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Carozzeria Ogna 5 Grand Vitesse V8X
French engineers have made lots of cool shit over the years; we are particularly fond of the TGV. So we made this to commemorate the 40th anniversary of TGV service. Maybe we shoulda given it a beak front and electric drive, but at least the top speed is appropiately limited to 300km/h. Choo choo, join the cult of V8 today!
Any longitudal engine car secretly wants a pushrod V8 swap. Itâs just a matter of timeâŠand money (49.800âŹ). So we gave Le Car a heart transplant. This tiny package is a Fowler 3,5L, so itâs like 1/8 French, some parts are even made in Quebec. Of course, itâs a pushrod, just like the ClĂ©on. Twin-turbocharged, it delivers 400 hp and drinks just over a litre per 10 km. Torque? 606 nm very much found. Full-time AWD certainly helps put the power down.
As per request, we left the rear seats out and instead reupholstered the large-ish boot, added some tie-downs and a 6-speaker Clarinet system for blasting Boission Divine or whatever French people actually listen to. The instrument cluster we replaced with a big customizable touch screen, and the old seats with 100% mold free racing buckets. With a reinforced bodyshell, airbags, ABS and ESP added, itâs rather safe too.
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Apologies for the lack of an official post about the challenge being closed, the last two days have been a whirlwind of crazy and so it fell to the wayside. That said, I'm hoping to have the first phase of reviews out by Turkey Day (November 24th)! I have received entries from:
@Ludvig @cake_ape @karhgath @alen.alic1983 @Sealboi @Maverick74 @SheikhMansour @Knugcab @mikonp7
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The Instabins
Having corresponded with a few different restomodding companies and answered some questions of theirs, I was excited to open the first proposals and surprised to have recieved so many! However, unfortunately three of them had to be dismissed immediately:
Ogna 5GV V8X
Upon opening this proposal, I loved the cleanly done train-inspired stripe decals and the slightly shouty, but gorgeous burnt orange paint. The interior was nicely updated, too, featuring modern amenities and a clean design. The heaps of torque and power coming from that crazy V8 swap sounded fantastic too, until I realized that something was off: the engine hadnât been updated fully like the rest of the car had.
(Binned for not setting the engine model year to 2020)
Renault R5 TL OverLand #1 by Treadkillers
Upon opening this entry, I was quite surprised to see a Veronique with a snorkel and roof tent staring back at me! âQuite a unique and interesting approach, going for an offroad build,â I thought to myself. On the other hand, I had hoped to be rid of that horrible beige color once and for all. And the paint was far from the only thing holding on to the past: TreadKillers had forgotten to update the engine and body to modern standards.
(Binned for not setting the chassis and engine model years to 2020)
Renault 5 by Mons Customs
The fun '90s inspired look, the simple but modern interior and the subtly beautiful eggshell paint made this one quite a joy to look at! However, things fell apart when I got to the engineering. After an error in their calculations forced them to rework their engine last minute with higher quality parts, Mons Customs realized it would actually take them quite a lot longer to get the engine built than I was willing to wait.
(Binned for blowing past the Engine ET limit)
For anyone who got instabinned and still wants to know how their car would have stacked up: donât worry! I plan to release the judging spreadsheet for this challenge once all is said and done, including where the instabinned entries would have slotted in.
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suprised i made it thru bin wave 1 tbh
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MR2!
Oh well, will look towards the judging, fun to actually âfinishâ an ARM car for once.
Really sad to see your entry binned, I really loved its styling, that was a great looking restomod!
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Thanks! The restomod challenges do bring out inspiring designs, this round included. The bin doesnât bother me, it was a fun build, and I ended up with a hilarious Beam ride and a good base for future (or past) shenanigans
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itâs been like what, 2 weeks?
not trying to rush it but is there any ETA on a further round of scoring or smth?
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Yeah, your concerns about the round taking awhile are valid. Iâve been posting occasional updates in the Automation discord (mainly to keep from cluttering the thread) but I know those donât reach everyone. It was never meant to take this long, but Iâve been really busy lately with a variety of life things I wasnât anticipating having to deal with, and Iâve also had a really hard time picking a winner. Youâll see why soon. Iâm hoping to get reviews up tonight, but that may be a bit too optimistic to be honest. The good news is I plan to post all the reviews in one go, so it wonât drag on much longer. Apologies for the long delay!
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The Reviews
9pm, and I headed to the patio. A buzz from the cicadas, fresh, crisp air and the fields greeted me. At last, some peace and quiet. I assembled my notes, flipped the patio lights on, and at long last it was time to determine which restomodding company would get my hard-earned money!
Rennari R5 GTB Turbo
At first glance, combining a â80s supercar with the little Renault 5 seemed like a really neat idea. The Ferrari F40 certainly was beautiful, and combining this with my beloved Veronique both looked great and was certainly not something I wouldâve considered. However, itsâ engineering let it down. No power at low RPMs and a sudden massive kick from the turbo halfway up the rev range made it not great to drive.
Very low fuel economy and high running costs made it not great to drive often, and the interior was made from surprisingly cheap materials. The fact that itsâ engine and body styling was based off an F40 also made it less authentic to the original Veronique. At least the price was relatively low, and it was projected to be surprisingly reliable for an engine based on a supercarâs from the 1980s. But that simply didnât make up for itsâ many shortcomings.
"LeCabrio" by LMJ Designs
The first thing I thought of when I saw this car was that this looked like something from that American show Pimp My Ride. It was certainly unique, but the flamboyant, enormous chrome wheels, fuzzy dice and exuberant white and blue interior were not my style at all. I didnât know it was possible to make a French city car seem so very American. The convertible bodystyle was neat, though less authentic. However, I wouldnât be caught dead in this car. The engineering wasnât much of a step up, at first glance. Itâs not sporty, itâs not good offroad, itâs very uncomfortable and slow. So what does it have going for it? Itâs oddly frugal. Itsâ affordable price ($39k), lowest running costs by a large margin and remarkable fuel economy (4.79 l/100km) made it surpriusingly economical. However, that alone isnât enough to overlook any of the rest of itsâ problems. Especially itsâ looks.
Rivelo Gordini Turbo
I almost dismissed this one immediately. It barely looked different from the original car except for a cheap-looking and flat blue and white paint job, some wheels and a tacky hood scoop. No interior render was included. Rivelo didnât even bother to polish the cloudy headlights. However, I was still a little curious, so I opened the engineering data. The stats were a nice surprise! It didnât stand out in any way except for high sportiness and comfort, but it didnât fall flat anywhere, unlike most of the other entries. The newer, slightly bigger inline four also had a very nice powerband, not getting stuck into the turbo lag trap of many of the other entries. The fuel economy was also very impressive. Some good design and Rivelo could very well have won.
Sparky T Customs Super R5
I was a bit taken aback by the Super R5âs shouty orange paint and loud Eurotuner looks at first. I can appreciate it, but I couldnât really see myself driving it. It has a very French flair to it, with the unique tri-cutout wheels, louvers and the black paint stripes across the side of the car tying into the indicators. However, the front end couldâve used a bit more refinement, most obviously in the flat-looking headlights and grille. The interior didnât particularly stand out, but was fairly nice and far more restrained than the exterior. The Super R5 was very drivable and comfortable, and on the more inexpensive side too, which I appreciated. However, what lay under the hood wasnât too authentic, thanks to a complete engine and transmission swap. Like the Rivelo Gordini, the inline four was swapped for a slightly larger one with minimal turbo lag and a nice powerband. Ultimately though, the looks are what turned me away from this one.
Renault R5 "Ailette Turbo" by MTL C&T
At first, I wasnât really fond of how this restomod was modified. The van windows massively hurt visibility, the mismatched bodykit didnât do it any favors, and the wheel choice didnât really match the rest of the restomod well. However, there was a certain charm to itsâ design, with itsâ little quirks like the porthole windows behind the doors, split windshield and the spare tire on the rear. And it was one of the most authentic entries of the bunch, opting to keep the original engine and transmission. Completely maxing out the budget, you might ask what makes it worth that money? The answer is the interior. It had the highest quality interior of the bunch, handmade with plenty of detail. Itsâ restrained, unique and very â80s white, red and gray theme was subtle but beautiful, and it was the most comfortable car of the bunch by a large margin. When it came to engineering, the Ailette Turbo had bad turbo lag without beating many of the other entries on power. However, itsâ reliability was a little above the rest. While being alright both on and off the pavement, it didnât stand out in either, making it a good all-rounder. While being an excellently engineered car, it just didnât have that panache the winner did.
Seraphine Turbo by Avion
The styling and attention to detail on this car is simply incredible. Of the entries, this one definitely was the closest to what I wanted from the styling. Itâs understated, but it just oozes with special. The eggshell gray paint is slightly boring on itsâ own, but the tasteful red accents really make it work. From the modeled â80s-inspired infotainment, to the exhaust system with custom scalloped tips to match the design on the steering wheel, to the clear taillights with millions of subtle red LED shelves, no element was overlooked. The blue and beige quilted interior with ambient lighting all over the place is truly beautiful, even if the materials and comfort donât live up to the MTL entry. With itsâ high sportiness and unique, high-revving inline 3, this would be a really fun weekend car, however. The unfortunate bit is that it suffered from similar amounts of turbo lag to the Ailette Turbo. However, at least it made about 100 more horsepower than it and had a nice, flat upper powerband. The high price point didnât help itsâ chances, but after giving it some time, I realized this entry spoke to me in a way the others simply didnât.
Congratulations to @alen.alic1983 for being the winner of this Automation Restomod! The top three were very closely matched, it was really difficult determining the winner. The spreadsheet will be released shortly, I havenât finished putting the binned entries in it yet but otherwise itâs ready to go.
In order of succession, should Alen decide not to host:
2nd: @karhgath
3rd: @maverick74
4th: @SheikhMansour
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Kind of expected, I knew I took risks with the pimp my ride styling, and that was going to be a love or hate affair, and very probably the later. 
Congratulations to alen.alic1983 for winning. 
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Thanks.
My actual first win, and it is strangely nice.
Now, since the previous challenge thing, I realized that I am missing the programming flair and am a bit crude for leading a challenge.
The honors must go to someone who can dedicate time, which I have in limited quantities.
Thus I forego the honors and ask @karhgath to do it instead.
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Well, i went a bit too much into the 80s there⊠booscht all the way!
Looking forward to the next round.
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Congrats @alen.alic1983 ! Another very beautiful and well crafted entry.
I do have an idea for the next ARM, more in the âmechanicsâ department than the actual car, so give me a few days to test things out, but I will be glad to host the next round.
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