Instabin to me = breaking the hard rules or totally going out of scope for the soft rules. Maybe you were dangerously close to part 2 but I still think it is reasonable enough to get a proper review.
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Thanks @Knugcab, I thought I still had plenty of the time to do all the things but as always I ended up being on the redline, and good news this time Iāve managed to go over itš
Running on the thin ice has definitely became a thing for me
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REVIEWS AND RESULTS:
Our client now has taken a look at the seven different proposals, and had his say about them.
The first one was the FERRARI S40-8 FIORANO from MCF ATELER @MCF
"If we take a look at the aesthetetics first, they are interesting. It is in one way a bit like what could happen if Ferrari made a modern concept car that should hark back to the 308. It is very well done, but maybe it also ends up a bit too sterile, too perfect, and has taken away a little bit of the identity and nostalgia. However, it is by no means ugly, the question is just if it improved on the original. What is worth mentioning, though, is the absolutely gorgeous interior.
The car has some rather extensive modifications too, the whole body is remade out of aluminium, and the engine is re-routed and now sits longitudinally. The later maybe a nod to the GTO that it seems to try to mimic, well, you could of course have worse inspirations than that one. Also, the air suspension is maybe an unusual choice for a sports car like this. Even if it could be questioned how much 308 that remains, most of the engineering in itself makes sense. Even the engine is based on the original, although heavily modified, and now is closer to a GTO unit, with its destroked crank, two turbos and 4 valve heads.
It has a significant upgrade in performance all over the line, and is also the vehicle with the fastest 80-120 time and the highest top speed, overall I would say that it is the car with the most complete performance upgrade.
Unfortunately it also comes with many drawbacks, MCF Atelier admits that it will be a very fragile car that is better admired in the garage than it is suited for hard driving, that the original 308 probably was more comfortable and the service costs on this one will also be astronomical. Despite traction control and ABS being added it seems like it can be a mouthful to handle too, after what I saw in the simulation. It has some rather nasty oversteering tendencies and quite massive turbo lag. So, being one of the more costly proposals, the question is if it is worth it in the endā¦"
After that, the FERRARI 308 GTBi by SEAL TUNING @Sealboi
"It is a good looking car with subtle modifications that indeed pays a lot of respect to the original. Maybe the purple paint is a bit too much āin your faceā and the chrome finish on the wheels a bit tacky. May be possible to get other options maybeā¦ The interior is mostly a rather clever update of the original, and I like it.
The engineering pays some homage to the original and this car is clearly a 308 underneath still. The engine draws more inspiration from the 328 but seems to be a heavily reworked unit with a billet block. Naturally aspirated, but with peak power annoyingly close to the rev limiter. 383 hp isnāt extreme compared to what some other entries are pumping out, and performance suffers a bit, but is still a remarkable upgrade. This is another car that surprises me with air suspension but overall engineering makes sense. It is also both fun and easy to drive, but a little disappointment is that the brakes arenāt really up to the task of hard driving, starting to fade quicker than you would like to expect from a supercar today.
A good looking and well thought out car, that is one of the better proposal in some areas like sportiness and driveability, lags behind in some others like performance and comfort. That, for a price that maxes out all of the budget."
Then came the somewhat unusual FERRARI 308 GTBi by ROADBURNERS @Madrias
āMY EYES! I can see why this is the cheapest entry, because it is a trap. Roadburners just wants me to pay them to drive around in something that is basically just a rolling billboard for their line of toy cars. The comfort is said to be substantly upgraded, it is the second fastest accelerating car from a standstill, the safety is still on 1980 level and other than that it seems to be about mid pack in most stats, but why would I care?ā
More normal was the FERRARI 308 GTBi from DUCE DESIGNS @DuceTheTruth100
"Seems like focus here was to make a boulevard cruiser rather than a sports car. It is the slowest out of all the entries, and it didnāt feel particularily sporty to drive. Well, compared to the rest then, since it is of course still a fast and sporty car. But it will also give rather trouble free ownership since they guarantee it to be dead reliable, and the service costs are the lowest on top of that. It is also very easy to drive, and one of the cars with the best safety upgrades.
Engineering is rather true to the original, spare for that this is another car with air suspension, kind of surprising that it became something of a to-go choice, but if it works it works, I guess. Maybe a bit too true in some cases, because why do you upgrade a car to modern standards while still choosing to keep an old cassette player from the 80s? Sure, nostalgia but it has its limits I guess. Also, the brakes arenāt completely up to the task, the car may stop in a short distance but they seem to lack bite and shows a little bit of fading when driven hard, from what I could feel in the simulation, but not as bad as the Seal Tuning proposal.
Styling is not bad per se. The car is good looking, but it also feels that many of the changes done also takes away the identity of the car and makes it kind of generic. Like the changes to the side vent and the taillights. Also, the wheels feels a bit like if they would have suited some pimped out minitruck better than a Ferrari. Interior is more or less the original one still, but nothing wrong with that one, on the other hand."
Next car was the FERRARI 308 GTBi LG from LIGHTNING GARAGE @Ch_Flash
"Styling is a mixed bag. Is it a Volvo 940 grille those crazy swedes stuck on it up front? I prefer the original there. Also, I donāt 100% understand the change to the taillights, replacing the iconic round ones with something looking rather generic. What I DO like is the bodykit, though, that manages to look rather extreme and still like if it is more or less tailored for the car. Also, the upgrade of the interior is rather nice, even if they went a bit over the top with the gold accents IMO.
The engine is a naturally aspirated QV unit it seems like, 300 hp, but with surprisingly frisky performance for a power output that isnāt all that massive. Overall, it is the car with the largest amount of 308 left in its engineering, but appearantly done rather smart, since for example the cornering and braking are better than any other of the entries. The only major drawback is maybe that the service costs are a bit on the higher side, but not among the worst. Reliability, driveability, safety and comfort all are substantially upgraded from the original, even if not in the absolute top. Whatās in the top is fuel economy, though. 7.7 litres per 100 km is better than some regular family cars TBH!
Not a perfect entry, but a solid one.
Then, the time had come for the FERRARI 308 GTBi BARBARIAN @AKA_NOBUDDY
"Barbarian it is! It looks absolutely sinister, and I love every bit of it! Well, maybe except for routing the exhaust through the taillights, thatās a bit over the top. But it should be said that when it comes to the aesthetics, this is a favourite. The interior rework is also nice, and whatās important there is that it does not clash with the exterior, but complements it very good.
Whatās also good is the performance, at least when it comes to speed. For example, it is the fastest accelerating car from a standstill, shown both 0-60 and on the quartermile. On the other hand, spare for the weird six wheeler, the cornering and braking are among the least improved cars here.
I guess one of the problems is that the relatively narrow tires are a bit overpowered by the 576 hp F154. The car actually feels a bit tricky to handle sometimes.
In general, the engineering is not that weird and rather true to the original. Still, I donāt have too much faith in the reliability, it seems a bit slapped together, and the service costs are even more astronomical than for the MCP. It is thirsty on fuel, which might hurt the range for fast long distance driving, and since the comfort isnāt any better than the original car, it will probably hurt my back too.
All in all, the beauty of this feels a bit too skin deep for me to be convinced."
The last entry - the 328 GTBi REVO from LVC @abg7
"I am not too sure about the wheels, especially not in gold, other than that this is an aesthetically pleasing entry that pays respect to the original and has just the right amount of modifications. The interior is also a subtle rework of the original, that works well enough.
With things like an engine swap and a new body out of aluminium, thereās less left of the 308 than what it seems like at a first glance, though. On the other hand the engineering is overall very sane. It will probably not give too much trouble. And even though there are faster cars, the performance upgrade is still remarkable. It feels fun and easy to drive, the comfort should also be decent. Even if the price is on the higher side, neither fuel economy or service costs are all that bad. It also has the best safety upgrade out of all the cars.
Spare for safety, not the best car at anything but it is hard to find any overly weak spots.
FINAL RESULTS
7th place: @Madrias
It was a meme entry, and you know it. An unusually well engineered one, though, and I think that the extensive tail rework deserves a mention at least.
6th place: @MCF
An interesting entry, but kind of breaks the golden rule with a reliability factor terribly worse than the original car. Too much other flaws too, like the terminal oversteering.
5th place: @DuceTheTruth100
A classic example of an entry that didnāt really have anything that was overly wrong with it, that was beaten by cars that were sharper overall.
4th place: @AKA_NOBUDDY
Amazing styling, could not hold up engineering wise, though.
3rd place: @Sealboi
A good looking and well thought out car, without any major flaws, however, it maxed out the budget without giving you enough bang for the buck compared to the entries placing even higher.
2nd place: @Ch_Flash
Another example of a very good all rounder, compared to the winner it lost out on some questionable styling choices, and being a notch below in too many stats, but it should be said that the competition here at the top was rather tight.
ā¦AND THE WINNER ISā¦
@abg7 and the 328GTBi Revo by LVC!
A car that is a good example of how it is not always the right thing to do to go extreme on one single stat in ARM. It was not the best car at anything else than safety, but it was a good allrounder, that did fit the brief very well, with no major flaws, with nice, clean styling on the outside that paid homage to the original, and a good enough update on the inside. That was appearantly a formula that turned out to work well this time.
Congratulations, @abg7, on your first ARM victory!
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Thanks! Iāve waited a long time to win any sort of Discourse challenge, which makes it all the sweeter.
A jack of all trades, but not necessarily a master of noneā¦
ā¦except for being the most balanced build out of those submitted. Not too specialized in one area at the expense of another, but more than good enough everywhere to win. Sometimes, a subtle evolution can be a more effective approach than a drastic revolution.
And yes, I am indeed going to host the next ARM after all; just give me time to create a suitable donor car.
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2nd, Yes, Iāll take that! Actually the styling on this one is more on the conservative side from LG. I tried to find some kind of balance between the original and my wilder ideas but I still wanted it to stand out a little.
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Taste is different, but it is hard to improve on a car as gorgeous as the 308 so I appreciate everyone that at least did an attemptā¦I just could not unsee this, though. 
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I had a lot of fun going into this ARM, just as I did with the Opel Rekord. Essentially went in with the same mindset of making a restomod of some sort, hopefully that explains the rear lights and the 
ās lol. I definitely wanted to leave the interior original, but leaving the tape deck was stupid as hell and something that i didnt even think about smh. It was a fun round for me because I love the style of the 308, once i seen the donor car i couldnt wait to work on it. Thanks once again.
And congrats to you @abg7 on your win.
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Iāll definitely take 3rd place, much better than my usual finish lol
congrats on the win @abg7!
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Leaving out the Gooferrari by Madrias now (it was a joke and he is very well aware of it himself, so I see no reason to be diplomatic here, lol), I actually like the styling of all the entries in their own special way, the almost concept car like MCF, the somewhat extreme, but tough looking and amazing Barbarian, the LG that manages to look elegant despite wearing a rather wild bodykit, are a bit hard to put up against the more subtle restylings of the LVC, Duce and Seal tuning cars. My personal favourite there is the Barbarian, but none of them could have failed on styling alone, all of them are interesting takesā¦
A couple of the cars could have been better by having the engineering a bit more tweaked (mainly the Barbarian and MCF), or more aimed towards the taste of the customer (Duce), but I would not call the engineering overly bad on any of them, generally it all made senseā¦
And when it comes to the top 3, even the engineering was rather close.
So why am I writing this? Well, just because nobody should feel like a loser here. I have hosted many challenges by now, and well, NGL, most of the times you get entries where you feel that āeh, this is junkā, such was not the case this time, there were six high quality builds, one that was at least good for shits and giggles and a nice one for what it wasā¦so it does not matter how you placed, you all have the right to be proud of your work here. As a host, nothing is harder than letting a good entry fail just because there is a large amount of even better ones, and that is something that always should be kept in mind as a participant.
Now, waiting with excitement for what abg can cook up for ARM34.
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I need to start paying attention to what the customer wants 
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I mean, if youāre going to meme it up and make some bin-bait, at least make it high quality bin bait, right? Sure, I did that because I could, but we have to admit, it was the right thing to do. And as you said - itās exactly what Roadburners would do to sell more toy cars - Because thatās what a company that predominantly makes and sells toy cars and videogames with said toy cars would want to do.
Yes, I left the 1980ās safety there on purpose - The idea was literally āWhat if we were to take the original, change only what we had to in order to go AWD, add an axle, and add downforce, and give people a nicer place to put their butt? The car stays almost the same otherwise.ā
I wanted the engineering to make sense - this was an alteration of the original car, not a remanufacturing of the original. There were no plans to put air-bags and crash-avoidance computers onboard - It was to keep the carās spirit alive - an analog supercar with just enough computer onboard to make the engine sing and the tires burn.
Lore-wise, it did exactly what I wanted. Challenge-wise, it did exactly the same - I got binned in glorious fashion and got to push the boundaries of āwhat is allowed in ARMā when it comes to my blend of insanity.
Congrats to @abg7 for the victory.
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Yes, I was just mentioning the things that were āstanding outā stats wise, so to speak, I donāt say that you did anything wrong with the engineering (you couldnāt have done it more āwrongā anyway ) and the car was pretty much around the middle in most areas otherwiseā¦
Sure, you could have bumped up the safety to a high level and blamed it on the ejection seat, that would have made some sense I guess. 
Eh. We all need to laugh sometimes, I didnāt mind it as long as not everyone started doing meme entries.
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