48 hours left till the deadline!
Thanks all who have submitted their entries already.
2 Likes
The Hudson Motor Car Company’s in-house tuning specialists at Hudson Performance Specialties submit their entry into Herr Gottfrid’s challenge: The 2020 VW Golf “Blackout”.
Attached are a selection of notable excerpts from the formal HPS proposal sent to the client earlier this week…
Interior
Retro looks meet modern comforts when you take a seat inside the Blackout. Though the Sporty interior may be lightweight, it is by no means light on quality. You’ll be greeted by an expanse of Charcoal Gray Alcantara fabric throughout the car, accented with real brushed aluminum fixtures and trim.
HPS sought to preserve the original Golf aesthetic by retaining the panel-style door cards and integrated arm rests, albeit reupholstered to match the rest of the interior. However, the manual windows and door locks have been replaced with modern electronics - you’ll find the controls on the center console just above the head unit for the Six-Speaker Panasonic sound system and the controls for the newly overhauled HVAC system.
Above them, centered in the dashboard proper, you’ll find a massive 11.6" touch-screen interface, canted slightly towards the driver’s position for ease of access. From this screen, the driver is capable of managing car audio and navigation, as well as controlling other settings such as the fully configurable RGB interior lighting, dash display configuration, and managing drivetrain stability control settings.
The Pièce De Résistance of the pilot’s position, though, is the fully configurable 13.7" digital dash and linked Heads-Up Display. By changing preset modes through the central touch interface, the driver can change everything on the dash - from the information displayed, to the location of different elements, to the contents of the HUD, and even the color of individual display elements. A number of presets are included with the system (Cruise, Performance, Track, etc.), as well as the capability for the owner to program additional presets to suit their needs.
Continuing through the remainder of the car, up to three passengers will find themselves in the same bolstered Sport-Comfort seats as the driver. Both driver and front passenger seats move forward with the touch of a button to allow passengers into the rear seats, which - surprisingly for a car of this size - offer more leg-room that is afforded on most international flights! Or, if you’re needing to haul something bulky instead of hauling friends and family, the rear seats fold fully flat, allowing you to make full use of the rear hatch and cargo area.
Exterior
The staff at HPS have fond memories of the original Golf when it was first imported from Germany. They were enthusiastic to take on this project, and hoped that, with their design, they could capture the simplicity and accessibility of the Mk1 Golf without restraining it to its 1970s roots. Their goal was to repackage everything that made the original Golf great into a sleeker, more modern package, while honoring the retro inspiration of the original.
- The 10% “Major Body Alteration” Penalty is NOT APPLICABLE. Original VW Golf body panels from donor car are fully re-used. Components will be removed from the donor car, media blasted and refinished to remove any existing imperfections (including mounting points for previous trim elements), primed, and sprayed in Hudson “Jet Black” gloss finish, with protective clear-coat. Fenders are rolled to accommodate larger tires. Rear bumper is modified to accept upgraded emissions system. All other body alterations are all bolt-on and do not alter body elements. From front to back:
-Hakka Products auxiliary lighting installed on front bumper
-Front indicators relocated from bumper to new lower valence vent surrounds
-Compact front splitter added to improve cooling airflow to engine bay
-Headlights replaced with high-output LED units
-Body trim removed to give a more modern, streamlined look
-OEM Wheels replaced with two-piece BBS SuperRS Forged 17" wheels with black rims and brushed aluminum hubs
-Wing mirrors replaced with more aerodynamic mirror containing integrated side indicator lights
-High-mount rear brake light installed to comply with modern safety standards
-Rear window wiper removed to facilitate installation of new Sport Louvers on rear window
-Compact spoiler integrated into rear hatch
-Taillights replaced with modern multi-function LED unit
-“Turbo Twin Cam EFI” and “HPS” badging installed on tailgate
-Protective skirt applied to rear bumper
-Single central Sport rear exhaust outlet
-The 5/15% Fixture Penalty is NOT APPLICABLE. All fixtures installed by HPS either A) make use of pre-existing mounting points, or B) can be installed and removed without significant modification to the original body or frame, eliminating the prospect of damaging original vintage componentry.
Drivetrain
The middle name of HPS is Performance, and one of the first things our engineering team recognized was that, stout and venerable as it may be, the original powerplant of the Mk1 Golf was simply not up to the task of moving a modern daily driver without some major modifications. Luckily, the original VW engineers had left a marvelous canvas to work with - the cast block and internals were expected to be very receptive to forced induction, and the design had remained similar enough over the decades since its first iteration that many suitable aftermarket upgrades were available. The primary aim of our engineering team was to provide the beating heart for this inspired restomod, capable of serving as well on the commute to work as on a jaunt on the Nürburgring.
-The 10% Major Engine Swap Penalty is NOT APPLICABLE, HOWEVER, the 5% Minor Engine Overhaul Penalty IS applicable. HPS proposes re-using the 1.6L VW Cast Iron Inline-4 block and bottom-end components (the extant cast Block, Crank, Connecting Rods, and Pistons will be inspected for damage, repaired if necessary, and returned to the motor). The archaic Push-Rod head will be replaced with a modern 16-Valve Dual Overhead Cam arrangement with Variable Valve Technology which permits maximum power and economy while reducing friction and emissions. The addition of an off-the-shelf 3735 Precision Turbo and compact intercooler further increases the potential of the stout VW block. Perhaps most obviously, the engine will benefit from a modern Direct Electronic Fuel Injection system and breathe more easily through an upgraded performance air intake. Despite these upgrades, the motor still runs on 91-RON gasoline, available inexpensively wherever your travels may take you. It doesn’t need to refuel often, either, with the addition of Turbocharging allowing the Blackout to achieve over 31 MPG in official test procedures.
-The addition of Electronic Stability Control and an All-Wheel Drive system contributes an element of predictability that is a welcome addition when paired with the upgraded power and torque output that comes with a Forced Induction engine. Coupled to a Six-Speed manual gearbox, the Blackout is designed to extract the maximum possible Smiles per gallon. Proving that you don’t need to be in a hard-core race car to enjoy driving enthusiastically, nor that driving in comfort makes driving boring, the Blackout provides the best of both worlds with a distilled, pure driving experience.
In an effort to provide a brief summary as to the HPS Blackout’s suitability for Herr Gottfrid’s needs, HPS has appended a section to their proposal highlighting how their design meets all of the client’s critical needs.
Stats In Brief:
- Fuel Economy ≥ 23.6 MPG
31.4 MPG - Fuel Type 91, 95*, or 98* RON (*with Price Index Penalty)
91 RON - Safety Rating ≥ 45.0 Points
45.1 Points - Emissions ≤ 200 Points
74.5 Points - Three-Way Catalytic Converter Required
High-Flow Three-Way Catalytic Converter Included - Reverse-Flow Muffler Required
Reverse-Flow Muffler Included - Electronic Stability Control Required
Electronic Stability Control Included - Engine Engineering Time ≤ 120.0 Points
119.5 Points - Trim Engineering Time ≤ 120.0 Points
119.5 Points - Seats ≥ 4
Four Sport-Comfort Bucket Seats Included (Two fully adjustable, two able to fold flat for storage)
4 Likes
Introducing, for consideration… Bespoke Restorations and Modifications, with the BRM Golf Hyperion.
The Aesthetics
The Hyperion takes its basis from the original golf, but the end result is anything but a regular, mass-produced car. A cursorary glance from the front will review a handful of things…
The first change is, of course, the paintjob. Green may be an iconic colour for the Golf, but BRM wanted to go further. The car has been lovingly repainted in a pearlescent blue-green, guaranteed to catch any eyes that are fortunate enough to see it. Second of all, the car has been given replica trim in carbon fibre, suggesting its modern underpinnings, and a custom badge, with BRM’s logotype underneath the existing logo.
Next to this custom badge, we can see the redesigned front-light cluster. The indicators have been moved up into the headlights, and a modern series of LEDs has been put in place behind some diffusion glass. The headlights maintain the classic circular form, but have been redesigned with much more modern and efficient technology and mounted in a sleeker carbon shell.
Progressing to the rear, we can see the same sort of styling philosophy has been continued on the rear. The trim is once more carbon fiber. The taillights are an unmistakably modern nod to the classic Golf, maintaining the rectangular form but with a sleek, LED-fillled design. Astute viewers of this image may be able to spot one more clue as to the vehicle’s nature…
Unlike the original, the restomodded version includes a single badge on the rear, indicating that this is not just a pretty face - it is powered by a V10, which somehow fits into the car.
The Engineering
BRM has worked tirelessly to perfect the car, although that comes with a price. The original panels and chassis has been kept - but everything else is bespoke and brand new. The first step is the afforementioned V10. The new engine is a rather diminutive 2.16L V10 turbo, tuned for smoothness and reliability. Despite producing “almost triple” the power of the original, the engine is as silent as a cloud - even quieter than the original, thanks to using two reverse-flow mufflers in addition to the turbocharger. This silky V10 is mated to a sequential 7-speed gearbox, and even an all-wheel-drive system. The car has zero wheelspin, providing an easy driving experience; the sequential gearbox gives the feeling of sport, without the intensiveness of a full H-pattern shifter.
This all wheel drive system was incompatible with the original torsion beams, prompting a complete redesign; the front now uses Double Wishbone-based independent suspension, while the rear uses a complex Multilink system. With this new suspension comes new hydropneumatic springs, and active swaybars. The wheels are much larger too, with carbon fiber rims to boot. All this power and grip necessitates newer (and far larger) disc brakes. The interior is where the real magic happens. The four seats are laboriously hand-made from coloured leather, and the carbon fiber dashboard contains the latest and greatest in heads-up displays.
The end result is quite a far cry from the original golf. Costing 61,000 dollars and weighing in at over 1.8 tonnes, all of these hyper-advanced systems have come at quite the cost. The car just barely scrapes under the 10L/100km fuel requirement, and all of the comfort in the world makes the car quite challenging to push for laptimes. At the end of the day, however? This is a car more prestigious than any Rolls-Royce.
Hi! Can I enter?
Of course, everyone is welcome! You have a little over 12 hours to submit a car file to me and put an ad on this thread.
Btw, how do I change the main car’s year? It’s locked
From the “how to” in the ruleset in the OP:
I did that, still doesn’t work
I’m sure you’re missing a step, or cloning the Trim or Variant instead of the Model or Family. Here’s the graphical explanation:
Summary
Make sure you’re cloning the Model (click on the Model, not the Trim):
You should end up with this:
Similarly, clone the Family (click on the Family, not the Variant):
You should end up with this:
Next open up the cloned Model’s Trim you want to edit, and select “Existing Engine”:
Make sure you choose the cloned engine:
And voila, you have an engine you can change completely.
EDIT: If you did it wrong and only cloned the model, the trim, or the variant, then you will not be able to change the engine block:
If you did it right, you’ll see that both the Car and Engine are the new clones, and you’ll be able to change everything:
Still locked - idk if there’s anything else I can do about it
Then I’m at a bit of a loss why you wouldn’t be able to change the years. Are you sure you’re in the right tabs? You can change the main Model year only in the “Model Body” and “Chassis” tabs (to the left of the blue engine designer tabs), not in the Car Trim Designer tabs, which are to the right of the Engine Designer Tabs. And you can change the engine Family year in the blue Family tab.
A proposal for the Golf restomod project by Magari:
Cute.
The reimagined 2020 Golf GTZ has a simple, durable aesthetic, designed to wear well. The clearcoated steel is cheap to maintain and looks awesome.
Smart.
The reimagined 2020 Golf GTZ has safety, reliability and usability down to a T. It fits well in small parking spaces, has advanced airbag technology, and can seat 5 comfortably. Its rad, reimagined but not overcomplicated late 70s/early 80s style interior will be a fun, enjoyable place to spend time, with no distracting (and hard to use while driving) screens getting between you and the open road.
Fun.
The reimagined 2020 Golf GTZ is also sweet to drive. It has a naturally-aspirated straight 5 replacing the original engine that revs to 9000rpm and sounds great. It has sport suspension. A manual transmission. It handles like a dream. This is the restomod car enthusiasts all over the world have been craving.
Friendly. Fun. Smart. The reimagined 2020 Golf GTZ proposal from Magari.
4 Likes
Re-Hatching: Results
It was a cold and rainy winter weekend in Germany, which under normal circumstances would prompt Nathaniel to stay in bed and catch up on some needed sleep. After a good lie-in, his favourite activity would be to head to his garage and tinker on his beloved cars. Weather permitting, he might even go to the track for a few laps, or just cruise around on twisty country roads.
This weekend Nathaniel had a different mission. Nathaniel woke early in the morning, eager to check his email and see the retromod proposals for his Golfs. He was curious to see what the most famous design houses had cooked up for his consideration. He brewed a hot cup of coffee, put on his favourite music, and sat down to check the proposals. He noticed eight submissions in his inbox…
“Hmm, that’s not a lot. Maybe I’m missing a few?” – he thought.
After checking his junk folder he found another proposal, bringing the total to nine proposals he had to judge. He decided to look at the stats first to make sure the proposals meet his most basic requirements, and eliminate from further consideration those that didn’t make the cut. But because there weren’t many, he did take a good look at all of them… maybe there is something interesting in one of the rejected ones anyway. The line-up:
Due to the low number of submissions, the two rounds of judging are compressed into a single round, separating only the insta-bins and the finalists. Yes, if you submitted a legal car, you are in the finals. I have also chosen to give a more in-depth review of the binned cars for your enjoyment.
The Binned Cars
Oettinger
The Oettinger seems an interesting concept. Only 1250 original Oettingers were built, and specimens in good condition are much sought after. This restomod is quite well executed at first glance, and without checking the VIN, anyone would mistake this for the real thing. However, this is only a replica of the original Oettinger, and as such doesn’t quite have the same historic significance – some might even say that it is an impostor. In terms of mechanics, this proposal replaces the header, just like the original Oettinger, and as such pumps out more HP for a bit of sportiness. Unfortunately, it looks like the proponents don’t plan to clean up the original engine block, and put it into this otherwise excellent rebuild in its original rusty state. As for aesthetics, the Oettinger does improve on the base model’s looks, is immediately recognizable, but is otherwise nothing too special. The blackout windows are attractive looking at first, but Nathaniel quickly finds out that they hide the ugly truth: the concept artists didn’t include an interior. On paper the car would have a sport interior with premium infotainment, but some idea of what it would look like is a requirement for Nathaniel. The price proposition is only so-so, as is the apparent attention to minute detail in the execution.
Unfortunate bin: left engine family at ’75.
GTi Copper Works Edition
Whoa, now this is a looker! Definitely one of the best looking cars of the bunch. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The car offers a revamped header and a turbo charger that offers power, but unfortunately at the cost of fuel economy. The drivability suffers from turbo-lag, some wheelspin and a crippling lack of suitable driver aids (hydraulic power steering and ABS only). Also, it looks like that under all that fancy paint, the original rust was left in place… Price-wise, the car is only OK-ish. The upfront cost is not bad at all, but the fuel economy and 98 RON fuel increase the running costs significantly. This is a real shame, because the car is a real looker. Although the looks are kept pretty basic and reminiscent of the original Golf, Nathaniel marvels at the elegant simplicity, the beautiful colours, and the workmanship is second to none. The front and side of the car has nice updates from the original. Somehow the rear lights don’t quite fit the overall aesthetic and Nathaniel feels that this is the only weak point of the car’s styling. A real shame that this car cannot be considered further…
There are several disqualifying issues with the car: safety is below 45, fuel economy is above 10.0, there is no ESC, and both Model and Family year are left at ’75. This is a huge shame, because I can tell how much work has gone into the car and it is in all honesty gorgeous and superbly done. The level of detail is astounding to me, with nice details hiding even under the bonet, so just for that I must congratulate you OME!
GTZR
The first entrant on this list to opt for a completely new engine: a slightly more prestigious than original 2.35 L I5. This is an interesting choice and with the single muffler up front it produces quite a pleasant rumble that Nathaniel appreciates. The engine tune is unfortunately a little rich and fuel economy has suffered as a result. The car has a very clean, minimalistic look. Not bad, but also not very exciting. The mirror placement and rear lights are the largest departures from the stock car and create a fresh and pleasing aesthetic. It looks like workmanship is a little lacking though and Nathaniel fears that some corners would be cut in manufacturing (what’s up with the new exhaust not hooked up and the original poking through the new diffuser?.. and some other blemishes). The interior is premium with basic infotainment, and is just quite outdated. Nathaniel understands that this choice was made with the track-driver in mind, but Nathaniel is more focused on comfort and prestige than a track beast. Overall, Nathaniel feels that the proposed retromod left too much on the table and is overall kind-of middle-of-nowhere.
Binned for fuel economy over 10.0 and lack of ESC.
MD Turbo
Nathaniel found this entry in his junk-box, probably because the email arrived at some suspicious time of night – or maybe because it came from Russia?? Who knows… In any case, not very confidence inspiring. The engine has received a minor overhaul and a turbo pushing out one of the lowest power figures in this line-up. The engine block seems to be rusty and have 45 year old dirt still caked to it. The car is nonetheless fast because it is one of the lightest… this is made possible by its lack of rear seating and standard interior. Drivability is surprisingly high for a basic hydraulic power-steered car, but comfort is severely lacking. Hmm, and it seems that under the paint some of the original rust is left on the body. The car is reasonably fast, but its reliability is somehow by far the lowest of the bunch. As for the aesthetics, this just doesn’t work for Nathaniel. The odd stripe on the side that seems to have tears in it, the yellow outline of the front grille, the random vents that don’t match or mesh with each other, the stock rear… The interior seems to have been pulled from a 70’s supercar and the back is completely bare metal. The redeeming quality of the car is its price to speed ratio, which is second-best in this lineup.
The car was binned for original ’75 Family and ’75 Model settings, because it was entered past the deadline, and no car ad was posted on the thread. On a more personal note, the review might seem pretty harsh as I know you’re pretty new to competitions AudiRS4. Take it as a learning opportunity and keep improving your designing and tuning skills – many of us have been here a long time and are still learning every day. So chin up, and I’m looking forward to more of your submissions for the various competitions in the future.
The Finalists!
After Nathaniel eliminated all proposals with illegal stats, he sits down with a second cup of coffee to appraise the finalists...Golf 2012 by BbD
The BbD designed car gives Nathaniel pause… is he looking straight at his beloved green Golf? It looks like everything is basically stock with a few upgrades thrown in. Not a hugely exciting look, unfortunately, but the few upgrades are on-point and create a harmonious look that is to Nathaniel’s liking. The interior is rather basic looking, as is also evidenced by the sport/basic infotainment choices, and the luggage compartment seems rather… bare. Under the skin the body panels have been replaced with treated steel – an interesting choice, given that it doesn’t really raise the most significant stats of the car by much. The engine has been left stock with the only changes made are to make it road-legal in the modern day. Again, not the most exciting of choices, but it gets the job done to get the car back on the road. With its original engine in place, the car is pretty under-powered for the modern day, and lacks sportiness and speed. So in the end, Nathaniel feels that while this is an “adequate” upgrade for the base models, when it comes down to it, there is just nothing to brag about here. This car does have some redeeming qualities – it shines with its drivability and reliability. But then, if there’s nothing to break, then nothing will break.
Golf by LMJ Design
The LMJ Design car is very similar under the hood as the BbD car – just a minor update to the original engine to make it legal, nothing fancy, nothing extra. Nathaniel hopes that this trend won’t continue, it’s a bit… bland. Aw well, moving on. The aesthetics of this car is slightly better with the single colour orange and blacked-out features. The Golf stripe on the sill is also nicely done and fits the overall aesthetic. It’s not a huge upgrade, but an upgrade nonetheless. The interior is slightly better looking too, even though the advertised “sport bucket seats” turn out to be just standard seats. At least the infotainment system is an upgraded premium version. So in that sense LMJ and BbD went opposite directions with the seats and entertainment options, but the overall result is basically the same – and the mismatch in quality is a little jarring in both. This car’s base price is lower, but its fuel use puts its overall long-term costs roughly on par with the BbD. Another similarity is its overall speed, which is not very fast. So there is overall really not much to choose between the two proposals, but the LMJ edges out a better score with a slightly higher prestige and looks, with its only real weakness against the BbM being drivability.
Golf 45
All right, here is a car that, while looking very much similar to the original, promises significant changes under the skin. Let’s do a deep-dive. First off, the body panels have been replaced with partial aluminium, a nice upgrade from the original steel panels. Next up, the engine is a completely new 2L I4 alu block with DOHC4 head and turbo, which is definitely quite promising in the performance department. The aesthetics of the car are again very basic with LED lights, darkened fixtures, and some well-placed accents. Overall, nothing spectacular, but an upgrade over the original. Although the interior is standard/standard, it is nonetheless gorgeously made – just lacks in the prestige and comfort department. The right-hand-drive layout gave Nathaniel pause though, but it is likely just an oversight by the designers and can be corrected for the final build. This car is really going all out for performance with high sportiness values and the best track times of all.
HPS Blackout
The Hudso Motor Car Company went all out with their sales pitch for the HPS Blackout, even calling Nathaniel “Herr”, tickling his ego a little. What else can Nathaniel add to what hasn’t already been said? The Blackout uses many original elements of the car, and in terms of aesthetics retaining much of the original look while providing a much needed update. The styling is very tastefully done and Nathaniel also loves the black-out look (sorry for the lack of black rims in the photoscene above, for some reason only one car would spawn with the correct rim paint). As for the engine, the Blackout only replaces the header of the engine with a much more efficient DOHC4 and adding a turbo. The car is tuned quite sporty too, making for an exciting drive. Despite these changes the power output is quite low compared to some of the competitors, resulting in slow-ish track times, but good fuel consumption. In terms of the interior, the ad and pictures claim that it has four full seats and that the rear passengers will travel in the same front-row comfort as the driver – but looking at the specs, it looks like that the rear seats are in fact not full size. The high-quality sporty interior with a premium HUD is quite prestigious though, and comfortable at least for the driver and one passanger. Prestige is quite good due to the interior. Workmanship seems excellent on this car, with much attention to detail everywhere. Considering its price, this proposition seems pretty decent value for money.
BRM Golf Hyperion
Well, here we have something truly special, with the only really huge engine swap of the bunch (by huge I mean large change… the turbocharged 2.1L V10 is rather… diminutive). But hey, a V10 is a V10, and it’ll still make that head-turning noise and cause people to turn their heads. Well, they would, if the double reverse-flow mufflers didn’t… muffle the sounds so much. But then again, that is good for comfort for the daily drive. This is a good thing, Nathaniel reluctantly convinces himself. The handmade interior with luxury HUD certainly push this car over the top when it comes to prestige, although the interior design is not a looker (neither is the Bugatti Chiron’s interior pretty, so that can be forgiven to an extent). Speaking of looks, the exterior is not really to Nathaniel’s liking. The new paint job seems to belong more on some Honda Civic ricer than a prestigious luxury car. The front is rather bland, the wheels are a bit over the top (again, a bit ricer-esque), and the rear lights just don’t work at all. Overall, this look just doesn’t work for Nathaniel. Quality seems to be lacking in certain areas too – especially in the driver aids department. Everything is there, but Nathaniel might have to worry about an electrical fire. All of these criticism aside, this is by far the most prestigious beast of the bunch, highly drivable and extremely comfortable, and even a very tiny bit sporty. The price is extraordinarily high compared to the others in the line-up, but hey, good thing Nathaniel is not strapped for cash at the moment…
Final Verdict
The bottom line
BbB: This car is really let down by its lack of prestige; the original engine, the sport with basic interior, and lack of any prestigious components elsewhere makes it just good enough to clear the bar, but the competition brought stronger proposals.
LMJ Design: Basically the same bottom line as for BbD – overall prestige is low due to original engine, standard interior with premium infotainment, and lack of any other prestige points.
Golf 45: The 45 changes the most from the original, but is unfortunately a case of not making the changes worth it. Changing an I4 for a slightly larger I4 sacrifices the prestige for not much gain. The same is true for the body panels, the gain here is just not enough. This car really saves itself from being outside the top three with superior track times and a good attention to detail.
HPS Blackout: The Blackout is gorgeous to look at, and is only let down by its use of the original engine block and sports interior. Maybe the double wishbone setup front and rear cost a bit too much to really invest into a winning formula?
BRM Golf Hyperion: Well, this car really aimed for maximum prestige while sacrificing other areas – but it somehow (just barely) works!
Winners:
5 @HighOctaneLove
4 @Knugcab
3 @Jaimz
2 @Hudso
1 @AMuteCrypt
Congrats on the worthy win AMuteCrypt! Despite the major differences between the cars, the top two were really closely matched - Nathaniel might have to think about hiring BRM to do the engineering and interior, and HPS to provide the Blackout exterior!
As for the next round, I would love for the winner to take over hosting Chapter 2 of ARM (or if not, then #2, #3 etc.)! 
Winner’s spreadsheet:
After I take a small break I’ll write an epilogue and a final debrief with my thoughts on how this competition went and where we can improve things going forward, because I do hope that this format becomes a series. For the four competitors who got binned, don’t worry, I’ll also post the full spreadsheet to see where you would’ve ended up if the cars were within the rules. I’ll also post a spreadsheet with the 9 entrants against the 15 cars I made as test subjects to demonstrate where different choices might have ended up with more entries. :slight_smile:
3 Likes
I will absolutely be willing to take over the next round of the championship. Let me start work on it…
Edit: Oh, and because I suck at car design… Anyone interested in styling?
1 Like
Maybe you could do a resto mod on the car from someone else’s lore cars instead of a real world one. So for example I would give you a car from one of my brands and then you send that to the participants for them to modify and you judge it
2 Likes
I have no objection about the results.
However, sometimes I feel like there is a lack of consistency in the Automationverse. In an earlier competition, I did as I usually do, sports seats, steering wheel etc. = sports interior, but I had to change it to not get a bin since I was told that “it is only interiors like those in super sports cars that will classify as sports, not sporty seats in a family car”. Now when I kept the interior as “standard” it was the wrong choice in this hosts opinion. And I am not objecting about any of the opinions but I guess that you still can understand why it feels kind of hopeless in a way? 
Sometimes I feel like if the game should need sort of an in between choice for more “sporty” regular cars, that should reflect the changes between, for example Golf CL and Golf GTi, or Saab 9000i and Saab 9000 Aero, without being a full blown sports car interior.
By the way, I give the MD turbo +0.5 points extra since it reminds me of the Matchbox Golf I had as a kid…
5 Likes
Allright, as promised a little epilogue/retrospect.
General thoughts about ARM competition:
The idea for this competition popped into my head during a car show a while ago. There were all kinds of classic cars presented in various stages of decomposition and restoration. There were also several cars of the same model and era, but restomodded with different philosophies - some were very mildly updated, but some where radically changed and the originals were only recognizable by their general shape. I realize that this is not to everyone’s taste, but it made me think - what about a competition for Automation where everyone can let their creativity fly and reimagine classic cars? There are so many talented designers and tuners on this forum who probably have thought at some point in their life: “if Car X could only look this way or that… if only I could have been on the design team for Car Y…” - so I thought there is bound to be a few gems submitted for whatever “original” is thrown at the community. So the idea for ARM was born.
As for the implementation, I now realize that the unusual format and restrictions to a single body and general “look” for each round causes some hesitation for long-time challenge participants, who are used to generally being able to choose a body themselves and go wild. This is fair and the challenge format may not be to everyone’s liking and that’s OK. That said, there does seem to be interest from at least a few to keep this going, which is great to see.
Another issue that this first round uncovered is of a technical nature. The model and family both have to be cloned successfully, and the cloned engine put in the cloned car… these steps were not correctly followed by many participants. This, then, results in a much harder judging process, because the cars have to be imported one by one by the judge, lest they overwrite each other. This round I did not penalize anyone for not cloning - only for not setting the year ahead, but in the future this might change to make it more user friendly for all. Or maybe we can come up with a better way to do it. Maybe the cloning process will simply become more second nature with a bit of practice and fewer issues will be encountered in the next rounds.
@mart1n2005 brings up a good point which I think has also been mentioned on Discourse - to allow lore cars to be restomodded. I am not really following the lore side of the forum, but am aware that many people are very invested in their lore companies/cars. I am very open to this idea, especially if it draws more people into the series. So yes, the host of the round could propose one of their lore cars to be modded - provided that they also explain some of the lore behind the car for context. Whether it has to be the host’s own lore car, or they can also use someone else’s lore car can be up for debate. I’m leaning toward only own lore cars, but we can put this up for a vote - maybe I’m in the minority.
Thoughts on this particular round:
Overall I think it was a fairly successful first round of what will hopefully become a regular series. There weren’t too many submissions, but that’s understandable due to the nature of the competition, its novelty, and the ongoing other competitions currently (ahem… BRC 
). I perhaps could’ve also made things clearer to encourage more participation. In general people seemed to have the impression that major changes to the car were not OK, resulting in some not participating at all. Indeed, the people who participated were hesitant to make major changes to the original car, so the “new” label for aesthetics wasn’t even used and there was still a lot of headroom for aesthetics if people had ventured out of the box. Again, I think this was my mistake, I should’ve been clearer on the scoring system.
As for the actual scoring, here are all the participants who submitted, as if all the cars were legal:
Before the round I tested my spreadsheet with 15 builds to see how various things would affect the results. Here are these builds pitted against the submitted cars… the weighted average makes it all a lot more interesting and fluid as variance increases with more cars in the line-up (notice how this round’s winner is pushed to second place as the field widens and different stats become inflated or suppressed?) Note that for my test cars I set the aesthetics defaults to 40 for original, 60 for retro, and 80 for new - values I though would be about the mean based on my experience with the designs floating around on this server.
Well, I’m looking forward to the next Chapter in the ARM universe 
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Yes, you do have a point here. The impression I got was that “changes to the design will be penalized pretty much, so they better really be worth it if you are going to implement them”. Not that it changed my design, since most of my time has gone into judging the 4wd challenge, I went for a simple approach anyway, but I guess more people may have been thinking like me.
But overall, this was a really fun idea and a great start of this challenge, and I hope that it will keep living on like the CSR etc. in the future since restomodded classic cars are one of my main passions here in life.
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Ha! And I kinda half-assed my 4wd submission because of… this. Wait, I shouldn’t have said that, not before judging is finished… whoops.
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