 speed PowerShift Automatic transmission, with SymTrak+PD full-time AWD backing you up, and geared limited-slip differentials putting that power to the ground.
What makes SymTrak+PD different than our regular SymTrak units? Uncompromising reliability. Failure is not an option, so we’ve made sure our SymTrak units are capable of handling five-times more torque and power than what they’ve been put into. An aggressive testing profile was used to guarantee that under no circumstances will one of your patrol cars suffer a SymTrak failure. The gear-driven unit has gears that are twice as wide as those used in any other car we’ve made, including the retro-fitting kits for the Envy and the Jackal. You will not break one of these units without serious abuse. But that’s covered under our warranty, that in the event that the car suffers damage to the SymTrak unit, for the lifespan of the car, send it in and the unit and any affected components will be replaced, free of charge.
We understand that these Interceptors are more expensive than your old Petoskey Gran Romero patrol cars, but, we believe the benefits outweigh the costs.
As a major car company that has produced many fast cars, we understand the importance of playing both sides of the arms race. Keep in mind that a Storm Gunslinger in GTX Turbo trim has a maximum speed of 155.3 miles per hour. The Storm Interceptor is capable of 166.0, enabling your officers to catch speeding hooligans in fast cars.
We made sure the trunk space is big enough to handle anything you could need to have, from spike-strips to barricades, speed cameras to shotguns, and anything else you may find yourselves needing in your patrol car.
On the interior of your car, we’ve already installed the rear cage and lined the front two seats with stab-proof and bullet resistant materials, making injury on the job much less likely to happen. The rear windows are not just protected by the steel bars, but also a fine layer of steel wire in the window glass itself. Breaking one of these windows out is going to be just about impossible. The rear doors have no internal controls for rolling down the windows or even opening the doors, so even in the event of a criminal slipping the handcuffs, there is no way to escape until they’re let out. Security first, after all.
The front seats where your officers will be sitting are designed to be comfortable, but also designed to handle all sorts of abuse. The fabric is tear resistant so that guns, handcuffs, tazers, and other materials don’t rip up the seats. There’s two cupholders designed for holding the average travel mug of coffee, a decent radio in the dash with more than enough space for your police radio, and a recessed center section of the dashboard suitable for stake-out snacks.
The rear seat is a hard composite bench designed to resist wear and tear while remaining waterproof, allowing the back of the car to just be hosed out in the event of accidents (or intentional fouling) in the back of the patrol car. It was specifically designed to be uncomfortable, transferring every bump directly into the perpetrator’s bottom. It’s also designed to be incredibly durable, reducing the odds that someone manages to break the bench and cause a lot of damage.
We hope you’ll consider the Storm Interceptor for your fleet. Quality above Quantity, after all, makes a lot of sense.
5 Likes
Another question which I don’t think has been answered: are we building a regular civilian car that will LATER be turned into a police car or are we specifically building a police VERSION of a car?
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police spec cars