1974 Letara Auto Convention (FINAL RESULTS)

1974 Walkenhorst-Manthey 650X-G5 Turbo Concept


Presented to the LAC in 1974, the 650X concept was the first official presentation by Walkenhorst’s official Motorsport arm, Manthey Racing. This formation was spurred by the increase want for sport performance models, and the want for Walkenhorst to go racing officially.

The 650X concept goes all in on the idea of Turbocharging. Taking a 3L Inline six, adding a turbocharger, allowing it to make 650hp to the rear wheels through a 5 speed gearbox. The concept presents an idea for how Walkenhorst and Manthey could present themselves in motorsport competitions going forwards.

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I still think that none production should have an unlimited price

is anyone even going to read this? I guess I'll just put a spaceship here (_)(_)=====D~~

Planar History Files: Planar’s 1974 Letaran Auto Convention stand.


For the 1974 Letaran Auto Convention, Planar brought two cars, the cheap and sensible PG15 Genoace, and the out-of-this-world Ghiraga III concept.


PG15 Planar Genoace

The first car unveiled was the new revision of the Genoace, Planar’s small and cheap car that was never officially sold in Letara. The PG15 brought to the '74 LAC was nothing more than a styling update of the car, but they still showed off their sporty 2000 model to gauge interest for cheaper Planars in Letara.

OOC: Just imagine the B pillars on the Genoace are black I only just noticed that they were the wrong colour before posting WHOOPS.


Planar Ghiraga III concept

The Ghiraga III was a wild concept intended to show what the future model of their Ghiraga GT would look like. But of course, being the 70’s it was a wild wedge concept with even wilder ideas.

Externally, it was already what you’d expect from a crazy wedge concept. Thin lights up front flanking air intakes that housed hidden pop-out headlights, all part of a plastic integrated bumper, BIG side exit exhausts, a large lightbar up the back, and futuristic wheels.

Internally, however, was something else entirely. According to Planar it was driven by two gas turbines, showing the cleaner future for the company through high-tech engines. In reality it had two dummy turbines in front they could point to, but it was just a fancy fibreglass shell wrapped around a chopped up supercar chassis, complete with a mid-mounted V12 for when it needed to be moved.

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1974 Wolfe Urbania Concept

Wolfe is proud to present at the 1974 LAC the new, truly personal luxury car - the Urbania.

This concept car idea came to Wolfe engineers after the unprecedented floods of '69. How about a small car that can do it all? Semi-amphibious, it can wade through low bodies of water, it can handle some rougher terrain and it is small a nimble. And fast.

Performance is not to be glossed over - With 200hp, this tiny car can accelerate to 100km/h in about 4 seconds! It can even reach 200 km/h when you are late to an important meeting.

The interior is 100% Wolfe - handmade, plush and state of the art amenities. It can even seat two comfortably, and the folding passenger seat can make way to enough luggage space for a weekend getaway.

The Urbania - it can take you anywhere!

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If the Genoace is meant for the common man, and designed and engineered accordingly, then the Ghiraga is the answer to the question “What would Planar’s flagship supercar - a halo car for the whole company - look like?” I’m sure the gas turbine would be unworkable, but the V12 won’t be - and a production version of the Ghiraga deserves nothing less.

1974 Mara Kavaler 4.0 SKE

Note: this is a continuation / interlude of the Mara story from the regular LHC thread between eras 3 and 4. Follow this link to the last post of era 3 in the LHC thread If you want to catch up on names, lore etc. (you can work your way up through the posts).

14 March 1974
Great Exhibition Hall, Lerance, Letara

On the morning before the beginning of the first day of the 1974 Letaran car show, Rodyn Gumprov, recently appointed as Mara’s Comrade Vice-Director of Engineering, reflects on the past couple of years as he slowly walks towards the Mara stand located in a corner of a side room of the exhibition hall.

He spots Inna Horyova, the Comrade Director of Letaran Operations, who is already there and oversees some last minute adjustments to the display of the facelift-preview Irenas (which includes the very first Letara-only special trim).

The Mara exhibition area - the Kavaler in yellow

Long lore dump and more pictures inside

The initial event that set a large number of other changes in motion at Mara was the unexpected passing of Henri Nordhov, Mara’s Comrade Executive Director, in late 1969. The-then long-term Comrade Director of Engineering, Fedor Piechov, was appointed as the new Executive Comrade Director.

One of the first things in Fedor’s tenure was to make a new clean-sheet car design project the priority for everyone in car development at Mara which had started as his pet side-project outside of the planned car model categories. Thus, for the last few years, every Mara development engineer had been working towards designing a modern comfortable large premium sedan. In the end, the resulting car was named Kavaler, but the project itself was named Helios (and almost named Phaethon after Helios’ son).

Rodyn’s colleague Yenna Bielicka from the engine department was named Fedor’s successor as the new Comrade Director of Engineering on grounds of the success of her production and racing engine projects. Another factor were the needed skills, as there was no engine development project on the horizon.

Rodyn - who also had harboured hopes to be Fedor’s successor as CDE - was instead assigned to lead Fedor’s Helios project. The resulting Kavaler car was outside of any five year plan, but on excellence alone convinced Archanan state officials nonetheless to give special permission to put the car into (limited) production, with any state official getting first dibs, if they so desired.

The Kavaler’s top Komfort Exra trim received a slightly detuned 4 litre V8 engine from the Irena interceptor, making just over 130 hp. Instead, the focus in the Helios project lay on car engineering innovations: coil instead of leaf springs in the rear, an automatic gearbox, hydraulic power steering, vented disc brakes front, a more premium interior with electric windows and the recently invented 8-track in-car entertainment system, flaked paint for the exterior and last but not least soft radial tyres, along with the necessary suspension re-tuning for maximum comfort.

In recognition of his work on the Helios project Fedor had awarded Rodyn the - largely ceremonial - title of Comrade Vice-Director of Engineering as Rodyn’s daily more hands-on duties hadn’t really changed. Among these were overseeing the substantial Irena facelift after the conclusion of the Helios project. This assignment allowed Rodyn to carry over some of the innovations and lessons learned from the Helios project to the new Irena facelift where feasible.

As the Kavaler is currently in limited production for the domestic Archanan market (and state officials can jump to the top of the waiting list based on their rank), there are no plans, however, to sell the Kavaler to the public on the Letaran market in the near future. The display on the car show is more intended as a tech and innovation showcase, and to possibly attract visitors to the Mara stand in the first place.

To be continued in the LHC main thread

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1974 Wolfe Vampira Concept

Wolfe will also be unveiling the Vampira at this year’s convention.

Built on a completely novel and never done before wedge concept, this supercar wannabe is based on everything Wolfe learned in racing and promptly forgot.

This metallic cherry baby will cruise at insane speed and is nearly as fast accelerating as the Urbania! You’ll get a sporty but very luxurious interior with a sometimes working cassette player and advanced but untested safety features.

With pretty cool gull-wing doors, popups and aggressive styling, this is the car you’ll dream of having in your driveway but probably are happy you don’t because we had to implement a lot of cost cutting initiatives to even deliver this concept.

Maybe on the market in the near future? For sure the Vampira will bite down the competition at LAC!

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SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSING SOON

Submissions are closing in three days, so start sending your submissions. Reminder: it closes on Friday, Febuary 10, 2023, @ 23:59 GMT. I did not include this in the main post, but please PM your submissions to me. If you see your name in the list below, it means that you have posted an ad, but you have not PM’d your submission:

@crwpitman1
@karhgath
@AndiD

Please do this before the deadline, I’d prefer not to bin any cars.

Oops - I will send mine tonight!

Knightwick small car for the next decade



Still in the early prototyping stage this is is the preview of what we are working on for our brand new ground up small city car to be launched in 1980.
Knightwick have always had a solid strategy with reliable premium small cars using well established construction techniques. For the future we see the need for a modern cutting edge approach to small cars, customers don’t need to see small as “cheap”



For this car we have engineered a new modern revision on our longstanding A series small engine, the cast ohv head has been replaced with an aluminium overhead cam head. The engine is available in the current 1275cc and 1098cc sizes. The 1098 offers the power of the 1275 ohv engine with improved fuel economy, lower emissions and lower weight over the front wheels. As with every Knightwick engine it can run on clean E10 fuel widely available in Letara.


The front end has a low cd “aero” design to it, the bonnet is shaped to flow air as easily as possible, with the inset headlights aiding this and also giving the benefit of keeping the glass out of the way of any errant stone on the road. With careful design we have been able to design the front end to be as clean as possible but also allow enough air to flow through onto the radiator to keep the engine cooled adequately.


The rear is a modern and fresh “hatchback” design. We have designed the boot opening as high as is possible while keeping the access still very comfortable meaning the rear section is a solid piece giving more strength to the rear of the car in case of a rearward collision. The tail lights have also been designed as separate housings so in the event of damage only one light needs replacing instead of the whole unit at high cost to the end user.

On the subject of safety we have engineered the car to have impact absorbing bumpers front and rear, these will stop impacts up to 5km/h from impacting the body of the car. Reflective side markers are also fitted, at the rear these are red and light up with the tail lights. The ones towards the front will reflect light as orange and also have the dual benefit of becoming extra indicators offering better visibility to pedestrians and other road users.
The complex indented side design gives higher structural rigidity to the car and also breaks up the side of the car giving and interesting design point.


We have also paid great interest in how the interior is designed. All instruments are housed in a central “pod”, this make left and right hand drive vehicles much easier and quicker to produce. Another benefit is now how open the view is for the driver, with no large instrument binnacle breaking up the forward view out onto the road. A large easy to read speedometer is flanked by temperature and fuel gauges, with controls for lights and heater mounted below.
You may notice there is no central gear control, this is because the gearbox is a four speed automatic 'box to make city driving as easy as possible. The controls are mounted on the right hand side of the column giving a much more open cabin with the only floor device being the parking brake.


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Mons 356-Esque Experimental



Letarans are no strangers to the Mons 356-Esque cars. First it ran to several podiums in the early years of the Portunis Cannonball Run. Then, racing in the road-legal class, it managed to snag a second place in the inaugural year of racing at the Lerance Raceway. In the second era of racing at the Raceway, Mons rebuilt the 356-Esque into a true race car and entered the R1 class. Here, the car became victorious three times and ran to several more podium finishes. With such an illustrious racing pedigree, it is only natural that Mons will use the 356-Esque as its flagship race car to showcase all the latest technologies the company has to offer. Here we present the Mons 356-Esque Experimental.

The showcase car features all the latest technology by Mons that delivers exceptional power to this small and nimble car. The powerplant is a 6.5 l V8 with two overhead cams on each bank, and four valves per cylinder. A perfect fuel and air mixture is delivered to the cylinders through a multi-point electronic injection system. With a high compression-ratio, the engine puts out no less than 610 Hp.

The car features new and upgraded aerodynamics that push the car to the ground with tremendous force, allowing the car to pull 1.47 Gs in fast cornering. Traction is maintained with extra-wide semi-slick tires.


Looking at the exterior of the car, the new pearlescent ‘candy-apple’ paint draws the eye. The front fascia remains largely true to the original car, although lighting has been updated to modern standards and the oversized fenders have been removed. The mirrors have been made more aerodynamic, and there is a extra brake cooling ducts with stylish exhaust vents. On the rear of the car the lighting has been completely redesigned, and a third brake light has been added to the top of the rear window. With the bumpers removed, the exhausts have been re-routed through cutouts in the rear of the car, and exit in an aerodynamic middle position.

The interior retains much of its original character, but it also has significant racing-oriented upgrades. The seats have been re-designed from the ground up with new biomechanical research in mind, providing a secure and sturdy seating position. The steering wheel has also been re-designed and is now integrated into a quick-remove system that allows quick egress in an emergency.

Last, but not least, this is a race car at heart. Here are some performance figures:

  • Top speed: 300 km/h (electronically limited)
  • 0-100 km/h: 3.7 seconds
  • 1/4 mile time: 10.98 seconds
  • Slow speed cornering: 1.24 g
  • High speed cornering: 1.47 g
  • 100-0 km/h braking distance: 31.1 m
  • Wet weight: 1065 kg
  • Weight distribution: 53.2 F / 46.8 R
  • Fuel consumption: 13.5 l/100 km
  • Max power: 610.3 hp @6500 RPM
  • Max torque: 694.3 Nm @6000 RPM

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Nice mashup of the best from the Metro, Panda and Chevette.

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Untitled (1)

Pushing the limits of design

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Only 7L/100km

SAETA SEV
Catalytic converters, gas guzzler tax, speed limits... All of this measures were taken to protect both us and the planet we inhabit. While the intention is good, at SAETA we believe in a different approach for this problem.

Presenting to you the SAETA SEV (Sport Economy Vehicle). While the exterior is already striking enough, the real wonder is behind the bonnet. Our engineers have developed a 3 cylinder version of our twin cam engine, which has been paired with a turbocharger and state-of-the-art fuel injection. Not only it achieves a fuel consumption of 7L per 100km, it also uses renewable ethanol fuel.

While it´s performance won´t turn any heads, it´s amazing blend of style and comfort will probably lead a new way of new automotive design.


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1974 Wolfram WLF-6

The WLF-6 (WLF standing for Wolfram Lightweight Future) is our vision for a sports car of the near future. At Wolfram, we believe that it’s not the size or output of the engine that matters most, but what you do with it. To this end, the WLF-6 is built on a galvanized steel chassis with aluminum panels, reducing its weight to just over 1.1 metric tons. Its long hood conceals a 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve straight six with multi-point EFI and a 3-way catalytic converter, delivering 280 horsepower to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox and a geared LSD. The result is a top speed of 155 mph and a 0-60 mph time of just over 5 seconds - definitely ahead of our time.

Suspension is via double wishbones all around, tuned for a highly responsive handling feel. 16-inch alloy wheels shod in high-performance radial tires surround vented disc brakes at each corner for maximum grip and braking. The interior is trimmed in the finest materials - genuine leather, wood and metal trim abound - and a cassette tape player comes as standard. Advanced safety systems help protect the occupants in the event of an accident.

We expect the advanced technology on the WLF-6 to be offered on our cars, either as standard or as an option, within 5-10 years.

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SUBMISSIONS CLOSE TOMMOROW

Submissions are closing TOMMOROW, so get those final touches and submit your car. Last reminder: it closes on Friday, Febuary 10, 2023, @ 23:59 GMT. As of right now, everyone who has posted an ad has submitted their cars to me.

VAUGHN CORPORATION PRESENTS:
VAUGHN FIREBOLT AND WRAITH NEAPOLITAN

Nope, no concept cars this year. Instead, we show two models that are more or less ready for production. In the regular class, the Vaughn Firebolt (left). In the luxury class, the Wraith Neapolitan (right).

VAUGHN FIREBOLT



The highly appreciated subcompact has gotten so many revisions that we think that it is by all means a totally new car. The coupé model (shown) has for example gotten a fastback styling with a rear hatch - sportier, yet more practical. The styling is updated to reflect the latest trends. Even though the tried and true technology of the old Firebolt remains, everything you see is new and improved, wherever you look.


WRAITH NEAPOLITAN



Once upon a time, you had to choose. The luxury of a Wraith, or nimble dimensions. With the all new Neapolitan, Wraith has for the first time ever made a car in this class. Somewhat smaller, yet it has everything to offer that our big Wraiths has. The legendary Wraith V8, automatic transmission, a luxurious leather interior with everything power assisted. The Neapolitan will by no means replace the larger models like the Sunnyvale or Chillingham, but rather complement them.



i

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Two very different visions of the future
Unlimited Tech Works
Very Credible

Swanson 955 pi
Future Aspiration Racing Turbo

LetarAuto interview with Mary Swanson and Peder Aas, former and reigning R2 champions, now convention booth operators

First, what’s with the “pi”? Private Investigator?

  • It refers both to the recorded top speed of 314 km/h, and the numerical constant.
    What’s that all about?
  • We don’t know, seems like an engineer inside joke.
  • It drives fast in circles.
    It certainly looks different from the old 200 beside it, what’s under the hood?
  • It’s actually using the same all-aluminum engine block, and the body is aluminium. That’s where the similarities end. The engineers back in Windsor really went all in with everything else. I would go as far as to call it a warning.
    A warning? To your competitors?
  • You could say that. I’m sure some of them are working on something similar. But I meant in more of a general sense. We have driven it, this thing is so fast, it has no place on public roads.
    An interesting statement, given your reputations for-.
  • It broke our rolling road. According to the engineers, this means the real power level is at least 640hp. Which is more than any other piston engine we have made since the war.
    How did you do that?
  • We put the R2 engine in the front, and an unrestricted engine in the back. Boom.
    Oh. Wait, what?
  • He was joking. It’s a matter of cutting edge technology, and pure ethanol.
    As in a turbocharger?
  • Yes, courtesy of SNAIL technologies. Also, fuel injection by Magneto-Morell’s. Both are industry leaders we have made partnerships with for development of future engines.
    Interesting. When will we see all this in showrooms?
  • When we are sure they offer a reliable real-world advantage at a reasonable cost. Until then, we will stick to tried and tested solutions.
    Both these cars on display look ready for production, and apparently even drivable. Will they be available for purchase soon?
  • They are a sign of things to come, yes.
    I have to ask; can I get a test drive? Please?
  • For the new 100, yes of course. This particular 900, no. Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s too much car for you. Myself, I won’t drive it again either.
    That sounds rather ominous. Does it remind you of the prototype your crashed in '64?
  • Not really related, no. I just like to enjoy driving nowadays, in a normal Swanson. Peder likes it more,eh?
  • Yes, it is very good for trackuse. The big wing keeps it settled in high speed. Fastest car I have driven ever.
    At last a Swanson sports car that is actually faster than the hatchbacks, unlike the 700?
  • Sure. Good things come to those who wait. But let’s talk about the 100.
    Oh yes, the 50 hp hatchback you trust experienced journalists with.
  • As an experienced journalist you are surely aware of the worldwide fuel crisis.This cutie is our solution. It runs on ethanol, and drinks less than 4 liters per 100 km.
    Whoa, that’s less than I drink.
  • At the same time it has the same qualities as every Swanson; reliable, easy and engaging to drive, reasonably comfortable.
    The final product? It looks vaguely similar to the current model, but more cubist?
  • It’s a complete overhaul, with a look fit for the future. What you see is very close to production. And performance ain’t too shabby for 50 hp, it’s almost as quick as 112S we use for our sunday school.
    Sounds like it might interest our readers after all.

Swanson 112 GE
The other kind of “less than 4 liters” car

Random shots



110% believable stats

Bilde_2023-02-10_010815556

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The all new 1974 Primus V6 engine - available in the Astrona and the RT320

Our inline 6 has done good service, powering our midsize Astrona as true sports sedan. The second generation now recieved it’s facelift, featuring the new engine in the top 2400 trim.
Besides a more modern styling, the new engine is lighter and thriftier - and due to it’s more compact shape, easier to service. In times of expensive fuel and emission rules, we now threw out the carburetor in favor of an injection system, exclusive to the 2400.

If you can live without four doors and five seats, the RT320 - an all-new model - uses the 3.2 liter version. The wedgy shape is as modern as it’s features, like the “Check-Mate” (yes, pun intended), an electronic device that allows the driver the surveillance of all parameters, like G-forces, oil temperature and pressure and lap times. No, it’s not a supercar, but among the true sports cars, it offers reasonnable performance for an attractive price.

PRIMUS - The First Choice


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NEW ERA OF LIBERTY
Distributed by Liberty Corp.

Liberty Corp. 1974
Building 420, 69th Avenue
Philidelphia, PA, USA
+1-215-xxx-xxxx

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SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED

NO MORE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPED. Bins will be posted later.

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