[ARM] Automation RestoMod Chapter 13: To (Green) Hell and Back (Results out!)

[Prium]

ARM 13 - TO (GREEN) HELL AND BACK

Welcome to another round of Automation RestoMod! Where you have the chance to make an old relic of the past have a new purpose, through extensive engineering and fixturing!

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THE CLIENT

Detailed introduction

“On August 20th, 1969, one of the most important feats in argentinian automotive history began, as three national-built IKA Torino with national teams competed on the 84hs of Nürborgring.
After those long but intense 84 hours had passed, only one of the three cars got to the finish line, albeit being the car with the highest lap count (334). Sadly, minor penalties earned during the race caused the reduction of laps, making a 4th place overall
What would be known as the ‘argentinian mission’ ended up with a sour taste. But 52 years later, I’m getting ready to challenge back the Nordschleife. Not for more than 300 laps, no. This time is just for one lap, one to beat them all, the fastest possible.”

These words were written by Paula Montalva, a proffesional pilot, descendant of one of the racing drivers that participated on this historic feat.
Since she was a little kid she always listened to her grandfather’s stories about that amazing race, and dreamed of one day having the chance to do the same.
Now in his mid 20’s, she has solidified her national racing career and earned a lot of experience, but her dream of lapping the Green Hell is still as alive as ever.
She’s planning to take a highly modified Torino to the Nürburgring to honour her family’s legacy, but also to promote her racing career abroad, so she wants to perform as good as possible around the famous Green Hell
Since nowadays it’s very difficult to find anything about that car at a reasonable price, her grandfather decided to lend his 1973 Torino GS 200 as the donor car. This is the car that will be available for you to customize and improve

In short, the client is looking to build a retro-styled modern track-day car with an old one as a basis

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THE CAR

You will be provided with a 1973 IKA Torino GS 200, a 2-door touring sedan built only in Argentina. This particular trim was the first nationally built car was able to reach 200 km/h. The car is powered by a hefty 3.7L I6 making 205HP and around 300Nm of torque. Nowadays it won’t be much for a performance car, but it can provide a good basis for some interesting builds.

Gallery

IKA_-_Torino_GS_200.car (81.2 KB)

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THE RULES

• For this Chapter, you may not change the body type.
• It is NOT recommended to change any morphs (meaning it’s acceptable if it has a purpose), except wheel arches. You are allowed body moldings and 2D/3D fixtures to alter body shape (more info on judging criteria).
• Do NOT change chassis type, chassis material or chassis quality.
• You may change panel material (extra $2000), engine placement ($2000) and suspension type ($1000 *per axle), but it does affect Authenticity (more info on judging criteria).
• You may swap the engine out (extra $2000), but with a sizeable penalty on Authenticity (more info on judging criteria)
• You may change the engine head only with an authenticity penalty (no extra cost)
• You may turbocharge the original 3.7L engine. It comes with a smaller Authenticity penalty than swapping out the engine.
• Do NOT have more than one wing fixture. Lip and spoilers are somewhat unrestricted (ooc: Don’t push it). Must be visible and on body. No hidden aero.
• Do make sure to use unleaded fuel, 98 RON or lower.
• For the exterior design, the pricing modification set is the following:
  - Minor add-ons like plastic wheel arches, different/removed bumpers and small vents: $0 extra
  - Moderate changes like morphs and hood/door change of shape: $3000 extra
  - Significant changes like all-around aero kits and roof removal/roofline modification: $7000 extra
• For the interior design, I’ve provided a basic interior. You can work around it or you can throw it all away, it’s purely an aesthetic choice.
• Do NOT exceed 135 ET for the engine.
• Do NOT exceed 135 ET for the car.
• Do NOT exceed a final cost of $40,000 (Approximate Cost shown in Detail Stats).
• Do NOT have worse than 18.0 l/100km fuel economy
• Do have ESC installed.
• Do have at least two seats (in the front row).
• Do have noise levels below or equal to 50.
• Do have a 3-way catalytic converter.
• Do make sure to forward the year on everything to 2020.
  And again, please please please make sure everything is cloned properly, and cloned or new engine swapped in (see above).

You will be allowed to ask up to 5 questions to the client (both PM or Discord are available). You can include a render screenshot ONLY ONCE (mainly to check if the exterior design checks with a specific price tag)
You can also resubmit ONLY ONCE at the cost of those 5 questions (i.e. you cannot resubmit if you asked 1 or more questions, and won’t be answered any questions if you resubmit your entry)

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JUDGING CRITERIA

• Lap time: The main priority of this journey is to get around the Nurbürgring in the shortest amount of time possible. If this implies breaking any records, it will improve even more the selection of the car. For this a Nordschliefe circuit will be provided for simulation. The Time lap will be balanced with the other 3-star requirements
• Sportiness: The car’s on-track behavior should be as good as possible for her to accomplish this task
• Reliability: This won’t be a one hit wonder. It needs to be able to do multiple laps without having to stop for some major maintenance

• Drivability: Since the car is going to be used to get around Germany, it will also need to be somewhat easy to drive, and not make Paula suffer the trip to the circuit

• Aesthetics: The car needs to be somewhat recognizable over the aero improvements and overall styling that you may consider for the car. Things like front and rear light placement, and front grill overall shape, should stay mostly the same. Also a good retro styled paintjob and livery would make a good addition for the overall appearance of the car. Modification of original fixtures from the car won’t be judged, while all fixtures added by you would be considered as a proper modification of the car and therefore be judged

• Authenticity: It is recommended to use the original engine, (it improves the magnitude of the feat by racing what’s essentially the same car). However you’re free to swap it if the engine replacement and/or engine placement is worth it (i.e. it’s performance is way superior). Same goes with suspension and panels, but they carry way less authenticity importance.

• Service Costs: Paula knows that a race car is not cheap, but she wants to preserve the car in running condition after coming back from Germany, so it’d be preferred to be at least cheap to maintain
• Other stats: Use common sense, and don’t make it worse than the original! They all can be used as tiebreakers, and some might tie in more to the brief than others and be desirable. Pay attention.

Same car and livery Inspirations

The original cars that raced in 1969:

Styling inspirations

From subtle to radical

Optionally download this track:

Nordschleife.zip (1.7 MB)

(Note: I will test performance on it)

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HOW DOES THIS WORK

Import the car into Automation.
Clone both the CAR MODEL and ENGINE FAMILY.
Open the car model, and swap the engine to the cloned one if you plan to use the original Torino engine. Otherwise start new engine project for the car.
Forward year on both car model and engine family to 2020.
Set the names according to this standard:

Engine Family: ARM13 – [forum name]
Engine Variant: [engine name]
Car Model: ARM13 – [forum name]
Car Trim: [car name]

Start modding.
When finished, export car and PM your cloned and modded .car file back to me.
Sit back and wait for results.

If you have trouble with cloning or don’t know how to do it, please watch this tutorial video. It will save me headaches when importing your car, and will save you getting binned:

Cloning tutorial for Automation challenges

RULES AND DEADLINE HAVE BEEN SET

[AMuteCrypt]

Are there any rules on head changes? More valves, different cam layout, VVL/VVT? Will these be considered different engines, or are we allowed to change the head?

Typical ARM rules are to allow it but with a minor/moderate authenticity and price penalty, but it is unmentioned here.

[Prium]

I forgot about that. I think it´ll be better to consider it the same engine, but taking an authenticity penalty, since considering it a different engine would make it very disadvantaged against a completely new engine. As for costs, I might consider previous rounds extra cost for VVL/VVT and valve changes ($1000)

[Prium]

FINAL RULES MODIFICATIONS ARE SET
DEADLINE: 10:00 GMT-3, January 3, 2022

• I’m putting extra time for this round due to the holidays and festivities that are coming by, and to help people with plans for this dates.
• In case a game update drops during this round, it will continue in version 4.1.

[Edsel]

The IKA Torino is a gorgeous car from a gorgeous era.

We have been faced with the task of upgrading this car to the modern age, while changing as little as necessary; balancing what it is with what it could be.

How could we upgrade the car, then, without changing it?

Let’s start with the looks.

The exterior has been given a vinyl wrap, featuring a sharp, classic-style racing livery; minus, of course all the bothersome advertisements and corporate logos, so you can just focus on the race. We haven’t left it completely empty, however, adding the number 69 in homage to the historic endurance race that started everything (and the number really means absolutely nothing else, we promise! o.o).

When you’re done enjoying everything and ready to race, you’ll find we’ve changed out the trunk lid for one with an active spoiler attached; it works with the small lip on the front to keep the car glued and planted to the road. We’ve also provided some quality of life improvements; windshield washer nozzles, a passenger-side mirror, togglable ESC and modern sealed beam headlights with DRL’s help make your time on the track just that bit nicer…

Oh, and before we forget; it’s all undoable. If you ever want the old Torino’s looks back, the vinyl and mirror could be taken off, and we’d give you back the old trunk, hood, and lights.

You might find the engine a bit harder to revert, though; it’d be drastically retuned and modernized to run far cleaner, smoother, more efficiently, and more responsively; and of course, much faster. Now running on 98 RON and with a small turbo screwed on, it’d make about 110 more horsepower and 160 more lb-ft of torque, providing all the performance you’d need to have a great time.

This power would be kept in check by a 6-speed sequential and thick, semi-slick wheels, and a whole host of other modern features to make the car as responsive and nimble as possible: an electronic differential, electric power steering, carbon fiber rims, carbon ceramic brakes, and active suspension, and the list goes on. Every aspect of the Torino would have been upgraded and sharpened to bring out the best it could be.

But the core itself would never be touched. It would still be the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive Argentinian sport coupe you grew up with, with the same I4 engine, the same steel panels, and the same solid rear axle. It would still be, unquestionably, a Torino.

We offer to revamp your IKA Torino, because we believe we can make the most agile, fun Torino you’ve ever seen; a car to properly enjoy the Nürburgring in. And don’t worry about weather you’ll ever want to go back; we’ll return all the car parts we replaced. And thanks to the car’s continuing popularity, you shouldn’t have to look to hard for a replacement engine. (:

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to make this, and we can’t wait to hear your response!

Sincerely,

-Generic Tuning Company With A Very Long Name That Isn’t Just Long Because I Can’t Be Bothered To Make Up A Proper One Because Of Course Not Silly That Would Be Weird No This Is A Perfectly Normal And Professional Name For A Company To Have I Think It’s Latin Or Something But Don’t Quote Me On That Because I’m Not A Professional Linguist.

(Edit note: Lo siento haberlo llamado “ITA” Torino, Argentina)

[abg7]

Looks absolutely ace - and the light blue on white vinyl wrap is a perfect nod to its Argentinian origins, with the flag on the C-pillar being the icing on a very tempting cake.

[cake_ape]

Mons Customs

Introducing the

IKA Torino GS 200 "Argentine Fury"

Dear Ms. Montalva,

Please accept this letter as our formal offer to restomod your granfather’s beloved '73 IKA Torino GS 200. We understand the significance of this car in Argentine history and your desire to rewrite the “Argentinian Mission” with a happy ending. We also considered that this is your grandfather’s car and made our modifications with him in mind as well.

STYLING
For the outside of the car we have chosen a retro-inspired, yet modern livery. The blue and white are of course a nod to the Argentine national colours, and are prominently featured on the car. The orange accent lines highlight the sleek lines of the Torino, while the black accents are another nod to the commonly used colours in Argentine sports. Overall, the livery accentuates the speed of the rebuilt Torino. Functional vents, spoilers and wing add to the overall aesthetic of the car; the unique hood vent lay-out is a nod to the famous Torino race cars from the 70s. We have also included your own race number - 15 - and both your and your grandfather’s names, so that he can always ride with you in spirit. Both the race number and names are magnetic decals and easy to remove, if you prefer to drive incognito.

On the inside we have opted to keep most of the original dash, but added or modified many features. Gone is the second row of seats, but instead there is a new speaker system in the rear. We swapped the front seats for sports models. On the dash we added a boost gauge, HVAC venting, buttons for all the modern features of the car, and a large touch screen in a retro housing from which you can adjust all car features.

AUTHENTICITY
The IKA Torino is a classic car, and it’d be a shame to modify it significantly. Therefore, we have opted to keep much of the original car intact, and only replaced parts that most hindered performance. Therefore the original panels are kept, as well as the front suspension, and both engine and head are all the original items.

PERFORMANCE
This car’s main purpose will be to drive fast on track, and that is just what it does! We have added a turbo to the engine, and now it puts out upward of 500 HP. This power is put to the ground through a modern AWD system and LSD, with ultimate grip provided by wide sports tires. The 6-spd manual gearbox provides a natural, sporty feel for ultimate driver control and sportiness. The new oversized vented disk brakes are tuned to perfection and provide confident stopping power under the heaviest of track driving. Aerodynamically the car has been tuned to a tee and will keep this beast securely planted in any corner. Despite the manual gearbox, this car remains extremely drivable both on and off track. Lastly, we have fitted a roll-cage in the car… just in case.

GOING THE DISTANCE
We have taken utmost care to make this car as reliable as possible. Yes, it has many modern conveniences, but rest assured, it will not break down easily, even after many hard-driven laps. Not only that, but it is pretty easy and cheap to service too! The car is designed to run well within maximum specifications, and is tuned not to chew through tires quickly despite the impressive power and cornering. Since the original engine and head were kept, it should not be too hard to find replacement parts if something breaks… but the car is designed not to break in the first place.

Ms. Montalva, please find attached photorealistic renders of our vision for your Torino. You and your Torino will be in the best care if you choose Mons Customs. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Mons Customs

Exterior

Interior

[Maverick74]

Sparky T's Customs IKA Torino

Hello Mrs. Montalva, find enclosed the proposal from Sparky T’s Customs for your IKA Torino. Because the Torino is such a beloved icon in Argentina car culture, it was decided to best keep the changes subtle and focus primarily on performance. So we have kept the original chassis, suspension setup, and basic engine. Not that we haven’t breathed upon it to improve it a little. The overhead cam straight six has been bored out, increasing the displacement to 4 litres. A billet crank, titanium connecting rods, and high strength forged pistons allow for greater rev-ability. The cylinder head has been reworked, fitted with modern direct fuel injection and both VVL and VVT. Combined with a turbocharger putting out 14 psi, it results in 414 horsepower at 6,700rpm, 415 pound feet of torque at 3,700 rpm, and a redline of over 7,100rpm.

Combined with a sequential six speed gearbox and improved aerodynamics, this Torino is capable of hitting sixty miles an hour in 4.5 seconds, the quarter mile in 12.5, and a top speed of nearly 170 miles per hour. But straight line speed isn’t the only performance we have looked at. Active sport suspension with adaptive dampers mated to 255/40R17 semi slick tires fitted to magnesium wheels and four wheel vented disc brakes with performance pads allow for stellar handling and braking.

Inside, we have removed the rear seat to save weight. And in it’s place a 12 point roll cage has been fitted. The front seats have been upgraded to a set of sportier buckets. A modern infotainment system and electric variable power steering with ESC improve comfort and driveability. The exterior has been fitted with a simple set of fender flares, lower rocker panels, sleeker mirrors and door handles, unique front and rear bumpers, and LED lighting. That has all been wrapped up in an eye catching blue and white paint job. The purposed cost for this design? $35,800AMU.
Thank you for your consideration.

[Prium]

LESS THAN 11 HOURS REMAIN FOR THE DEADLINE!

So far I got entries from @Edsel @cake_ape and @Maverick74

If you are planning to submit, hurry up!

[Prium]

TIME’S OUT!

Reviews and results will be uploaded in the upcoming days!

[Prium]

Results

With the new year festivities now gone, Paula thinks it’s time to resume the Torino project. She calls her grandfather, Mr. Perkins, to come and see the proposals for the car’s upgrades. They sit together and start with… umm…

Yeah, that company’s proposal:

‘Well at least the car looks way simpler than the company’s name’ says Gaston. Both chuckled, but they also notice that the exterior of the car is very well preserved, or at least it’s made to look like it is: headlights have been upgraded, carbon fibre rims that retain the original ones’ style, fully cladded undertray and an active rear spoiler that looks “hidden” when switched off. However, for some reason they decided to keep the original steel bumper bars, which would add dead weight to the car on the circuit. Not that it matters much since the original engine now makes 317hp thanks to direct injection and a turbo (Perkins grumped a little bit after hearing that last word). The livery is simple yet effective, a little bit lacking for Paula’s taste, but with nice details like the number and the argentinian flag. The will surely be at least recognisable in case the lap run is being filmed from outside.
Speaking of lap runs, the Nurburgring sprint simulations showed a laptime of 7:58.18, which is very impressive, considering the car is still holding it’s original suspension geometry.

What surprises both her and her grandfather most are the really high service costs, considering that the car holds a lot of original components, and that it doesn’t reflect on other characteristics of the car.

Next proposal is from Sparky T:

Paula and her grandfather notice the more agressive looks of the car, with a very vissible front splitter, side mounted exhaust, and a large rear wing. The removal of the bumper bars and some of the headlights gave the car a more sportier look. Also, the addition of foglights are appreciated, since the weather can vary a lot along the Nurburgring. Apart from that, the overall shape of the car remains mostly the same. Even most of the interior is conserved, with the rollcage being the most noticeable modification. Paula liked a lot the retro-styled livery and the color palette, although she was expectin at least a racing number in order to be more recognizable.

When looking to the engine specs, Mr. Perkins notices that the engine was supossedly bored out up to 4L, which to him was very strange, since the block was already at it’s limit at 3.7L. After discussing that with Paula, they concluded that the engine was, in fact, a new one, designed to look very similar to the original one. “Props for the effort though” thought Paula. At least that wouldn’t be a money issue, since the car cost was still under the budget cap, and the extra displacement is well used, as it manages up to 413hp. This, coupled with a sequential transmission and active suspension, allows the car to achieve a laptime of 7:51.25 on the simulations. And even though it has fairly complex systems, the car has good reliability statistics, as well as fairly low service costs Strangely enough, the suspension seems to be bland for the racetrack. For Paula, it looks like it was tuned for a more relaxed driving.

Last proposal is from Mons Customs:

The car livery left Mr Perkins speechless. Paula didn’t know if that was because of the livery itself, or because his name was on the side of the car. As for her, the livery looks a little bit too modern for this car, but the color palette is very nice, and the addition of her personal racing number is a really nice detail for her. The exterior modifications are much more noticeable on this last proposal, with extended wheel arches with cooling vents and carbon fibre details replacing every inch of chrome. A set of foglights and towing hooks complete the race-ready looks of the car. The interior has the same styling ideas, maintaining the original torpedo but with extra gadgets and a chronometer for the track, aside from the racing seats and rollcage, which are the most noticeable modifications.

When looking at the engine specs, it was now Paula who was left speechless. She never thought the engine could manage up to 513 hp, albeit with VVT, direct injection, a turbo and a complete set of titanium internals. The suspension is another wonder of its own. While now it has an independent rear suspension, the car uses progressive springs, gas mono-tubes and semi active sway bars, and it’s tuned in a very balanced way. As a result, this car is as easy to drive on the road than on the race track. Paula is also impressed at the lap simulations, as the “Argentine Fury” manages a laptime of 7:48.05, even though the car still has a manual transmission (now 6-speed). She guesses that both the transmission and suspension choices helped a lot in lowering service costs and keeping good reliability statistics.

And the Winner is…

Having the fastest laptime, highest reliability and drivability, and lowest service costs:

MONS CUSTOMS’ IKA Torino GS 200 “Argentine Fury” (@cake_ape )

2nd place: SPARKY T’S IKA Torino (@Maverick74 )

3rd place: @Edsel ‘s IKA Torino Upgraded

Congratulations to the winner and thank you to everyone who participated! I hope you enjoyed this challenge as much as I did

OOC

I didn’t realise when Maverick posted his ad on the thread that he had bored out the “stock” engine, which was impossible with the dimensions I initially built it. That meant that the engine was modified from the basis (i.e. the block itself was redimensioned), so I considered it as a new engine

[cake_ape]

A little note on the next round! No, it has not been forgotten and ARM will live on in the 4.2 era.

Edsel or I will host the next round… depending on which of us is ready sooner. And when a more stable version of 4.2 is released. And when more mods are available… so it’ll be soon

Be patient and stay tuned for ARM14, it’ll come when it comes

Edit: so cloning is apparently completely borked in 4.2. Until that’s fixed, ARM cannot happen… So stay tuned x2.

[Edsel]

Slight revision: If I end up hosting the challenge, it’ll most likely be in 4.1, since my plan will probably need all the mods.

[cake_ape]

I stand corrected