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We’re very sorry for how late this is.
REVIEWS _ PART I
The next day, Arthur and Brendon are back at the studio to judge more cars. After the issue with the CometBar however, they decide to look at data and stats before they try cars out with the simrig. The first car of the day is from FMC.
FMC Prototype XR _
All seems well with the file, so the devs move on to some stats and information that were sent by the manufacturer.
B: ”Woah! This thing has almost a thousand horsepower. And it’s so fast even with its weight; 2.7 seconds to 60 miles per hour. No wonder though it has a big V8 and the fuel consumption is pretty bad.”
A: “I don’t know, something’s fishy about this one. Why are only the bonnet and tailgate carbon fiber?”
B: “I hope that’s just a typo. Although judging from what they say about this chassis, it does sound a lot like it’s gonna be a regular small pickup truck… With too much power.”
A: “Well let’s just check how it looks in game. See if it puts the 960 horsepower to use.”
A and B: “Oh.”
As they take a look around it, the confusion about the car only grows. They look back and forth between the screen and the brochure to confirm, but it is indeed the same car. A SUV.
It already doesn’t seem to be what they’re looking for, so when they switch to the first person camera angle, they’re only more disappointed. The interior is fully padded, has premium, branded speakers and an outdated touchscreen.
A: “Well it does look ready to go offroad but… casually. With all this equipment and whatnot. And with this chassis I don’t think it could handle more than that.”
B: “It certainly doesn’t look very purpose built. And I don’t particularly like the design anyways. I really don’t get it, is this some sort of leisure offroader?”
A: “It all seems almost amateur to be honest. Although even your average offroad enjoyer would just remove any mufflers. Just start it up, see how it drives.”
The devs are already frustrated, so when the car’s electronic stability systems don’t seem to cope with the enormous amount of power from its V8 and they have to restart the testing course over and over, they just give up.
A: “I don’t think this is the one”
|The car ends up looking more like a modified production SUV than a rally raid car. Too much attention is put on making it rugged, with the rock sliders, mesh over the rear window (which would most likely be plastic or completely removed anyways), etc, rather than on the actual design. The haphazard use of premade fixtures doesn’t really cut it to make something very modern like what was requested. The design overall isn’t desirable.
The engineering is also questionable, with a light-truck monocoque chassis and partial carbon fiber panels, where a space frame and full carbon fiber body would be more appropriate.
Too much power, massive wheels, a short wheelbase and the ESC cutting off power at random make it way harder to drive. All stats but Offroad are comparatively low.|
For these reasons, the FMC is out.
Subarashi HRC CONCEPT _
The next car is a mid-engined lightweight from Subarashi.
B: “This one seems more reasonable, with just 500 horsepower. It’s much more efficient than the FMC but with only half the power - not that it’s a disadvantage at all though, as its featherweight 928 kilo figure allows a respectable 2.9 second sprint to 60 miles per hour.”
A: “It might be a good contender, it costs under half the budget but still packs decent equipment. However, the old-school manual transmission is a bit odd, and so is the lack of any offroad protection for the undertray. Let’s see how it looks in-game.”
B: “Ooh, this is quite interesting. It looks retrofuturistic, reminding me of the Group S prototypes from the 80s. The livery is suitably rad too. However, if you cover up everything but the greenhouse, it kinda loses the futuristic part.”
A: “True… but the design as a whole does work very well so I’m not too concerned. I was a bit worried about how people would approach retrofuturistic designs when we first put out the brief, but I think the designers at Subarashi pulled it off quite well here. The front and rear lightbars look futuristic and cool while still fitting the aesthetic, and this model includes some nice detail as well.”
B: “Alright, enough talking - I wanna take this for a spin. Judging by the performance stats and the lightness, this thing should be fun!”
The twin-turbo V6 fires up and Brendon puts the pedal to the metal. Despite the team’s earlier expectations, the HRC CONCEPT struggles for grip, tires frantically spinning as he works his way through the gears on the six-speed manual.
B: “No way that was 2.7 seconds… that was a terrible launch!”
It still doesn’t settle down much, requiring a good amount of concentration to keep the rear end in check as it slides through the turns. As Brendon approaches the 9400 RPM redline, a faint knocking sound can be heard.
B: “What… is the engine knocking or is the undertray getting damaged already?”
A: “Undertray seems fine, despite the lack of protection it’s holding up alright. I think the engine really is knocking.”
B: “What a shame. Despite its good looks, I can’t say driving it is the same.”
|There is a remarkable effort made to transform this body into something that looks capable and more modern. The overall design is nice with some nice features, like the arches, the livery and other details.
However, some other aspects are less ideal like the greenhouse that was left untouched from the original body and ends up looking pretty outdated. This does make us wonder if the retro look -although appreciated- was on purpose. Other than that, the design is coherent, but not the most impressive.
Engineering-wise, it has its fair share of issues, most notably the knocking of the engine, which is pretty unforgivable with such a budget. The choice of a manual transmission is also questionable and the severe wheelspin and brake fade do not help. The stats are average to low, except fuel economy which is the best in the group but doesn’t quite make up for the rest.|
For these reasons, the Subarashi is out.
ATX-Red Mule RaidRunnr _
Next up is a prototype from ATX-Red.
A: “Oof, this one has even less power than the last one. There’s a sweet spot of power, and I think 365 horsepower just might not be cutting it at all. The weight figures aren’t awful, but it’s still heavier than the Subarashi and I don’t think that’ll help.”
B: “Yeah… the quoted 0-60 time is almost a full second slower and the skinny 215 profile tires don’t inspire confidence with the handling capabilities either."
A: “Well, as we learned with the Subarashi, we shouldn’t judge a car by its stats alone, so why don’t we get this in-game and have a look? Perhaps it’s not so bad after all.”
B: “Oh.”
A: “Oh dear.”
B: “The livery is decent, I guess. That’s the best thing I can say about it. The tiny wheels throw off the proportions, the fitment looks like a normal car for some reason, and the various design elements look quite out of place like the center exhaust. It just doesn’t work.”
A: “I can sorta see what they were trying to go for though. The triangle motif in the front grille looks okay, but using it on the rear lights looks very awkward. It’d be better if they kept the LED light strips for that.”
B: “Well I might not enjoy looking at it, but I wanna see if I’ll enjoy driving it.”
Off the line, the RaidRunnr has a much better time finding grip than the previous car, but due to its underpowered engine and skinny tires, it’s not enough for a quick launch. As expected, the skinny tires also mean poor handling through the corners, and brake fade doesn’t help things either. However, it performs decently over the jumps despite its low appearance.
B: “That was tragic.”
|There is a clear attempt at a more futuristic design, however it stays timid and a supposed lack of practice in this style unfortunately ends up showing. The car has a pretty good base (the undertray notably) but the design itself lacks a lot of interest and the car isn’t very detailed, like the livery. Although we’re somewhat divided concerning the size of the wheels, they are undeniably narrow which doesn’t help handling.
Another engineering issue is the engine, a naturally aspirated inline-6 that doesn’t make much power where a turbocharged inline-4 of a smaller capacity could easily make more power and would be more modern, possibly lighter and overall more interesting. Stats are pretty low, especially sportiness which is the worst among all cars. The car ends up using a fraction of the allowed budget which makes for a pretty underperforming car.|
For these reasons, the ATX-Red is out.
ProRace 1051 Raider _
A: “Hmm, this one’s kinda weird.”
B: “Why? It’s got a competitive power figure, and sure, it’s 100kg heavier than the ATX, but I think it’s still a decent weight number. 0-60 time is on par with the Subarashi too.”
A: “Look at that power curve. It’s making peak power at redline, which is pretty questionable to say the least. Thankfully, I don’t see any other oddities, at least from the stats and figures here. Let’s check it out in-game, shall we?”
B: “Woah, look at this thing! It reminds me of a kids’ toy, not in a bad way of course. I could see this colourful machine being a little RC car, ripping up the “sand dunes” in a little sandbox.”
A: “Yeah, I see what you mean. The bright blue and pink livery is definitely striking, but it contributes to the stylish, unique look this thing has. It’s not too detailed on the outside, but it still ticks the ‘futuristic’ box quite well. I’m a fan.”
B: “The interior looks very sporty too, but interestingly they’ve chosen materials that you’d find in a high-end supercar. Wasn’t expecting premium suede and leather, but maybe their vision of future motorsports is more comfy. Sucks that I can’t experience it over this digital rally stage, though.”
The 1051 Raider’s 4 litre V8 comes to life and Brendon sets off. Although it’s equipped with AWD, ESC, and launch control, the Raider struggles with high wheelspin all the way to 60 miles per hour.
B: “This one’s not great either.”
Sensing that the ESC was perhaps a bit useless, Brendon decides to disable it for the remainder of the course. Unlike the ATX, the Raider’s decent fuel efficiency allows Brendon to properly flex its muscles without having to restart the run often to refuel. Although the wheelspin is still an issue, the active suspension works well to keep the car controlled through the corners, and it handles the jumps and rough terrain without issue.
A: “So, are you confident with this one?”
B: “Definitely. Wheelspin needs fixing but it goes on the shortlist.”
|The design completely matches the requested aesthetic, albeit it does look a little toy-ish, with the big wheels, small wheelbase and slight lack of detail. The taillights could be better and more modern, or simply sleeker without the useless indicators. However these issues are easily overlooked with the car’s overall very good looks and livery.
Some issues arise with the engineering choices, most notably with the engine. The very high strung V8 doesn’t make much power and hardly any torque. Peak power is also reached at the redline which is less than ideal. The choice of a sport interior with all its superfluous amenities is weird. Stats are average.
In the end the design still stands out.|
For these reasons, the ProRace stays in.
Mons Codename Smilodon _
The last entry to review for the day is the Mons Codename Smilodon.
A: “Dang, I thought the ATX was overweight for its power. This thing has similar power figures to the Subarashi and the ProRace but is much heavier than the both of them at 1600 kilos!”
B: “I guess that explains the relatively sluggish 3.2 second 0-60 time then. What even is a Smilodon anyways, is that related to the giant shark, Megalodon or whatever it’s called?”
A: “Apparently it’s a prehistoric tiger. Well, let’s see what this fat cat is like in-game.”
B: “Oh. Are you sure this is front-engined? Sure looks like a rear-engined coupe to me, at least from the rear.”
A: “Well, the cool side exit exhausts and the massive hood vents slightly give it away, but I see what you’re saying. I don’t think that 4.5 litre V8 might be getting enough cooling through the front fascia, and the grilles and vents around the rear end are much more typical of a rear-engined machine.”
B: “Oh, it’s definitely weird. The overall design fits the futuristic brief alright, especially with the sleek mirrors, but the spoiler seems to be pulled straight off an eighties Bergwerks. The livery is pretty disappointing too, with just a sprinkling of sponsor stickers around the car and not much else.”
A: “Why don’t you take a spin? I think this’ll be an interesting package.”
Like the ProRace before it, the Smilodon suffers from wheelspin off the line despite having AWD and ESC, but thankfully for Brendon it settles down once he hits 60 miles per hour in third gear. To his surprise, the handling is rather impressive, and it copes well with the abuse of the bumps, jumps, and whatever else Brendon throws at it on the course.
B: “Well, I wasn’t expecting that, that’s for sure. For just 8 thousand dollars over the ATX, it’s a much better deal with its superior handling and strangely luxurious interior like the ProRace. If they’d utilised more of the budget to bring the weight down, it would probably take the top spot in terms of handling, even over the Tristella from earlier.”
A: “It’s a shame the visuals don’t hold up like the engineering does. Out of all the cars so far, this ranks amongst the lowest in terms of looks. Others simply meet the standard a lot better.”
B: “Yeah, unfortunately.”
|The car is pretty sound engineering-wise, with good stats and minor issues like the sport interior and ESC. That said, the very conservative use of the budget leaves to be desired.
Other than that, the choice of a front engine layout is strange, inappropriate even on such a body and with the design of the car.
Said design unfortunately doesn’t do much in its case. The fascia is good and the aesthetic requested was seemingly integrated. The rear however, lacks a lot of finesse and the premade whaletail really ages the car. The ground clearance also seems unnecessarily high; the wheels end up being off centre in their arches which would have easily been fixed with the advanced fixture settings.|
For these reasons, the Mons is out.
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I really forget how god awful my engineering choices were on this car, I must’ve made the car on like 2 hours of sleep 'cause I can’t remember why I took such funny choices haha! Awh, was fun reading the write-up! Thank you!
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Ah yes, I knew the visuals would be the downfall of the Smilodon, but glad that the engineering was solid! Thanks for review 
Yeah I had no idea what to build. I guess I chose wrong. Drives ok in Beam on mild off-road, but my heavy Baja testing flipped the stupid thing over constantly. It rolled over like a beetle back on it’s wheels easily enough though. Anyway, mistakes were made, thanks.
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I agree with everything, but the name’s wrong 
It’s the ATX-Red Mule
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REVIEWS _ PART II
Three month into the reviewing process, Deez Studios get news that Cody and Dashawn, the two professional drivers, are out of the hospital and ready to get back on the dirt trails. After a lot of convincing from the PR team, the executives agree to fly everyone back to Chile for continuity sake with the material they had previously filmed.
Arthur, Brendon, Cody, Dashawn and the production crew arrive at 7:30 AM in the Chilean desert where a new, supposedly safer track has been prepared.
However, Dashawn doesn’t seem very reassured when he reaches the starting line.
Basedworks BLOODRUNNER _
D: “Guys, you promised me it would be safer this time around. What is this?”
A: “Don’t worry. Despite the open-top nature of the, uh… BLOODRUNNER, the Basedworks representative assured me it held up to their ‘rigorous’ safety standards.”
B: “Did the Basedworks rep also tell you why they chose to send in a Barbie Jeep on crack for our futuristic offroader competition?”
A: “Look, I know it doesn’t look like what we were expecting but this is no joke. They said “YOU WANTED PERFORMANCE, YOU’RE GETTING PERFORMANCE”, and gentlemen, I believe this is the most powerful car we have here. The V8 in there produces 1500 horsepower and 1700 newton-metres of torque.”
C: “Sheesh. Well, I’m glad I’m not driving this thing. Good luck Dashawn!”
Dashawn reluctantly clambers in and sets off. Even with its chunky 345 mm wide tires and all-wheel-drive, the Bloodrunner just cannot put all its mighty 1500 horsepower down effectively, resulting in the wheels desperately clawing for grip all the way to top gear. Before long, a very dusty Dashawn arrives back at the staging area to refuel for his next run.
A: “Back already?”
D: “This thing is a real gas guzzler. I guess that’s very on-brand for it though, isn’t it?”
B: “I’m pretty surprised by how well that thing handled. Didn’t think active suspension on a solid axle would work out, but I guess the traditional formula of a solid-axle, body-on-frame offroader never fails.”
A: “True, but traditional isn’t what we’re looking for here, now is it?”
On his second run, Dashawn gains the confidence to let it loose on the turns. The camera crew catches a spectacular shot as he comes by very sideways, almost staring into the cameras with huge clouds of dust kicking up behind the car.
B: “Now that is a great shot. It’s a shame the looks aren’t up to standard here though.”
A: “Mm. Strip away the livery and it’s honestly not much. The transparent doors are a cool touch, but the overall aesthetic just feels too toy-like. That giant wing looks hilarious, but I doubt it serves much purpose, and the LED strip lighting has almost no depth to it at all.”
After some more tomfoolery for the camera crew, Dashawn wraps up his time with the Basedworks machine.
C: “Hey, you survived! Honestly, from here it looked like you did a great job of wrangling that beast.”
D: “Yeah, once I got the severe wheelspin under control it wasn’t that bad. A little overeager around the turns but it handled them pretty well, and obviously a machine like this held up to the abuse of the jumps and bumps very well.”
A: “Well, I’m glad you had a good time with the Bloodrunner. It would be pretty fun to rip this thing around in-game, but unfortunately I don’t think we’ll be moving forward with it.”
|The Bloodrunner is simply not for this competition. The design is hardly modern as a bunch of LEDs just don’t cut it to make something futuristic. Although the idea is interesting and the 3D work is very good, no roof and the blown up proportions make the car look toy-ish and unfit for extreme racing and more like a safari offroader of sorts. There isn’t much detail. The wing seems out of place.
The engineering doesn’t help with a ladder frame chassis among other problems. The power figures are plain stupid and the gigantic wheels only make things worse. Fuel economy is unsurprisingly low considering it has 1500 horsepower. Other stats are good but that doesn’t do much for the car’s fate.|
For these reasons, the Basedworks is out.
Haapala Desert Storm _
The next car’s sound is heard before Cody even arrives with it at the starting banner.
B: “Is that the Haapala? It sounds crazy!”
C: “I’m pretty sure that’s a V10, no wonder. I love it! Just gotta hope it’s reliable enough for what it’ll have to go through.”
A: “The chassis, in any case, looks pretty sound, although it uses lightened steel, the space frame was built specifically for its purpose. With its light weight and zesty powertrain, it’s gonna be a little rocket.”
D: “Mmh… This transmission might hinder it a tad, it’s a 4 speed sequential.”
C: “Ahh, that’s pretty odd. Well we’ll have to see, let’s go!”
Cody storms off in the desert and the car handles the bumps and bigger jumps amazingly but our driver is bothered by something.
C: “What’s up with manufacturers thinking their regular ESC and traction control systems will work in racing?”
D: “I’ve been wondering the exact same thing with every car that’s had it so far. At least some of them work better than others. And all those unnecessary electronics are just something more to break.”
C: “Yeah these aren’t the worst we’ve had.”
Cody does some runs around the track and the car is predictably fast, but seems to creak and rattle after just those few runs. The suspension only gets worse during testing, and everyone realises Cody might’ve been right to question reliability. He keeps pushing through and realises how often he has to go in for a refuel.
C: “This thing sure likes to drink fuel, good thing we came prepared.”
After he’s done, Cody has some fun by doing a few donuts. As he’s messing around, the crew looks at the spectacle on the feed of the many cameras. The design seems to please them.
D: “It looks pretty nice doesn’t it? Like a weird but very cool hybrid between a regular car and a buggy. And the livery is very nice. Right?”
C: “Agree”
A: “It does, it really does, until you look at the back for too long. I don’t know… something’s off with it. I think it might be this whaletail, it kind of ages the car. And the way the fenders merge into the rear is pretty awkward.”
B: “That and the weird diffuser. That said, I still like it overall. Although… why did they just stick a spare tire on the roof?”
C: “Ahaha, I hope that’s an oversight. I’d say it’s definitely still a contender though.”
|The Haapala is a very interesting idea. The front especially is very cool with the open wheels and sporty design. The side continues this theme and showcases more of the livery which is good. Unfortunately, the rear isn’t as good; it doesn’t seem as custom and the way the arches merge into the rear makes said rear look pinched. The whaletail works but isn’t the best. However, the overall design is still among the best.
Engineering-wise, the car has a few questionable choices. The engine, first of all, is quite exotic for this purpose, but still is acceptable. However, everything put together hurts reliability. Indeed, most stats are low except for sportiness.
It is still one of the better entries design-wise.|
For these reasons, the Haapala stays in.
Cobalt AT-Cross Dakar _
After a few passes in the Haapala, Dashawn is already at the starting blocks when Cody joins the rest of the team in their tent. They radio in to him as they look at feedback from the car-mounted camera rig and drones. The new car seems to impress everyone.
A: ”Woah! This looks great on film! This is the Cobalt, right? Well they sure didn’t skimp on the design.”
B: “Yup. The Cobalt AT-Cross Dakar: completely bespoke, ready-to-race machine. It has a proper racing body frame, a 4.5 litre V8 and a fancy suspension like the Haapala.”
A: “It’s absolutely gorgeous; those huge arches and sleek body work… they’re really doing it for me right now. One could say the livery is pretty bare but it goes to show how good the bodywork’s design is.”
B: “It really is hyper modern. At first glance the design seems pretty simple, but there’s really quite a lot to it. And it has this retro aspect to it… Probably my favourite so far.”
D: “Looks amazing from behind the wheel too! Carbon fibre everywhere, practical, no unnecessary frills. The dash is still very cool.”
C: “I like it too, but look at these specs. A 4,200 RPM redline, 500 horsepower and 1,100 newton-metres of torque… These almost make it sound like it would be a diesel engine but I’m pretty certain it said petrol somewhere else on this pamphlet. Yup.”
D: “Well this torque will surely help with what I’m about to do…”
A: “There’s also not much lighting up front but we do have auxiliary lights mods in the game already.”
A: “Honestly, we might just be able to convert it to diesel for the game, if Cobalt allows us. It would add some diversity and from what it sounds like you’re saying, it probably won’t change the handling and performance much. But anyways, let’s see how it does. Dashawn?”
D: “Let’s go! Let’s go!”
As Dashawn slams on the gas, the car takes a second to launch because of its stability systems. However, the acceleration is smooth and still quite fast. He quickly realises how capable the Cobalt is.
D: “Zamn! This is great!”
C: “Oh yeah?!”
D: ”They really weren’t messing around with this one. The traction aids are better than in the Haapala. The suspension deals with bumps amazingly and I feel like the chassis really is keeping this thing planted. Tons of grip. I’m basically going full throttle all the time.”
The AT-Cross does one of, if not the fastest time so far, with apparent ease.
|The design is simply great. It’s sleek, modern and has a very good interior. The completely bespoke bodywork leaves barely any of the original body behind and the wheel arches are amazing. The retro-ish, Porsche-esque design is wonderful and there’s overall not much but praise to be said about the design, apart from it not having much lighting.
Like mentioned, the specs are pretty unusual for a petrol engine and a ‘pretend diesel’ engine would’ve just been cooler.
Stats are above average, especially fuel economy (another sign that it could’ve been a diesel).
Other than that, the choice of a space frame chassis is remarkable for its realism. The hydropneumatic suspension is a slightly odd choice but is easily glossed over and does work well offroad.|
For these reasons, the Cobalt stays in.
Zephorus Z - S TRAC X _
As the sun starts to set, the team is looking at the next car.
B: “Zephorus huh? I didn’t know they did any offroad racing. This does look legit though, the exterior anyways.”
A: “Yeah it does look ready to do its thing. I’m into the supercar bodystyle, we’re missing some of that. But don’t you think the design is a little uninspired?”
B: “I wouldn’t go that far man. It’s quite simple, sure, but it does have cool aspects. Look at those integrated canards for example; pretty amazing. And the light signature is cool. That livery, though. That, you could call uninspired.”
A: “Yeah you’re right, I was being a little harsh. I do really like the rear with the centred exhaust and the hidden spares. I still have issues with it though, like that spoiler. What about you Dashawn?”
D: “Huh… sure. Like you said, the shape is nice but I feel like there’s not much going on apart from that. My main issue is that this looks like a solid axle up front.”
A, B and C: “Whaaat?”
D: “Yup. And there’s something else…”
C: “Mind telling me before I go blazing through this track with it?! I’m loving the sound of that inline-4 by the way! You might have to speak up though!”
D: “The car didn’t come with the right spares soo… it’s running on A/T tires.”
C: “ALL TERRAINS?!”
D: “And while the team was installing them, they noticed the brakes are pretty wack, single pistons front and rear. So… Keep that in mind! Good luck!”
C: “Well at least I have these leather seats and… ten speaker sound system for when I undoubtedly crash. I don’t think Zephorus know what they’re doing guys.” he cries “Let’s do it I guess…”
Cody reluctantly launches off. Well, he does when the turbo finally spools, and finds out the car has a severe issue with wheelspin, probably from those tires. Other than that the car is somehow still driveable. The brakes are indeed pretty inadequate but he manages a few runs.
C: “I’m just glad I’m still alive.”
|This entry is a little disappointing as it could have been a good contender. The design is overall good, as is the use of this body which was unexpected and ends up being a very good idea. Some aspects are very good like the front aero and the rear fascia. However, the body seems to do most of the work and the livery hides a lot of further issues. There’s also a modelled space frame but the car actually uses a monocoque which is very unfortunate.
This is only the smallest issue with engineering and there are plenty more; the solid front axle, the terrible brakes, inappropriate tires and the premium HUD. Stats don’t help either as they are all on the very low end.|
For these reasons, the Zephorus is out.
Hatzenbach Racing DKR22 Evo _
To wrap up a full day’s worth of testing, the final car is the Hatzenbach Racing DKR22 Evo.
A: “Wow, this thing is just gooooorgeous. I’m leaning towards calling this the best looking car here, and that’s saying a lot considering the competition.”
B: “Well, we saved the best for the last. Hatzenbach Racing leaned on their experience designing the finest race cars and it shows here, with a beautifully designed body, menacing LED light signatures, and cool fluorescent highlights. It’s lean and mean, brutish and purposeful with the extensive offroad equipment all on display from the undertray protection, to the exposed spares and sand ladders.”
A: “I think this fits the brief perfectly. The livery complements the design super well, and it’s full of great little details like the R4LLY_STORM stickers and driver names. Did I mention it’s even got a frickin’ DRONE on the roof?!”
C: “How does that work anyway?”
A: “Sadly the model we have here doesn’t work, but the Hatzenbach rep did tell me that they plan to have it fully functional in-game as a scouting companion, relaying course conditions and potential hazards to the player.”
C: “That sounds so cool… I wish I was driving this thing.”
The DKR22’s 642 horsepower V6 roars to life and Dashawn sets off into the darkness. A rooster tail of sand kicks up behind the car as it slips on the launch, but the DKR22 still manages a respectable 2.9 seconds.
D: “Not doing great over these bumps guys… it’s like riding a bucking bull in here!”
A: “Yeah, it looks pretty harsh from the cameras too. Hatzenbach Racing might be accomplished circuit racers, but it looks like they still need some work going offroad!”
B: “It’s a shame they didn’t go with active springs, but at least it seems to be handling decently well otherwise. It keeps its sporty nature through the turns without much lean or roll.”
After tempering the Hatzenbach Racing machine around more laps of the course - taking quite a few of them before the fuel goes down - Dashawn completes his stint, tired but with a grin from ear to ear.
D: “Wooo, that was one hell of a ride! Wasn’t easy to tame, but apart from that I got no real complaints. The inside looks just as amazing as the outside too!”
|The DKR22 is a fully fledged concept with incredible attention to detail. It completely matches the aesthetic of the DLC and is one of the few entries that fully understood our request. The design is great and very modern with an interior to match. This car also brings a lot of cool ideas to the table like the drone and R4lly_Storm and driver name custom stickers. The livery is simply gorgeous.
Engineering is sound, with nothing of note apart from the low compression of the engine. Stats are above average except offroad which is unfortunately worst in its class. This is but a slight scratch in the car’s overall remarkable performance as a contender.|
For these reasons, the Hatzenbach stays in.
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Home > News > Racing > R4LLY_STORM
R4LLY_STORM’s First DLC Revealed, Coming September 1st
After weeks of teasing on their YouTube channel, Deez Studios has finally announced FUTURE_STORM, the first of many DLCs for their latest racing game R4LLY_STORM.
The DLC takes you to “exotic new locales”, such as a beautiful Cyberpunk-esque map where you can get behind the wheel of four brand-new, futuristic rally machines selected from Deez Studios’ open contest in April.
The winning car from the contest is the Hatzenbach Racing DKR22 Evo, which will feature as the crown jewel in the game’s new Concepts vehicle class. It will be joined by the other finalists from Cobalt, Haapala, and ProRace.
Flashy new cars aside, Deez Studios has also promised a raft of gameplay additions and changes, including new multiplayer and arcade gamemodes to add a refreshing twist to the Rally Storm franchise’s tried and true formula.
Given that we gave the core R4LLY_STORM a 7.5/10 rating in our review, noting that it felt a bit stale compared to its competitors, we’re hopeful that FUTURE_STORM will bring the much needed spice to make it truly worthy of the venerated Rally Storm series.
FUTURE_STORM will be playable on all platforms on September 1st.
12 Likes
FINAL_THOUGHTS
As AGC23 comes to an end, here are our final thoughts on the top 4 cars, and a ranking of all the entries.
Number 1
SpeedyBoi's Hatzenbach Racing DKR22 Evo.
So, this blew our minds when we first saw it. It’s safe to say we weren’t expecting someone to put a drone on their car, which is not only a super creative idea but is also the cherry on top of a magnificent build here. Apart from minor flaws with the livery and the poor off-road score, this fits the brief pretty much perfectly.
Number 2
Sureascanbe's Cobalt AT-Cross Dakar
This is frankly another masterpiece of a build. Although the super clean styling is almost the opposite of the DKR22, we still love the “minimalist not minimal" aesthetic. It’s very well made and detailed, and the overall presentation is still very effective despite looking a bit simple in comparison. This came very close to taking the crown, but lost out in terms of overall stats and the futuristic aspect of design.
Number 3
Mikonp7's Haapala Desert Storm
We liked the small and nimble concept of the Haapala as it was closer to some of the rally-car style builds we envisioned and included in the brief. The stripped-back, purposeful look of the front end is great and the livery reminds us a bit of the F&F 2000s style which is very nice as well. Unfortunately, it suffers from poor reliability, awkward styling around the rear, and some details being overlooked like the spare tyre without a rim on the roof.
Number 4
the-chowi's ProRace 1051 Raider
The Raider takes a slightly different approach from the others, with toy-like proportions and a fun colour palette for the livery. It’s a good example of modern styling without looking overdesigned and we saw a great use of 3D for remodelling the rear end. We appreciated this unique take on the brief, however, the overall presentation is quite simplistic and it would’ve been nice to see more detail especially with the livery.
Here’s a gallery of all previous pics if you missed them
18 Likes
Thank you Kookie and pen, great round overall
Even going as far as separating the drone from its base car to get those shots
I’ll pass the hosting of next round down to the 2nd place
3 Likes
This was pretty cool to build for so yeah thanks to pen and Kookie, I’m surprised I got second in the end thought id go lower.
However I didn’t think this was going to be a thing so with the fact that I’ve never made a challenge before and am not really active on the forums ill pass the parcel to 3rd place then since yeah I don’t think it would be handled well in my hands.
2 Likes
Oh Boi Oh Boi
Aight imma cook something up, buuuuuuuuut
The lurking mist of the incoming update, we will need to decide on something:
- Proceed as normal
- Wait until the update drops
- Build a round which is based of design and disregards engineering
0 voters
3 Likes
I don’t know when the next update will be avaialable to download
ATM, nobody knows
3 Likes
Aight i got enough votes to get a valid result
AGC24 will be hosted on the new version of the game
Soon is now
3 Likes