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.
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 The interior is fully padded, has premium, branded speakers and an outdated touchscreen.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.|
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.|
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.|
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.|
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.|
