Great advertizement love the writing 
1 Like
is anyone even going to read this? I guess I'll just put a spaceship here (_)(_)=====D~~
The early 70âs; Minex, with a side of ArcSpace
The lore
After their initial introduction to Araga, Minex was riding high.
The Paceman had done well enough in the hire business, but where they really shone was the Danazine. Performing well above expectations, it did well enough that Minex was quickly well regarded within Planar, to the point where, when Planarâs acquisition of failing rocket company ArcSpace failed to produce any results, they were pushed onto Minex to try sell in Araga.
Oh dear.
The 1970 ArcSpace SRT Araga Comms Demo-1
The ArcSpace Solid Rocket Tester (or SRT) was a very forward-thinking design for a rocket. A low cost rocket specialising in lighter payloads with more extreme orbits is a solid proposal these days, in the late 60âs to early 70âs it was a fatally flawed idea. While it was reliable (even by modern standards), all-solid fuel rockets were seen as dated, and nobody wanted a little rocket that could only put ~5 tons to GTO, so despite its low cost, nobody wanted it, and it was ready to fail.
Thatâs where Araga comes in. Seeing an untapped market, and having just been bought by a hasty Planar wanting a feather in their cap, ArcSpace looked to be transferred to Minex to try gain contracts from the Aragan government, and to everyone in the companyâs shock, Planar agreed!
While it would turn out that that was because Planar was desperately short of money, that wouldnât come out until later. All Minex and ArcSpace could see was a potentially very lucrative market, but how well would it turn out?
One of ArcSpace's prior SRT demo launches in Australia. Yes that's KSP and no I won't apologise for that :^)
The 1973 Minex Dragonar F6H and XD Full Utilisation
The SM33 series of Dragonar wasnât a massive change for Minex, outside of the two very massive changes of it finally being renamed to a unique Minex name and having unique Minex styling.
Both cars gained a unique front treatment, and the F6H was permanently stretched and more closely alined to the F6L limousine.
But the XD Full Utilisation (or XDFU) was where the real changes were. A performance model to begin with, the XDFU has the rare distinction of being the only Planar/Halvson/Minex car to have a full-sized 4.2 litre PLRFX/RXO79, hence the Full Utilisation name. Making an impressive 157kw as opposed to the F6Hâs more normal 130, the XDFU was poised for speed, but refused to give up on comfort.
Both cars, however, displayed a flagrant disregard for taxes, and thoroughly buttered their bread on the side of well-off customers with their already high pre-tax prices rising huge amounts. Would that continue to be popular with the market, or would sentiment turn against them?
7 Likes
Damn, my perfect reliability recordâŠ
3 Likes
Well-written and looks like strong competition.
Thanks, but as for how competitive it really is weâll have to wait and see what the actual writeups say; I intentionally wrote the text in the style of company marketing copy rather than as an unbiased review.
SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED
Please stand by while I check the entries and begin preparing reviews.
2 Likes
Dalluha Coach & Motor Works presents theâŠ
Details
Sold elsewhere as the NorĂ°wagen SkaĂ°i in its various incarnations, the Kutshuriat nameplate was one of DCMWâs first four, representing a versatile and very mid-sized and mid-spec chassis centered around a 5-door hatchback.
The Kutshuriat is meant not to excel in any one dimension, but to be one of several synergies of all-around competence and quality. This isnât a âoh, weâre stuck with the hatchbackâ consolation prize, which at $17000 would be ill humor anyway; this is a proper car like its larger stablemate, the Al-Sayaadim, optimized for a different use case.
We in Dalluha have high standards. A proper road car begins with a Premium interior and matching sound system, high-quality galvanized steel body, and well-tuned double-wishbone suspension front and rear, with perfectly balanced and fade-free all-disk brakes.
With 90hp and 132ft-lb from a 4P701-20M-T90 flat-4, the Standard Four Kutshuriat wonât win many sprints, but with 80.0 reliability and 5.7 L/100km (41.6 USmpg) fuel consumption, is a solid contender for endurance races, including the daily commuting rat race.
Of course, a Standard Four is just the beginning. With a 142hp four and a firmer suspension, the Kutshriat Standard Four S takes similar build and tuning quality and throws it deftly into corner after corner.
If thatâs not quite enough of a hurry, perhaps one of the M trims might suit. M is for Muscle; in the case of the Standard Six M, 347hp of it to be exact.
Meanwhile, a Standard Four X takes the same quality off the beaten path.
A myriad of additional models include six-cylinder and turbocharged versions, higher-spec interiors, and various utility bodies. While the Kutshuriat Standard Four is front-wheel-drive, the platform was designed from the start to use modular subframes shared with the Al-Sayaadim. The latterâs engine bolts right in to the Kutshuriat with just a couple of different brackets, and the high interchangeability of parts makes countless combinations possible: Al-Sayaadim brakes on an otherwise stock Kutshuriat? Al-Sayaadim four-cylinder 4x4? Kutshuriat six-cylinder 4x4? Done and done and then some, all plug-n-play. From 1972, transfer cases with the same form factor but also locking center differentials become available for pavement-friendly all-wheel-drive.
DCMW relies little on trade secrets, and emphatically rejects any corporate culture oriented towards obfuscation or unnecessary difficulty of service and maintenance. Every DCMW is sold with a full factory service manual, dealerships offer free seminars for mechanics and DIY owners, and the company officially and unofficially supports informed and empowered owners, the third-party aftermarket, all manner of motorsports, and the tuning & modification culture as a whole. The company firmly believes that cars are meant to be driven, and driving - or at least riding in it - is meant to be enjoyed.
4 Likes
REVIEWS PART 4.1
I SWEAR IT'S LEGAL OFFICER
Okay, let's get started with the reviews. I am pleased to inform everyone that there are no bins... Because I'm in a good mood and have let a *bunch* of stuff slide. A lot of people got the naming conventions wrong in some way and/or didn't clone properly. A bunch *more* had some minor violation of the lighting rules. Some used the old format license plate and some didn't reduce the roughness below 1.00 to remove the weird visual artifact...
I blame myself tbh. When this many people mess up the cloning, itâs on me for not explaining it well enough. Those license issues? Yeah, thatâs on me for chopping and changing. The lighting rules are pretty specific and easy to mess up. So, where people messed up lighting, I gave a chance to correct. Where people messed up plates and names, I just fixed it myself. No skin off my back, didnât take too long overall. Otherwise, everyone is legal⊠But in some cases, itâs only technically legal.
Thereâs one exception, which gets through by âIâm being nice, donât do this again.â
Whodunit?
Cars: Renwoo GT Coupe by @Mikonp7 , DMCW Al-Sayaadim by @moroza , Centurion C100 by @ldub0775 and Hikaru-360 Mijikai by @MoteurMourmin
In back of Centurion: Hikaru Power-Wash 100 by @MoteurMourmin
Here we go, the four technically legal cars and the one thatâs only in because Iâm in a good mood. In fact, both Renwoos and both DMCWs (but not both Centurions) had the same issue - but this makes for a nicer picture so eh.
Hikar-oops
Can you see the issue here? Can you spot whatâs wrong? Yup, these arenât related! These are both @MoteurMourminâs non-car entries. Non-car entries are supposed to be related to one another, thereâs supposed to be a reasonable way that theyâre both from the same product line. Most people did really well with that, this is the one exception. I should bin one of these, but hey, Iâm in a good mood, so it gets to stay. I get some discretion, right? Of course, the spending tokens received will be docked a little, which I think is fair.
Then, thereâs the Mijikai. Itâs a road vehicle but with only one headlight (and, incidentally, one reverse light). Iâve decided to call it a motorbike with some limits on maximum legal weight and where it can go, because little trikes like this are often counted there. There will be impacts of this indulgence though.
Renwoo: Bane Of The Aragan Government
Renwoo does not have the best relationship with the government of Araga. After the debacle that was the Renwoo Motor Tricycle, the company was somehow not banned from the country (I know!). They did up the safety on their latest vehicles, but they continue to be a thorn in the side of the government. The inspectors originally refused to certify the GT Coupe and the GT CĂŽte dâAzur, citing the lack of a rear side indicator. They politely requested that Renwoo added an additional indicator, to which @Mikonp7 saidâŠ
This was actually the reply when I asked Mikon whether to keep it as-is and have a legal battle with laws changed, or to wait for a resub with a proper indicator. I was the one who found the loophole.
See, from just the right angle, the slanted rear indicators are visible from the side. One needs to be aligned to the rear bumper rather than, say, the rear wheel, but it is technically visible. Renwoo ultimately won the legal battle and got to sell the car.
Red Faces
From Hikaru to DMCW, now. @moroza and the enterprising lawyers over at DMCW found that the latest edition of the Design Standards For Aragan Motor Vehicles had unintentionally removed a requirement for indicators to be amber. So, they submitted their new cars, with red rear indicators! The government was initially disapproving, but when the error was pointed out, they conceded the point⊠And contacted @ldub0775 over at the recently-nationalised Centurion. See, with the fresh cash injection, Centurion had begun work on a line of lighter, more normal vehicles. While DMCW and others claimed that red lights were just as safe as amber, some were skeptical. So, Centurion produced some trucks with amber and some with red - a C100 with red is seen here. They also continued to discuss matters, with a final judgement set for the next edition of the regulations⊠And they decided to include the auto makers heavily in this.
OOC: I AM EXPERIMENTING WITH A NEW FORMAT FOR MATTERS LIKE THIS. Rather than a simple poll, there will be a debate in the discord - see the âDebate Channelsâ category for more information. Debate will be open for at least 1 week, allowing ample opportunity to contribute. Feel free to join, and provide your opinion!
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And last but certainly not least, Dalluha Coach & Motor Works presents a car⊠no, The CarâŠ
(thanks to @karhgath for some photos)
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Is the forum broken? For some reason this thread no longer appears anywhere on the Community Challenges page anymore (https://discourse.automationgame.com/c/community-challenges-competitions/48).
Edit: And for some reason this only happens when Iâm logged in.
which one of these is selected at the bottom of the thread?
Muted, thatâs why. I didnât even know about this feature and must have clicked it by accident.
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1970 Mercer Leviathan Dreadnought 490
INTRODUCING THE MERCER LEVIATHAN, THE FIRST EVER TRUE ALL-AMERICAN SPORTS CAR
AFTER SPENDING TIME RESEARCHING ALL THOSE FOREIGN âSPORTSâ CARS, WE COULD ONLY WONDER WHAT THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING GIVING THEM SUCH TINY LITTLE BABY ENGINES
SO WE SOLVED THIS ISSUE IN THE ONLY LOGICAL WAY WITH THE SAME 490 MACHETE FROM THE TARANTULA, SINCE ITS SO PERFECT ALREADY
WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT SOME TAX AGAIN?
GOD DAMNIT WE HATE THESE NEW EMISSIONS REGULATIONS BECAUSE THEY SAPPED OUR BELOVED MACHETE OF 20 HORSEPOWER
SURELY THIS WONâT GET WORSE IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS
âOH BUT WHATâS THE FUEL ECONOMY? DOES IT TURN? DONâT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT NO ONE WANTS THIS DEATH TRAP?â STOP ASKING SUCH FEEBLE MINDED QUESTIONS AND BUY THE GREATEST SPORTS CAR ON THE WHOLE DAMN EARTH
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS AMERICA
13 Likes
Centurion Industries Presents: New for 1976
Centurion is proud to introduce two new platforms for both businesses and consumers alike.
CMI Series 8300
The Series 8300 is the newest model in our ever-increasing lineup of trucks designed for businesses to transport their goods across Araga. The 8300 is designed and engineered for great longevity and reliability, and has features to match: in testing, with regular maintenance, the 8300âs 8.3 liter diesel V8 was able to run nearly continuously for over 2,000,000 kilometers.
The Series 8300 slots nicely into businessesâ fleets, and we at Centurion guarantee its safety, reliability, and comfort to be among the best on the market. We refuse to rest on our laurels, and now and into the future promise to continue innovating technology and products suited to businesses and consumers alike.
Centurion C500 & C510
Centurion has for decades been producing high-quality trucks for the business market, with our offerings including tractor-trailers, chassis-cabs, and specialty vehicles. Centurion, however has never before produced a consumer vehicle.
Today that changes with the introduction of the Centurion C500 and C510. We have developed these trucks with the knowledge accrued from years of experience in industry, and back up the purchase of these trucks with the same guarantee as any of our other offerings.
As of today, there are two trims available for purchase: the C500 and C510, with the former offering utilitarian performance and a large bed, great for use by tradesmen and small businesses, and the latter offering niceties including an extended cab and a larger V8 engine, great for towing and recreation.
We at Centurion are confident in our products presented here, and are as ever proud to serve the Aragan public with the reliability and security inherent to anything stamped with a Centurion Crown.
© 1976 Centurion Industries, All Rights Reserved
10 Likes
What BeamNG map is the last picture from?
Any updates on the progress of judging?
likely Saturday as per an update from the discord.
REVIEWS PART 4.2
A LIMO SEEN
So, I only got two limos. Iâll consider the potential causes for that in a later post-mortem post, but it just is what it is for now. Letâs compare the pair, see how it looks. The good news is that you both understood the brief, delivering very expensive, very stately cars. Letâs go point by point, comparing the priorities, shall we?
Left: Rosanda AragaLimoSpecial. Right: DMCW Al_Sultan (Supremacy 12)
Safety, Emissions, Range, Loudness
As measured by the ADPR, the Rosanda is a little bit safer than the DCMW⊠But not by much. Itâs 95 points versus 91. The issue is, the Rosanda attains its safety through brute force, having fewer features but doing them with extreme refinement - and cost. The DCMW introduces features which likely wonât be standard until the 80s, and does them competently rather than spending massive sums on them. Itâs close to a dead heat there, but the different approaches have their impacts elsewhere.
Next, to emissions. The DCMW boasts truly amazing numbers for HC and NOx, but is let down by its CO numbers, running at just WES 5 levels. The rich fuel mixture, low compression and cast block hurt it. The Rosanda does worse on HC and NOx, but has just one third of the CO, allowing it to pass WES9 (in 1976!). Itâs a pretty decent win for the Rosanda here.
As for fuel, both cars are running E10 pump gas, which is easily available all around Araga by 76. The Rosanda runs an 83L tank and can travel 525 km on it while the wider, heavier DCMW runs a 93L tank but can only travel 410 km on it. Another win for the Rosanda, thanks to its leaner naturally aspirated engine being more economical than the rich turbo unit from DCMW.
Of course, that turbo does have its benefits. Putting an extra layer in between the explosions and the open air makes the DCMW whisper quiet, especially given that it seldom needs to put in actual effort with how much extra power it runs, with just 11.8 loudness. I donât think Iâve ever seen quieter. In real world terms, the slushbox in the Rosanda would make it more prone to sudden noise changes, while the stick shift in the DCMW is more controllable.
Performance, Comfort
The DCMW makes it to 100 in 4.8 seconds and corners better than many other cars on the road. The Rosanda takes 8.8 seconds and has worse cornering performance than any car submitted this round. Itâs an absolute slug by comparison. Top speeds are a bit closer, with both cars hampered by gears - the Rosanda is gear limited and could go faster if the transmission allowed it, while the DCMW canât quite accelerate from the shifting point for 4th gear to the power peak (making 5th overdrive only). The DCMW is not quite the fastest accelerating car on the market, not quite the best handling car on the market, but it beats a lot of common cars - which is really appreciated.
Comfort is a case where the game gives it to the Rosanda, but I am going to give it to the DCMW. The Rosanda is benefited heavily by the automatic, which makes sense when one focuses on driver comfort and aims to include distracted, impaired or otherwise subpar drivers⊠But the presidential limo is driven by careful professionals putting their full focus into things and free of any substances or fatigue. The manual shouldnât have as large an impact on comfort as it does in this specific case. You did both understand the assignment and reach pretty similar comfort values, both going for the obvious choice of +15 Handmade interiors, which is good to see.
Uniqueness, Appearance
I said I didnât want just a regular Rosanda from the dealership, and Rosanda did indeed deliver on that, at least to an extent. Complaints from the previous round have been rectified, with an extended taillight housing that flows back from the rear quarter panels, simpler but more effective headlights and a grille that fits better. Thereâs still perhaps not enough ornamentation or interaction between elements, but itâs a definite step up. It feels about as unique as, say, the current US State Car - it uses a design language shared with other cars, refined and tweaked for the size of the car.
The same can be said about the DCMW, which shares many elements with the more common Al-Sayaadim Supremacy Six. The door handles integrated with the trim, the method of hiding the headlights, the particular way of doing the flares of the taillights, things like that are all shared. The DCMW does a better job at introducing more ornamentation, but neither car is truly unique. Both use standard company design languages and advertise the main brand. The DCMW does more to differentiate itself though.
This leaves us with the overall appearance⊠And the DCMW knocks the Rosanda out of the park, to me. The Rosanda makes its two-tone more visible, but DCMW does something similar, very dark purple vinyl roof. Itâs the ornamentation that sets it apart, however. The more intricate grille that completely contains the hidden headlamps. The more complex shape of the rear light flares that tapers and works with the lines of the body rather than the simple box with more boxes cut out of it. The far more extensive chrome trim which is integrated with functional features of the car. The cars actually have several similar ideas, but the DCMW executes them so much better. I suppose thatâs a little point against both for uniqueness.
Interior Design
Why yes, I did break the order I was following before of doing the priorities from the bottom to the top, how perceptive of you to notice. Why yes, I have been coy about the interiors in my previous images, giving them fully opaque windows. The DCMW has a lot of fixtures and makes the already slow Raytracing performance positively glacial - and removing the interior reduces the 812 fixtures to 272. Iâll take what I can get. The Rosanda, meanwhile⊠has no interior. It hurts the results it gets, especially when the DCMW is so very intricate and detailed. A minibar, a TV, a generous table, tasteful use of Aragan purple as an accent colour⊠Iâll just let the pictures speak for it. Really, as mentioned, itâs well past the point of diminishing returns, but itâs just so well done. Careful attention to ergonomics, generous apportionment of features, really, hats off.
Overall Results
The Rosanda picks up some victories in the smaller stats, but a lot of how it does that sets it up to fail later. Sure, itâs fuel efficient⊠Because the engine doesnât have the grunt of the DCMW. Sure, itâs safer⊠But it does that in a really inefficient way that steals points from other stats. Theyâre pretty close in stats, really, but the visuals of the DCMW, inside and outside. Not having an interior is a bullet in the foot that kills the Rosanda. You had plenty of time, and didnât use it. Meanwhile, the DCMW was submitted with less than five minutes to the deadline, and an earlier version probably still would have won. Iâm growing just a little concerned about how many spending tokens DCMW has at this point; Moroza can seriously, seriously swing things in the next lobbying period⊠But themâs the breaks.
In terms of spending tokens, both entries will receive a healthy amount; full quantities will be revealed at the end of the round.
11 Likes
REVIEWS PART 4.3
PRETTY GOOD: Episode 14+1
Left Column, Front to Back: Phenix Helios Turbo RX and Phenix Helios, both by @karhgath, Renwoo Coupe and Renwoo Cote dâAzur, both by @Mikonp7, Empire Albert SportStock and Empire Victoria Sportstock, both by @Fayeding_Spray
Middle Column, Front to Back: Mercer Leviathan Dreadnought 490 by @LS_Swapped_Rx-7, Kyrios Nike S2 2.0 Coupe and Kyrios Nike S3 1.6 Roadster, both by @AndiD and BetterDeals HPD Sport by @Djadania
Right Column, Front to Back: Superlite Tango 98S and Superlite Tango 125R, both by @Danicoptero, Hikaru Katana HT (thereâs more to the name but come on) and Hikaru Katana YR, both by @MoteurMourmin, Capable Conveyor Bolt by @Vento
Disclaimer: I have written this under less than ideal circumstances. Any errors are likely unintentional, please feel free to let me know if you see any.
Okay, so, we have an impressive fifteen sports cars on the market, and hereâs where the practicality of the challenge starts to bite. Sure, three of these entries go elsewhere, but the sports segment is anywhere from 2 to 2.5 times larger than utility. Thereâs as many 2 seater sporty cars as 4/5 seaters of any variety. This simply canât happen in real life, the market for sports cars is smaller and probably attracts fewer models, and certainly not in real life, you get the idea.
But sports cars are cool. Sports cars are fun to make. Sports cars capture the information, so people make them. Should I penalise some of you for selling into a crowded market? Maybe, but it doesnât seem fair. Will I reward people for selling into empty markets which are clearly there? Yes, yes I will. Give rather than take, right? Letâs get into the reviews.
The Hand Thing Means Taaaaaaxes
Letâs start off with the Mercer Leviathan Dreadnought 490, shall we? Mainly because itâs uh⊠Itâs in a weird position. Last round, Mercer got a lukewarm reception because the massive engines it was selling incurred a high amount of tax. So, what did Mercer do? Did they do the sensible thing and ship some well-tuned small blocks to Araga? Of course not. The 490 in the name stands for 490 cubic inches - over eight litres. The tax system is, of course, exponential, so you end up paying an obnoxious tax bill, over 7200 per year just from the engine - plus the maximum speed tax, which looks paltry by comparison. If you want to get your hands on one, youâll be forking out around 41200 - with over half of that going to the government. You could buy a premium car and a weekend toy with that money. It didnât help that it had cross-plies from the factory despite the widespread acceptance of radials in Araga. Or that it wasnât even the fastest thing on the road (more on that later). Suffice to say, it flopped. Dealers didnât even want it on their lots⊠In Araga.
Hop over the border to Windon and itâs a completely different story. One where its flaws are either overlooked or become positives. Windon doesnât tax like Araga, so the massive engine is just a point of pride. Windon uses cross-plies anyway, so those are in too. And from there⊠The Mercer has a lot of elements that really help it shine. Among coupes on the market, it actually has unique features such as progressive-rate springs and power steering. Thereâs more nice features too, like a clutched LSD, advanced safety equipment, a premium 8-track and a weight-saving monocoque.
Itâs also an absolutely beautiful classic coupe, with coke bottle styling, clean lines and a sort of effortless, uncomplicated beauty. Creases and contours and body shapes hold the eye more than trim, yet it doesnât feel barren or empty or boring. Itâs clad in a beautiful metallic racy red, what else would it be painted in? It was seen as a missed opportunity in Araga, a car that had a massive deal breaker but could have been so good. A shame, but it did sell well in Windon.
Phenix Rising
Helios Turbo RX
Three coupes came out with costs up above 20 grand. The Superlite Tango 98S, the track-only Superlite Tango 175R and the PhĂ©nix Helios Turbo RX. The Turbo RX was joined by its younger brother, regular Helios at about 15 grand. Letâs start with the PhĂ©nix Helios Turbo RX. Besides the Leviathan, this is the most expensive coupe on the market, beating even the Tangos. It also manages to do a feat I donât entirely understand. Three point seven two seconds. Thatâs all it takes to get to 100 kilometres per hour. By the time cheaper cars are hitting fifty, itâs already in the triple digits. Despite having just a quarter of the displacement of the Leviathan, the turbocharged flat-4 manages to put out three quarters of its power. Youâd think that this is an engine being pushed to within an inch of its life, but you would be somewhat wrong. Sure, the all-aluminium block is straining a little bit and the performance-oriented intakes arenât perfect here but it still boasts completely acceptable reliability. So it guzzles down fuel, right? No, it uses a perfectly acceptable 10.3 L/100, better than its NA sibling. Itâs a little more demanding than some others, but more rewarding too.
Then we have the aesthetics. Itâs absolutely gorgeous, yet itâs also the polar opposite of the Mercer. In reality, the period was marked by Giorgetto Giugiaroâs progressively more angular designs, reaching their peak with concepts such as the BMW M1 and the Lotus Esprit S1. The Phenix is reminiscent of these iconic designs, but maintains its own identity, standing alone. The overhangs are shorter, thereâs more creases along the body, the waist is cinched in unlike the clean sides of Giugiaro and one cannot miss that massive wing on the rear. The black of the front fascia carries through to the wheel arches, through trim to the rear wheels, then to the rear. Where the Mercer is a classic, tried and true design, this is a design that looks to the future, a harbinger of the ever more complex and intricate future of the supercar. Itâs bold, itâs a car willing to break with the curved silhouette and stand out, a refined and potentially perfected wedge supercar. It is unlike anything else on the market, unmistakable and undeniable.
The Turbo RX isnât just a car. It isnât just amazing. It isnât just a masterpiece.
It is quite possibly the best car Araga has seen.
Two Of Them
Helios and Helios Turbo RX
Of course, we arenât done with it yet. See, the PhĂ©nix Helios line is a perfect synergy. They share the same fundamental underpinnings, to the point where one could conceive of turning a regular Helios into a Turbo RX⊠But actually doing it is a completely different matter. Thereâs a laundry list of changes between the two, to the point that itâd be cheaper to just pay PhĂ©nix the extra 10 grand rather than doing them to your own Helios. The hardened internals, the fuel system, the mighty turbo, the wing, the aggressive fender flares, the vented brakes, the reinforced transmission⊠Itâs an impressive but realistic list of improvements. The Helios, of course, is no slouch itself and doesnât subtract from the Turbo RX one ounce. It boasts some of the best handling under spirited driving, beaten only by the Turbo and Tango. It features an interior only slightly worse than the Turbo, it features exceptional braking performance⊠The Helios does not need the Turbo, but the Turbo helps it a lot. The Turbo did arrive four years after the regular Helios though. Weâll be coming back to it later though, through the lens of those first few years.
Itâs the same story with the aesthetics. Where the Turbo RX sports aggressive side intakes, plenty of trim linking the rear and front through the sides, black down to the floor on the front and back, the regular model simply does not. Select features have been removed, trimmed down, pared back. Where the Turbo RX was bold, brash, extraordinary, the regular Helios is somewhat more sedate, more ordinary, but no less beautifully shaped. There are plenty of similarities, but theyâre definitely distinct. This is what you expect given the price differential. The paint shown here is a beautiful icy satin blue that just makes it feel even more futuristic to me somehow, and better than the somewhat more sedate blueish silver on the Turbo RX - but paint is an option, right? Itâs a wonderful finish on this one. In short, with the Turbo RX, you pay more and get more - but nobody would be unhappy with the regular Helios. Itâs truly a triumph.
Lite As A Feather
Left: Tango 125R. Right: Tango 98S
Perhaps the only crime of the Superlite Tango is ânot being the Heliosâ. The regular Tango, the 98S, does not exactly compare favourably to the regular Helios. An inferior 8-Track, somewhat worse handling under regular or demanding driving, less power and less acceleration⊠But generally not by that much. Itâs only a little worse, except for the substantial price increase. If you wanted an open wheeled Helios, you could get very close. Was it worth five grand more to feel the wind in the air, to have nothing between you and the world, to get the race car aesthetics? Absolutely. After a few years, it ended up even closer - because the Tango cost 500 less per year to maintain and had a bit better fuel economy. Sure, itâs not quite the Helios - but when the Helios is âa very well-done pared-down version of potentially the best car everâ, thatâs still a really good place to be. Perhaps using sportier tyres rather than regular medium compound road tyres would have helped, but perfection is hard to reach. The fibreglass panels do worse in crash testing than the Tangoâs steel, but you donât really buy a car like this to be safe, do you?
If the 98S was the âopen wheeled Heliosâ, the 125R was even closer to being an âopen wheeled Turbo RXâ. The badge on the side prominently advertised being âPowered by PhĂ©nixâ⊠And that was a resounding endorsement. After their prior issues with failing to deliver a miracle engine, using someone elseâs miracle engine was a smart play - and picking a downsized version of the Turbo RXâs engine (complete with turbo) was an even smarter one. In fact, the Turbo RX and the 125R were the only 2-seater coupes with a turbocharger. Had PhĂ©nix faltered, the image of the turbocharger may have been damaged⊠But they didnât, and the image was bolstered. But as far as the 125R was concerned, well, the drag strip performance is a little closer to the regular Helios than the Turbo RX, thanks to using a slightly smaller engine designed to spool earlier. Itâs just as fun as the Turbo RX to drive, thanks to a variety of positive decisions. Itâs a touch harder to manage, but still - âa little worse than the very bestâ is a very good place. The 125R is a single seater track toy⊠but it doesnât need to be. Add some lights on and the government is perfectly happy for it to go out on the road, it passes the difficult tests like emissions and crash safety just like the 98S does. And given that the 98S exists, you could easily get a 125S. The Helios takes some of the shine of the Tango, but itâs an absolutely wonderful car. It also manages to provide an easy answer to the question âWhy not buy a Helios?â - to feel the wind in your hair, to have nothing between you and the world.
There are some big positives over the previous generation of Superlites. The 98S boasts a second seat, a far more extensive crash structure and roll cage integrated with a roll cage and more polished bodywork that includes some covers above the wheels - integrated with the bodywork in the rear, but with the suspension in the front, allowing them to retain that open feeling while being safer and more practical for the road. The 125R retains some of this, but drops the second seat (opting to just cover the space), the larger windshield and roll cage - all sensible items to remove for the track. Itâs something of a matter of perspective as to whether the aesthetics have moved forward, opting for a squarer front design reminiscent of a kit car that flares out and flows into a wider rear. Do kit Superlites exist? Theyâd definitely be a hit. The metallic premium paint is a hit, with both the orange and the green looking really nice on the body, with the cars both having plenty of space for a livery or racing number.
(OOC: I was actually slightly worried looking at the comparison between the 175R and the Turbo RX. It was just a little suspicious seeing all the ways the Turbo RX beats the 175R. Itâs very close in some cases, looking almost like Karhgath took a look at your stats and used them as targets after doing your engine⊠But no, Karhgath didnât look at your car at all. I checked your collaboration thread, Karhgath never looked at your car as far as I can see. It raises interesting questions going forward, but is all above board.)
You Done Goofed, Oops
Next, we get two oddballs which, well, had a slightly flawed execution based on a flawed understanding of the laws. The engineers over at Empire thought that the relationship between taxes and displacement had a turning point, so that the minimum amount of taxes would be paid at a taxable displacement of 3 litres. So, they designed their turbocharged engines to have a taxed displacement of 3.28 litres, nice and close to where they thought this minimum was. They cancelled out the impact of the turbocharger by providing sufficient cargo space to qualify for a tax break.
They were, in fact, misinformed. No matter what your effective displacement is, you always pay less taxes for a lower displacement, and more taxes for a higher displacement. So, the 3.28 litre taxable displacement results in higher displacement taxes than just about all other cars, save for the Mercer Leviathan with its outrageous tax bill. Swing and a miss. Add in the maximum bill for the speed tax and you end up giving quite a lot to the government. Itâs also expensive to maintain - the complex electronic fuel injection system picks up a lot of stones and debris, the staggered sports tyres have to be replaced often, itâs just difficult. You end up with a final cost of about 19,200, comparable to the 98S and not too far from the Helios Turbo and the 125R.
Part of the issue is that it just doesnât extract all it could from the engine. Comparing it to the naturally aspirated engine in the 98S, both engines make almost the same amount of power per litre of raw, pre-boost displacement. This is largely due to the use of a pushrod valvetrain, which doesnât really make sense. Why combine a pushrod (a simpler, cheaper option) with a turbocharger and electronic fuel injection (an expensive, complex engine)? In terms of raw straight line performance, it does a little better than the 98S and trades blows with the 125R, rather than the comprehensive drubbing one would expect given the massive effective displacement advantage from the base amount and the turbocharger. The Helios Turbo, of course, leaves it far behind.
So, what do you get for your money? Well⊠Itâs not too great, really. Under normal conditions, itâs about the same to drive as anything else. If you actually want to push it, though, youâll run into a myriad of issues. The hydraulic power steering system just makes you feel distant and disconnected from the car. Unless you load up the rear, you generally donât have enough grip to maintain proper traction, especially in wet conditions - whereas the Superlite 98S has supreme command under any conditions, and the more aggressive 125R and Helios Turbo more than make up for it. The brakes have their issues too, overwhelming the tyres massively unless the rear is loaded up - get the picture? Itâs more fun to drive a slow car fast, and this is a fast car that has to be driven slow. Is it a little more practical? Theoretically, but you need to pay those massive service bills and tax bills, around four grand per year - some of the cheaper cars in the segment are reasonably practical and wonât kill your wallet. If you want a sports car with a bit of practicality, get something else. If you want a utility car with a bit of sports⊠Thatâs another review.
In terms of aesthetics, it has the issue of using a fairly simple shape and not doing much with it. While the Superlite is interesting for its open wheels, the Helios cuts that distinct wedge shape and the Mercer has all manner of contours and curves to catch the eye, these are flat, simple shapes. The sort thatâs probably fine on a genuine utility vehicle, but the only real sporty or interesting aesthetics here are the ones that look like aftermarket modifications - the painted hood, the front air dam, the low stance. If you donât want to modify it yourself, I guess you can get this, but you wonât be the only one with it. It doesnât scream sports as much as other true sports cars, feeling like more of a poser. How do the aesthetics do as a utility car with a little sports? Again, thatâs another review. Flourescent green or purple gloss paint is certainly a choice, and not really a good one. Itâs too bright, too brash, too much overall. Iâm not a fan of the paint, to be honest.
Something More Affordable
Front: Katana YR, Nike S2 2.0. Rear: Phenix Helios
So, the big issue with the Helios Turbo and the two Superlites is that, well, they cost over 20 grand to buy, after taxes. Theyâre expensive, premium cars. While you could conceivably daily the Helios Turbo, it has massive service bills - fine as a supercar, not as a daily. The Superlite, meanwhile, is right out. These are cars for people who can afford expensive luxuries, theyâre things you can aspire to but theyâre not really viable for most people. So, letâs move down in the price brackets a little, shall we? Under the Superlites and under the Helios Turbo, we arrive at the Nike 2.0, the Katana YR and the regular Helios. They occupy a band between about fourteen and fifteen grand after tax. The question, really, is what can the others do to catch up to the Helios? Where can they match it? Remember, the Helios is a mid-engined monster, with unbelievable performance on the skidpad, and the track. Itâs carried forward with its crazy low-speed acceleration⊠But itâs not unbeatable.
The thing with the Helios is that itâs the enthusiast car. It lacks a certain refinement in certain aspects of the car. It runs simple steel wheels. Itâs nimble and easy to throw around and can be pushed pretty hard, yes, but itâs easy to push too far. The others, however, are easier to control, easier to handle. In fact, the Helios is harder to control than almost any others on the market. So, can the others in this bracket step in? Is there a perfect car in this price bracket? No, but the competition has good reasons to be around.
The Hikaru Katana YR sports an engine from DCMW, and this helps it to compete with the Helios. Itâs a little slower off the line, but the larger inline six helps it be faster across the drag strip and hit a slightly higher top speed. Yes, itâs twice as large, but itâs also running a more restrictive but more reliable air filter. It also runs more advanced safety, managing to safely outdo, well, everything. The safest sporty car. Add a premium interior and itâs the most comfortable too.
The Kyrios Nike 2.0 is not this. It uses fibreglass panels, which really, really hurts it. A space frame too. Not particularly safe. It also runs rather aggressive, hard suspension, rather similar to the Tango - but the Tango is, well, sportier. The YR is comfortable and safe, the Nike is more basic and scores worse in safety than anything else on the market. It makes up for its subpar comfort and safety with wonderful control and drivability, and sufficient sportiness. Itâs a nicer experience for the driver than the Katana, just not the passenger. If youâre not scared off by the low safety score, and want an easier experience than the Helios, the Nike is here.
Aesthetically, the Nike is more comforting, more familiar, more traditional. While the Helios has this bold, brash shape, the Nike is more rounded and even sports a cute smile⊠And a little less sleek than the previous products launched in Araga. The sloped rear makes that part feel longer than it actually is, while the hood slopes a lot less and feels larger too. Itâs a slight step backwards, but traditional and comforting is good for some buyers. Itâs pictured in the brandâs traditional gloss yellow paint too, familiar in its branding. The Katana, meanwhile, is not quite as radical as the Helios but it is still close, following similar trends. It feels more like a classic coupe that got straightened out a little, with the greenhouse seeming a little more traditional. The metallic silver paint on the HT helps it feel like the Helios aesthetically, while red matches the racing name. Thereâs still plenty to draw your eye, with a nice and well-integrated front fascia and rear bumper. Itâs really beautiful and well executed, feeling incredibly Japanese in the best way.
Ultimately? They donât beat the Helios, but theyâre at least pretty good. They both give reasons to buy them. The Katana offers a more refined experience with nicer features. The Nike 2.0 is more drivable and even offers wonderful reliability⊠But if youâre buying a sports car for, you know, sportiness? The Helios is just too far ahead. Too good.
Almost Standard
Letâs jump back down again, now between about 11400 and 12750. The Nike is back with a smaller 1.6L engine, and Hikaru sells a car with their own engine. Itâs joined by two cars from France, the Renwoo GT Coupe and Cote dâAzur. We also see a pair of soft tops, your chance to feel the wind in your hair when you want rather than all the time like the Tango. So, letâs get into it, shall we? The Katana HT arrived in 1970, spending four whole years alone. The Renwoos and facelifted S3 Nike both arrived in 1974, alongside the vaunted Helios Turbo, so people had their hands full. Letâs take a look at the Katana first then.
What happens when you chop 15% off the price of the Katana YR? When you drop the Racing badge, when you cut running costs almost in half? What do you lose? Not safety, the pair are identical there, the same features. Not comfort, the interior has the same features and nicer comfort. Not reliability, not drivability, those are both even better. You also donât lose any of the sporty styling, making the badge the only outward aesthetic change. Most brands pair a âracingâ badge with new style or at least some decals, but not the Katana. No, you lose the main draw of a car in this segment - sportiness. Itâs a lot harder to push hard, itâs a cruiser rather than a true sports car, and in that role, it is perhaps better than any other. You want a car to push, you get something else. The cornering is the worst, the braking is the worst, the speed isnât great either. Itâs so slow that it evades the speed tax! You want a cruiser? A little comfortable coupe? You get this⊠But itâs not really a sports car. Weâll actually be coming back to this in the standard segment, because thatâs what itâs designed to compete with, really.
So, letâs jump forward to 1974. The facelifted Nike brings with it the cheaper, smaller-engined S3 1.6 Roadster. The engine isnât the only difference though, the 1.6L gets a cheaper interior, one nowhere near as nice. Itâs cheaper, more basic, worse than almost any other in the segment. You want a nicer interior, get something else. Itâs pretty nice to drive at least, but not that much nicer than the much sportier 2.0 model. It saves a fair amount of money on the 2.0, but it compromises so many things. Itâs what you get if you want a 2 seater coupe, but canât afford one of the genuinely good ones. You get what you pay for. Aesthetic changes, meanwhile, are somewhat limited, as one expects from a facelift. A more angular grille that still smiles, a reconfigured single unit for the brake lights, tail lights and indicators (which is a step back in my opinion, not quite fitting the slightly angled surface itâs placed on) and painted bumpers. Much of a muchness between generations.
And now the Renwoo pair. The unreliable, temperamental French imports. They both use performance-oriented intakes like the far more expensive Phenix-engined cars. The issue is that Phenix took painstaking efforts to make their cars reliable in spite of the intakes, while the Superlite is targeted for the track - and that lack of reliability gets a little more acceptable when youâre paying a premium for a high-power car. The Renwoo does manage to extract plenty of power for the size of its engine, but said engine is relatively small. Compared to other engines on the market, youâre getting a lower tax bill in exchange for an increased service bill. Itâs a bit of a wash financially - but the lower reliability means you spend less time actually driving your sports car! And when you drive it? Well, Renwoo cut corners in the worst way. See, the two cars have the same mechanical underpinnings. The same springs connect to the same wheels which run to the same engine through the same transmission. The same radio is installed in the same dashboard with the same seats. There are just two main differences. The Cote dâAzur puts a little more force through the car⊠Because it has a soft top, and they had to substantially reinforce it, and that added extra weight. The brakes on the Cote dâAzur are pretty good for the car. But the suspension is a poor fit. The engine is a poor fit. The gearing is a poor fit. Most of what it got is designed for the Coupe.
So what do you get in the Coupe, remembering that the Cote dâAzur is worse? You get an incredibly uncomfortable suspension offering almost no roll, but dampers that donât inspire confidence under spirited driving either with cornering performance no better than the others. Acceleration and top speed are solid (but subpar for the Cote dâAzur). The driving dynamics are acceptable if pushed hard but nothing special compared to the more expensive options. Itâs just so much more demanding and less enjoyable than almost anything else, especially the Nike S3 1.6. At least it looks good, with those cuts in the hood that look like they were made by a knife, those sculpted rear intakes that look like they came from a fighter jet, that shapely, sporty design⊠Buyers are drawn to looks first, results second. The sole metallic paint available is a dull, muted sort of red that honestly looks worse than the matte options available, and far behind many others.
Finally, Iâve included the Capable Conveyor Bolt, because a hot hatch does at least promise some sportiness. Letâs take a look at it now.
The only coupe it beats for sportiness is the Katana HT - but the Katana is so much more comfortable. Itâs a little more comfortable than the Nike, but far worse to drive. If you donât need the extra seats, just get a proper coupe. If you do, wait for reviews there. Aesthetically, itâs in a similar boat to the two Empire vehicles - as a sports car, it does nowhere near enough to differentiate itself from the regular vehicles from whence it came. If youâre buying to look sporty, you want literally anything else in the segment (almost). When you look at (just about) any other car here, they say performance and sport or at least a fun time. They stand up and say âIâm a sports car, hop in!â Itâll be reviewed more later.
Troll Complete, Return To Base
BetterDeals HPD Sport
The cheapest car on the market, costing under 6400 after tax. Also a market bomb. The issue is, well, for every person considering the HPD Sport, there was a reason not to purchase it.
First, and foremost, was the two dirtiest words on the ADPR reports. It wasnât quite the least safe car, but it did have terminal oversteer. Didnât matter that it only kicked in at and above the top speed of the car, it was on the report. So, some people picked another car.
Then there was the actual top speed. Not even 170 km/h. This is the result of a tiny little 800cc engine putting out all of fifty horsepower. So if you want to actually push your 2-seater coupe, or floor it and feel some acceleration? You pick another car.
Okay, well, how about handling? Well, itâs decent there, but the important question is how it gets there, and it does it by doing something no other 2 seat coupe does⊠It runs staggered tyres. This makes it a lot more expensive and difficult to run, in logistical terms. So, the market goes down there, similarly to the two from Empire.
Next we come to the aesthetics. Itâs, well, standard BetterDeals affair. Cubes and boxes and shapes that donât really fit too well with the rest of the car. Odd seams, panel gaps, that sort of thing. Scratch off a couple more buyers, and suddenly thereâs no market. The car barely sells. Itâs a little cute, mainly thanks to having been downsized so much, being so much smaller than it âshouldâ be, but the rest of it just takes away any buyers for it.
You knew what you were doing, didnât you?
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