AHC02 - FLIGHT DELAYED
Let’s run a second round of this, shall we?
BACKGROUND
This round will take us to an alternative version of the 00s. In this world, the main point of difference is that aviation history was pushed back by 50 years. Planes are complex, and now it just took a lot more time for them to work. The first experimental planes were forged in the fires of World War Two, but they were nowhere near as impactful as they were in our world. Flying boats and biplanes were mostly the norm for much of the 50s. These 50s planes were loud, dirty and uncomfortable, and they wouldn’t get much better for decades. The airplane was seen as something of a curiosity, not really capturing the public eye, right up until the 00s. The 00s finally saw the introduction of pressurised cabins, comfortable interiors and jet engines. The 00s finally saw the introduction of true airliners. Rocketry was similarly stunted, missiles and such suffering due to a lack of aeronautic developments.
What impact does this have on cars, though? Well, in the real world, these jet airliners captured the imagination of the public, and the design elements they brought wound up making their way over to the automotive world. Cars ended up being inspired by the new jet age. In this world, the same happens - but it happens in 2006, rather than in 1956. Design fads like this enter from the top of the market, so this challenge is looking for 00s luxury cars inspired by 50s jet airlines.
Note that everything else in this world is largely the same, including technology. The round is set in 2006, so LEDs and halogen lights are fair game. Also assume that the world is essentially the same (for cars) by 2006 except for the novelty of air transport. Japanese cars are still what you expect, German cars are still what you expect, American cars are (you guessed it) still what you expect.
RULES
- Must be on the current stable version.
- Model and Family Years: Open
- Trim and variant years: 2006
- Wheelbase: 2.8 to 3.2 metres, as rounded in body selection.
- Techpool: +5 everywhere, keep it default.
- Fuel: Up to 98 RON unleaded. No benefit to lower RON.
- No race parts. This means Alu Billet heads, race intakes, race headers, race tyres and race diffusers.
- 4 or 5 doors required, except for convertibles. SUVs and Utes are banned, but all other body styles are accepted. Sedans and coupes are expected.
- At least 2 rows of full-sized seats are required, each with at least two seats. This can mean four or five seats, or three rows if desired. Much as I love the layout, this isn’t the place for a McLaren F1-style three seater.
- Maximum approximate cost: $50,000
- Must pass WES11 and have a maximum of 50 loudness.
- All aero fixtures must be visible, distinct from one another and placed in a sensible location relative to the car. No overlapping aero, no invisible aero, no wings mounted 500 metres back.
- If an advanced trim setting does the same thing as an engineering setting, the advanced trim setting is banned. That means wheel offset, wheel width, wheel diameter, camber, tyre diameter, front/rear ride height, body z offset (competes with ride height too) and front/rear wheelbase offset. As an exception to this, ride height is allowed if the two add to zero, so +2 front needs to be matched with -2 rear.
- All mods allowed, including legacy bodies. V16s allowed too.
- Common fixtures need to be there, but I won’t be following any real rules too heavily. Headlights, indicators, brake lights, taillights, wipers, etc, etc. Fuel door must be relatively modern.
- Safety must be at least 45.0, in order to be legal for sale. Traction control is mandatory too.
- Name your engine family and car model “AHC02 - YourForumName”.
Lastly, there will be a stat adjustment. Convertibles of all types will have their prestige bumped up by 15% of the final value. This should make convertibles more prestigious than normal cars, rather than less prestigious
PRIORITIES
I’ve assigned each priority a score from 1 to 10, with 1 being the least important and 10 being the most important. Something rated a 1 is basically a tiebreaker only. Something at about a 3 or 4 might move you up or down a little but is fine to deprioritise. When it gets up to about 6 or 7, that’s where failing multiple priorities can push you down despite doing well in the top priorities. The aim with this system is to provide a clearer idea of what I actually want, rather than leaving you guessing about what “moderate” or “two stars” means. I’ve also grouped them into two categories. The numbers are most comparable across categories, but visuals are somewhat more important than stats here.
VISUAL
- 00s period congruence: Remember, you’re not just shipping me a 50s design in 2006. You’re shipping me a plane- or rocket-inspired design in 2006. I still want it to feel like it’s a car from 2006. I’m looking for some form of modern proportions, or modern technologies, not just retrofuturism. Note that I’m not stuck on one specific region. Overall importance: 6/10
- Plane- and rocket-inspired design cues: This is the whole crux of the challenge, it’s where the alternate history part is located. This can mean aggressive aeronautic-inspired intake scoops, big rocket-style fins, rocket-type turbines mounted on it, copious quantities of chrome, stuff like that. See the inspirations section for an idea of what I mean there. Overall importance: 10/10
- Overall aesthetic quality: This is a catch-all for several elements. Does the car look good? Does the car look expensive? Do the looks match the engineering and stats? Does it all make sense? Overall importance: 6/10
- An eyecatching paint job: This is personal preference, but I don’t want classy black, silver or white. Paint it some nice bright colour, give it a cool two-tone, add some nice decals, stuff like that. Overall importance: 3/10
- Interior design: I want to see some great interiors, but I don’t want to force you to make one. Overall importance: 3/10
STATS
- Comfort: This is one of the big reasons why you buy a luxury car. Not to get places fast, but to enjoy getting there. Overall importance: 10/10
- Prestige: The other reason to buy a luxury car. It’s a status symbol, it’s there for conspicuous consumption. Overall importance: 10/10
- Drivability: An easy car to drive is an easy car to enjoy. Overall importance: 7/10
- Reliability: This is getting an upsized importance, partially for balancing, but the clients here really don’t want a single pixel out on the monitors and screens in the car. Overall importance: 6/10
- Safety: This is the 00s, and there’s a long history of safety campaigns. Advanced safety features and good crash test results can really help sell cars. Overall importance: 5/10
- Sportiness: Another thing that helps sell, but not as much as you might think. There’s a lot of successful sporty cars here, but a lot of sedate ones. Overall importance: 3/10
- Running costs, purchase costs: These buyers are pretty rich, but saving money is good. Running costs will be checked against the Luxury demographic in Gasmea. Overall importance: 3/10
- Engine noise: A lot of noise will make it hard to talk inside the car. This is a little de-emphasised because it’s part of comfort, but it will be looked at. Overall importance: 4/10
- Smoothness: As above, really. Don’t want the martini shaken while it’s being drunk. Overall importance: 4/10
FINAL NOTES
Realism isn’t a big priority here, as with the prior round. The stats that I didn’t mention won’t really be mentioned. I’m down for any approach and styling, really, just try to take some inspiration from airlines. Speaking of…
INSPIRATIONS
Planes And Rockets
The following images represent roughly the sort of planes and such that you should take inspiration from.
Boeing 337
Boeing 367-80
Hawker Siddeley Trident
Vickers Viscount
Gloster Javelin
de Haviland Sea Vixen
Convair F-102 Delta Dagger
Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter
Cars Of The 50s
These cars all generally show how the 50s reacted to the era. I’m not looking for the overall proportions and sensibilities of the era, but how they integrate the elements.
59 Fleetwood
Also the 59 Fleetwood
59 Pontiac Bonneville
59 Ford Thunderbird
61 Ford Thunderbird
56 Buick Centurion
55 Lincoln Futura
DEADLINE
Rules deliberation will close at 11:59 PM UTC on Wednesday the 14th of January. The final deadline will be 11:59 PM UTC on Sunday The 8th of February. You have 4 weeks. Submit via forum or Discord DM.