Astronaut Magazine - Revitilization

Sharing Car Reviews
1

[size=150]Is your normal car review magazine too filled with neutral reviews of boring cars?[/size]

[size=125]If so, Astronaut is your place for the most Opinionated reviews on maddest of vehicles, be it crazy power outputs, street-legal track weapons, insane visuals, or some cool fault or idea.[/size]

We here at Astronaut take care to put the cars through tests they normally wouldn’t go through, such as Hypercar off-roading, and SUV Racing. We like to throw our thoughts about with the 5 Reasons Segment, where we give 5 Reasons as to why we dislike a car, or why you should buy this car. We also like to do the Top 10s, on all manner of things, such as failed concepts, or best value for money Sports cars. We don’t care! Nothing is off limit to us. So, we are Astronaut. If you would like us to give our opinions on your vehicles, send us a message with the car, and We’d be happy to do it. (If it reaches the specifications we want, anyway.)

The First Segment will be up soon. This will be…

[size=150]TOP 10: Companies in Automation.[/size]

1 Like
2

Wow! This will be interesting! :smiley:

3

Maddest of vehicles? Where do I sign up?

4

Looking forward to this.

5

I am a boring person who makes boring cars, but it’ll be wonderful to see them driven… unconventionally.

Or reviewed by a raving lunatic. That would be fun to watch.

6

[quote=“Deskyx”]I am a boring person who makes boring cars, but it’ll be wonderful to see them driven… unconventionally.

Or reviewed by a raving lunatic. That would be fun to watch.[/quote]

You’ve come to the right place. At least for that last comment.

7

[size=200]TOP 10: Companies[/size]

[size=150]This list is in no particular order, and entirely is my own opinion[/size]

[ul][size=125]Airborne Automotive[/size]

Airborne, despite being based in Poland, this company might as well be from anywhere else. Their designs are some of the best I’ve seen in a long time.[/ul]

[ul][size=125]AMW[/size]

AMW are a great company with many a different car in their line-up. I’d call them a very nice bunch of innovators.[/ul]

[ul][size=125]Kraft Haus Technik[/size]

A tuning company with their own line-up. Working on cars is life for them . I’ve had my car tuned by them before.[/ul]

[ul][size=125]CERVUS[/size]

Luxury is their strong suit. With a small line-up currently, I’m expecting big things from them all.[/ul]

[ul][size=125]Rennen Automotive[/size]

With their large marketing budget, and interesting cars, Rennen caught my eye very quickly.[/ul]

[ul][size=125]ManHell Automotive[/size]

With a line-up just as big as Airborne’s, ManHell is one of the greats.[/ul]

[ul][size=125]Solstice Motors[/size]

Solstice is another massive company, with massive car line-up. If I was to own a car, I’d probably take Solstice.[/ul]

[ul][size=125]Blue Marlin Motori Auto/ Žnoprešk Avtomobil[/size]

With another large line-up spanning many years, BMMA/ Žnoprešk are another of my personal likes.[/ul]

[ul][size=125]Centauri Industries[/size]

It’s Centauri, what else can I say. With a huge line-up and such, Centauri is Dominant.[/ul]

[ul][size=125]Saminda Motor Co./Auxuras Motor Co.[/size]

Another Dominant Company, with a huge list of cars, Saminda and Their Luxury Department Auxuras are quite awesome.[/ul]

[size=110]THAT IS ALL FOR TODAY.[/size]

NEXT ARTICLE: A Special look at a new flagship car.

8

Get me signed up, I have some cars i’d like reveiwed before they are released

9

[quote=“Vri404”]
[ul][size=125]AWM[/size]

AWM are a great company with many a different car in their line-up. I’d call them a very nice bunch of innovators.[/ul][/quote]

That’s very nice of you to say, assuming you mean my company. But it’s A-M-W, not A-W-M

10

[quote=“TheTom”]

[quote=“Vri404”]
[ul][size=125]AWM[/size][/quote]

AWM are a great company with many a different car in their line-up. I’d call them a very nice bunch of innovators.[/ul]

That’s very nice of you to say, assuming you mean my company. But it’s A-M-W, not A-W-M[/quote]

Whoops. I’ll fix that.

11

Just message me with what car you want tested.

12

Astronaut Magazine would Like to present the new Logo, and the introduction of their new Motto, “We are Mad. We Are Astronaut.”

13

[quote=“Vri404”][ul][size=125]Kraft Haus Technik[/size]

A tuning company with their own line-up. Working on cars is life for them . I’ve had my car tuned by them before.[/ul]
[/quote]

We try :slight_smile:

Thanks.

14

[size=200]A Special Look at the new 2015 Soltra Devation[/size]

It’s a nice, somewhat warm day here at Bathurst. I’m currently waiting for my Soltra Contact to arrive with the car I’m supposed to be testing. The First thing I notice is its looks. The complex and crazy amounts of vents and such blow me away. the next thing that hits me is how amazing it sounds. The meaty and aggressive sound comes via Twin Turbos on the V8. As it pulls in front of me, the quad side exit exhausts spit at me. The guy dropping it off says something about don’t go too hard, but I don’t hear what he said entirely. The 2015 Soltra Devation (Said D-V-A-tion) is the new flagship monster for Soltra, making 1303hp from a 7.7l V8, which revs all the way up to 8000rpm. The 7-speed flappy-paddle 'box is super responsive, taking you up to over 100kph in 1st gear, and going all the way up to 367kph by 7th, but it feels like it could go even faster. 100kph is reached in 2 and a half seconds, but that’s with a professional driver at the wheel. I’m not a professional by any means.

I decided to take it onto the track, to let it roar, and be let loose. My first mistake was thinking that this was like what I had been driving earlier in the day, a Volvo V8 supercar. This car had less grip, but was a hell of a load more fun. I almost binned it into a wall coming along the Esses, but was able to not. Driving this thing is epic. I can’t say more than that. Wait, Yes I can. It might not be the most controllable hypercar I’ve ever driven, but this is near enough the most fun I’ve ever had. This car is on street tyres. You can tell. It slips and slides like a snake, but in an easy-to-manage and fun way. I’m hoping a track weapon comes from this, one with more wing, and semi-slicks. I was able to get a nice time of 2:11.9 around Bathurst, but the PR guy said one of their test drivers got a 2:07.8.

The noise and the looks make this thing seem worth even more than it is. It sits at a price of US$182,000. It feels like it’s worth about US$300,000. I hope I’m not giving them any ideas.

~Vri404

OOC Notes:
Pricing may not be final. This is what was shown in the received file.
Also, I’m not bothering to attach photos due to being lazy and a sh*tty PC, so I’m going to RP it as a NDA-style thing of I was allowed to talk about it, but not release any photos.
Thanks to UMGaming to let me do this. His Company is here automationgame.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=8290
EDIT: Fixed Spelling Mistakes, but can’t fix mistakes in image due to Lazy.

15

Car will be up on my company topic tomorrow, also it’s not the new flagship, just one of 3 flagships, The Renagation (First car on my company topic), The Devation (The one in this review) and a Luxury car to be released. Nice review bye the way, might consider sending you the 2003 Devation which had a focus on topspeed, this one had a focus on cornering.

Also you spelt Devation wrong, or I did in the pm please fix

16

Glad you love my cars , anyway you spelled Saminda wrongly , supposed to be Saminda not Samdina :slight_smile:

anyway looking forward for your magazine

17

[size=200]5 REASONS WHY: You should Start buying cars from the '90s[/size]

[size=150]REASON ONE: Parts[/size]

[ul]These things are generally easy to find parts for.[/ul]

[size=150]REASON TWO: Style[/size]

[ul]These things generally look better than their modern counterparts.[/ul]

[size=150]REASON THREE: Mods[/size]

[ul]Many of the '90s cars, especially those from japan, are quite easy to mod.[/ul]

[size=150]REASON FOUR: Price[/size]

[ul]These things are so cheap currently, which I find good. GET BUYING[/ul]

[size=150]REASON FIVE: Rarity[/size]

[ul]Certain cars are becoming rarer and rarer, and I mean they’re getting more expensive. Like I said Before, GET BUYING[/ul]

18

Yeah, but there’s one thing you didn’t consider: it can be hard to find a car in good condition, with low mileage and no major flaws. Plus, at least in Europe, japanese (and american, for that matter) sports cars are very rare, and if you happen to find one, 99% of the time it’s rusty. And rust is like caries: once it’s there, you can only slow it down a bit but never fully get rid of it.

19

[size=200]AMWEC IS COMING[/size]

So, A new Endurance series is coming. The Automation World Endurance Championship is set to be the premier Endurance trophy for the next few months. This 10 round series features three classes, Automation Prototype 1 (AP1,) Automation Prototype 2 (AP2,) and Automation Grand Touring Endurance (AGTE.) Currently (At time of writing) there are 5 AP1 cars, 2 AP2 cars, and 2 AGTE cars.

[size=120]AP1[/size]

The AP1 cars are the premier and higher grade cars, being allowed to stretch the limits of technology. These are purebred racers share little in common with production road vehicles, but some might share a name or even an engine.

[size=120]AP2[/size]

The AP2 cars are just smaller, less powerful AP1 cars, generally. Being allowed to run twin turbo setups on smaller engines, these cars might share an engine with a road car, but that’s about it. The AP2 category will produce some epic racing. These cars are cheaper to run, and buy, so Private teams generally run here.

[size=120]AGTE[/size]

The AGTE class is for production derived cars. Some cars in this category are purpose built for the AGTE class and are just sold as they are. This category has the most production derived settings and parts.

[size=120]ROUNDS[/size]

The 10 rounds take place from December 6th 2015 - February 7th 2016
They are:
Round 1: 24hrs of Spa (December 6th)
Round 2: 6hrs of São Paulo (December 13th)
Round 3: 6hrs of COTA (December 20th)
Round 4: 12hrs of Sebring (December 27th)
Round 5: 6hrs of Melborne (January 3rd)
Round 6: 6hrs of Fuji (January 10th)
Round 7: 6hrs of Shanghai (January 17th)
Round 8: 12hrs of Nürburgring (January 24th)
Round 9: 6hrs of Silverstone (January 31st)
Round 10: 24hrs of LeMans (Febuary 7th)

Rounds 1 and 10 seem as if they are going to be the more difficult ones to over come, but we’ll see how the cars (and drivers) hold up come December 6th

[size=120]TEAMS/CARS[/size]

At the time of writing (10/11/2015) there are 9 cars entered, 5 for AP1, 2 for AP2, and 2 for AGTE. Here is a small run down

AP1:
Kraft Haus Technik Project Sepang, from Germany
Team Yinzer Spidar, from the USA
Fox Manor/Syron Motorworks Galadante, from Canada (being run by Fox Manor Grand Endurance Team)
Meliora Automotive M128, from Mexico
Montes RRSX-R, from España

AP2:
Fox Manor/Syron Motorworks Novotek, from New Zealand (being run by Syron Motorworks Factory Racing)
Meliora Automotive M8-R, from Mexico

AGTE:
Echo Motor Co. Banshee, from Serbia (Being run by ERD)
LMT Motors LMT 90, from the UK (being run by LMT Racing)

[size=120]INTERVIEWS[/size]

Coming soon will be interviews with Drivers, Companies, and even (hopefully) the Head himself, Sillyworld.

More infomation is here, including if you wish to enter: automationgame.com/phpBB3/viewto … =39&t=8291

~Vri404

20

Here is our First interview with some of the competition, this one is with head of Kraft Haus Technik, Gerhard “Squidhead” Wagner.

This interview was conducted over email.

[quote]1) What do you think your chances of winning are?
We at KHT tend not to thing about our chances, but about the potential to learn and expand on our experience. Competition improves the breed, and that’s what we are in this for.

  1. How awesome is the Project Sepang?
    It is pretty awesome. One of the better chassis we have built, and due to the limited nature of the build we could actually afford to build our own engines for this. Natrually the street version will not share the same engine, but it will share the spirit of the Sepang, and bring it to the streets.

  2. Any tracks you’re worried about?
    Circuit de la Sarthe, actually. There are a few reasons, which, if I were to explain, could reveal some of our car’s shortcomings. But they are there so we could excell in other areas. Le Mans will not favour us, I am afraid.

  3. Who looks to be your biggest threat currently?
    We are our biggest enemy. Natrually big name teams like Fox Manor and Meliora are a force to be reckoned with, but if we missed a beat anywhere, we’ll be the main cause of our problems. Looking at our junior engineering team trying and failing constantly to build a reliable and fast AGTE class Adelaide to spec, fills me with nervousness, since we’ve been very quick to finalize and build the Sepang. In all honesty, I think we’ll cause more problems for ourselves than any other team can ever do.

  4. Any plans on entering any of the other classes?
    Naturally, as I said, we’re planning on an AGTE Adelaide, and we are currently looking at a potential engine supplier for the Sepang AP2. Both projects are still undecided upon, since the AP2 needs an engine and we don’t know if anybody would even give us one, and the Adelaide keeps melting the pistons.

  5. Any final words to everyone?
    Good luck, have fun, and lets have an interesting championship[/quote]

Kraft Haus Technik can be found here: automationgame.com/phpBB3/viewto … =35&t=8275