AEC no. 5 is alive!!!
The year is 1997, December 1997, and the new Chancellor of Neoterica is about to unveil his crowning achievement, his gift to a weary nation turning their back on the past and looking to the future… His gift is the subject of this competition; Neoterica has founded it’s own car industry!
Simple history:
1995 - The Reactionary Motors trojan works far better than expected, although not with the Generals themselves. Their wives, desiring peace and the safety of their children, force their husbands to make peace with the rebels; this will become known as “The Cottontail Revolution” in the history books.
1996 - The nation of Neoterica is formed, elections are held and surprisingly are fair, which results in a slim progressive majority. Reforms are undertaken to reform the millitary, public service and social services. This results in an increase in equality, political stability as well as economic growth.
The aircraft industry is repurposed to building fast rail projects and safer STOL aircraft, in order to better connect the populace. New roads are being built, wilderness is being earmarked for conservation and quality standards are being introduced.
1997 - Neoterica celebrates it’s first full year of peace, prosperity and personal freedoms. Past hurts are healed by repatriating and compensating victims, on both sides, while the perpetrators are held to account by either exile or permanent house arrest. Leaders eye new avenues of nation building as new state owned factories are built in preparation for a big reveal in December…
The Challenge
Your part in this exciting chapter of Neoterica’s history is to develop the new line-up of the new national car company. You’ll be providing a total of three models, all of which shall be powered by the same engine family. External design is optional and you can suggest a company name if you wish.
The designs:
Small Sedan/Hatch: This will replace the Decarlis EC30, Decarlis being absorbed into this new entity, this car needs to be practical, comfortable and easy to drive…
Offroad Cargo-van: This will be replacing the FM Trailway, Darvin Windjammer and the Reactionary Motors Service.
Sports Car: This type of vehicle has no precedent in Neoterica’s history. A good sports car is seen as a sign of civility and non-aggression by the politicians, as well as aiding a possible export program. Outright speed here is less important than handling prowess and coolness factor!
The Limitations
Engine
- Single engine family for the entire range. Target of 40PU and 100EU.
- Cast Iron (No penalty) or Aluminium (-2 quality slider on bottom and top end).
- Engine will be Mechanical Injection only, Turbocharger is required.
- You have a choice of two turbochargers (Compression/Turbine); 40/47 and 53/59
- Two widths of exhaust tubing available; 2.5" and 3"
- Catalytic converter required.
- Fuel setting of 100RON and air/fuel ratio set to 15:1
Rationale: Aluminium suppliers are inexperienced, turbo supplier has limited range, steel foundry has large stocks of 2.5" and 3" tubing, Neoterica makes it’s own 100% ethanol fuel.
Universal
- Bodies from 1990 - 2000, Trim (and engine) set to 2000.
- No speed limiters, ABS, traction control etc.
- Advanced 00’s safety (no neg. sliders)
- Standardised tyre sizes: base of 165/75-R13 or 205/65-R15. (This will set your overall tyre size, you are free to then adjust widths and rim diameters as desired)
- Standardised tyre compounds: Medium for road cars and chunky offroad for the 4WD’s
Rationale: Computers are still despised, tyre suppliers have limited capacity and tyre imports are not being considered!
Family Car
- Target of 80PU and 80EU
- Wheelbase of 2.3M to 2.6M
- Min of 5 seats
Rationale: Think Corolla, Astra, Neon etc. People aren’t rich and families are small
Offroad Cargo Van
- Target of 80PU and 80EU
- Wheelbase of 2.3M to 2.9M
- 4x4 or AWD, manual locker, basic drum brakes front and rear
- Basic Interior, No entertainment, offroad skidtray
Rationale: Primarily for the millitary, but civillian sales will definitely happen, although mainly to small businesses.
Sports Car
- Target of 100PU and 100EU
- Same interior choices as Family car (except no. of seats)
- Same supension choices as Family car (both ends if FF or FR, rear end only if MR or RR)
Rationale: Sharing is caring, or in this case, sharing is saving!
Scoring
An overall numerical value will be derived from a variety of sources. The highest score will be the winner, however, any vehicle which displays odd characteristics (such as poor fuel consumption) will be sent back for revision (if there's time). If it isn't rectified then the entire entry list will be disqualified.I will “show my workings” when I do the final rankings but this is the basic setup I’ll be using.
1 - The initial score will be the highest relevant category the entry scores in Dalluha. This will be the competitiveness rating of that category. For the family car, sporty categories will incur a 10% penalty and the budget categories will gain a bonus of 5%. This will be reversed for the sports car and the Van will get the highest offroad category added to the highest delivery category then divided by two.
2 - The PU’s and EU’s will be measured against the target figure, for both engine and trim, with the amount over the target being removed from the initial score at a 1:1 ratio. The amount below the target score will add to your score at a 0.5:1 ratio.
3 - This process is repeated for each of the designs, with the grand total of the three models being the method to determine the winner.
In the event of a tied result, I’ll use real world metrics such as fuel efficiency, reliability and the relevant purpose related metrics of each entry to determine a winner.
Timeframe for Entries
I will allow a couple of days for serious objections or suggestions. Then, on Thursday the 30th of July (AEST), I will officially open the books for entries.
The competition will close on Monday the 10th of August. I will officially post a closure message Tuesday the 11th, probably in the morning, so you have until then to enter!
Naming convention
- Model - AEC4 – [Username]
- Trim – Model and Trim name
- Family – AEC4 – [Username]
- Variant – Whatever you want
Best of luck with your designs and don’t forget to have fun!
