Avalon Motors - Driving Personified

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Avalon Motors was formed in 1961 by a small group of plucky engineers in Plymouth, England, and has since gone on to be one of the country’s most well known manufacturers. We build cars to the highest quality, and we never fall short of our main rivals, Jaguar and Audi. In this thread you will learn the companies history, and watch it grow from a risky endeavor into the unknown into the giant it is today.

[size=150][color=#BF0000]Historical Posts:[/color][/size]

The Beginning of an Era: Silica MKI ‘A’

[size=150][color=#BF0000]Modern Posts:[/color][/size]

The Rebirth of an Icon: Silica MKVIII

[size=150][color=#BF0000]Timeline:[/color][/size]

[quote]1927: David Caswell is born in Exeter
1929: Andrew Mason is born in Plymouth
1939: WWII breaks out
1945: WWII ends, Andrew and David meet in a mechanics course. David leaves, while Andrew finishes it.
1949: Andrew gets a job at Jaguar.
1953: Andrew helps to engineer the D-Type, gets special commendations.
1957: Jaguar begin work on the E-Type, codenamed E1A. Andrew gets limited work.
1959: While working on the E2A, Andrew loses his job at Jaguar, and meets David again.
1960: --AVALON MOTORS IS FOUNDED–
1961: The Silica sportscar is concepted, manufacturing begins in Plymouth
1964: The Basalt sedan is built for the first time. Andrew’s son, Chris, is born.
1967: The Silica ‘GTS’ is created with a new V8 engine, imports to the USA rise fivefold in one year.
1969: David dies of a heart attack, aged 42. Andrew takes over the company as CEO.
1972: The SIlica MKII is made, sales increase again. The Bath Factory is built, and begins to produce Basalts.
1973: The Basalt gets refreshed, but not before a special ‘GTS’ version is made. The oil crisis happens, and a new I4 is made to compensate.
1975: The Magnet hatchback is created, and in the new economic climate sales are high. Profits reach a tipping point.
1977: Avalon shares drop horrendously, and the company has to shut down production of the SIlica and Basalt to compensate. Narrowly avoids Bankruptcy.
1977-9: Mass reorganization of the company, with new branding, badges, and a new factory in Plymouth. All engines are redeveloped, with 4 valve setups.
1981: Basalt and Silica production begins again with new, rather more neutered in the SIlica’s case. A new small sedan called the Silica GT is created.
1982: The Magnet MKII is made, and sales for it are still increasing.
1984: Avalon enter Group A(utomation) and B with the Silica GT-RA and Iridium respectively. AMET is created for motorsport ventures.
1985: CEO Andrew Mason is hospitalized after a car crash, with large injury’s. Makes it through ok, but has a multitude of permanent injury’s.
1987: A estate version of the Basalt is now produced, along with a ‘S’ version of all Basalts and SIlica’s, with a new V8 engine.
1989: The Silica MKIV is made, and the car shifts to a more luxurious role than in previous generations. A new small sports car, the Mason, is created.
1990: The Magnet MKIII and the Basalt MKIV are created, and global production begins. Factory’s set up in Spain and Germany.
1991: Andrew Mason steps down as CEO, aged 62. His son, Chris Mason-Westbrook, is appointed CEO.
1994: AMET suffers its first large scandal, through bribery to win various special one-off races for a better reputation. Survives, but Team Boss Adam Wheeler resigns.
1995: A new small sedan, the Caesia is produced. AMET start to modify road cars under Sebastian von Strasbourg, but their business deals become more shadowy.
1996: A new MKV Silica is created, as is a new Mason MKII.
1998: Chris Mason-Westbrook dies of Lung Cancer, and the baton is passed onto Chief Engineer Tom Waltford.
2000: The model lineup is revamped for the millennium. The Magnet, Basalt and Caesia all recieve updates.
2001: A new Silica is produced, not before a ‘race’ tuned SR AMET edition is built.
2003: The second crisis for AMET, now for cheating in multiple racing series. Motorsport ventures are reduced, and the company becomes more of a shady skunkworks.
2005: Avalon attempts to absorb multiple car companies, but fails to secure any.
2006: The Silcia MKVII is produced, and the Basalt and Mason recieve updates. AMET begins to participate in Motorsport again, and unsuccessfully attempt to enter F1.
2007: Rest of the lineup receive updates.
2008: The Iridium MKII is made wholly by AMET, and the shady skunkworks wing of Avalon regains a little bit of reputation again. Just a bit, still shady as ****.
2010: Avalon attempts to make a van, the Viser. This fails tremendously due to a saftey/manufacturing problem, and production is limited.
2011: AMET put a V8TT in the back of the Viser, and make headlines…as it kills people. Production stops. The recession hits, and Silica/Mason production is stopped.
2013: The whole lineup is refreshed, and the Iridium gets quite a bit faster, becoming a Halo car for Avalon.
2014: Andrew Mason, aged 85, is hospitalized for a heart attack. Survives, but is on a pacemaker for the rest of his life.
2015: The Silica is produced again to rave reviews, and a Supercar, the Ammonia is built. More rave reviews. AMET enter the 2nd BSLL, and all hell breaks loose.[/quote]

2
  1. Britain’s economy was on the rise, and car companies were springing up left, right and centre. Many would cease to exist after the 1970’s, but now with people’s lives and wallets at a twenty year high, sales were booming. Andrew Mason was a considerably skilled mechanic at Jaguar, a veteran of a decade working with the company, and he, with many others, was developing a experimental racecar, the E2A, which would soon develop into the E-Type. He was enjoying life at one of Britians premier manufacturers, but problems arose. He had issues with the car’s highly expensive design, and fell out with the head mechanic on the project, believing the car would not translate well to a road car. The head mechanic always disliked Andrew complained about the young mechanic not being productive and impeding the project, he told executives that Mason was stuck in his ways and Andrew was sacked, not even being given a sum of money for his hard work at the company.

Andrew was devastated, and looked for other open doors to jobs in the car manufacturing industry without much luck. Many jobs were already fulfilled and Andrew wanted to work on innovative cars, not small, fragile boxes like the Morris Mini. He had pretty much given up hope when one of his old friends, a car designer named David Caswell, had an offer. He needed an experienced mechanic to help him start up a car company of his own, and a bit of money as well. Andrew was intrigued, and decided to join the project, moving from London to his hometown of Plymouth where the company would be based. Twelve other like-minded mechanics and designers joined the project, many of which Andrew knew from various places of work before Jaguar, and on Feburary 17th 1960, David and Andrew founded Avalon Motors, moving into a warehouse in Plympton, a town just outside of the city.

The 14 men gathered later that night to discuss how the company should start, and open debate began on the subject of the first car. Some people thought that a small, cheap car would be the best way to use their limited materials, but with the Mini filling that market there was no point in attempting to break into it. And besides, a very cheap car would result in limited profits, something that could hurt them in the long run. A compact family car was thought about next. Many of the engineers decided that this would be the best way forward, something few people are doing, but then Andrew had a better plan:

“I have an idea, that I feel could interest a lot of you. I used to work for Jaguar, right, and they are developing this E-Type, something that will blow every sportscar of the water. The problem is, its gunna be pricy, probably about £2,000 (roughly £41,000 in 2015) and there is our window. We slash £500 off of the price, and still offer strong performance, then we may be able to work it. If we get peoples attention with that, then we will have much better luck if and when we come to expand. Why? 'Cause they will know us! Avalon, the company who had the balls to challenge Jaguar.”

This plan was welcomed by the rest of the group, because of the challenge, the risks, and the out and out competition with Britain’s finest. With the first car decided, now all that was required was a name. Something that sounded futuristic and forward thinking. One of the mechanics decided that ‘Silica’ would be a cool name which ticked all of the boxes, and the car was a go. Now what was needed was a production line to build the cars, and the money everyone contributed accomadated for that comfortably. In July, the warehouse had been transformed into a car manufactuering plant, and now the Silica would need to be built. The engineers immediatly got to work on developing a concept car to show to the public by November, something that would scare Jaguar and let them know a challenger had entered the ring.

Andrew and another young engineer named Phillip O’Brian began to draw up plans for the engine, the integral part that would be the deciding factor on whether or not it would be able to compete with the E-Type. He decided to use a straight six, as the E-Type did, with a displacement of 3.5 liters. Both the block and head would be built out of cast iron to save money (the E-Type had aluminium heads) and a 12 valve SOHC valvetrain was chosen for simplicity and compactness, over the Jags 12 valve DOHC setup. The bottom end of the engine would be cast iron all round to save on money, and the fuel system was a single, four barrel carburetor, of Philip’s personal chosing. The exhaust headers were simply cast in curved moulds to allow for better engine breathing, and the pipe used a baffled muffler to reduce noise. All in all the engine cost very little, weighed 240kg and produced 199hp @ 5000rpm, with 209 ft-lb of torque at 4900rpm. It was named the ‘Hornet’.

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The design was a similar matter, with the body being designed by an ex-Le Mans designer Mike Westbrooke, who worked for Jaguar also in the early fifties. A sharp, flowing, almost Italian steel body was crafted onto a rigid steel ladder chassis, built for cheapness rather than lightness. The car had a low, pointed front end, contouring up rather smoothly onto a low roof, and it smoothly fell away to a low, short rear.

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Two small inset lights and a rounded simple grill set off the front end’s simple feel. Two indicators and vents were placed below the bumper to cool the engine better, and a large inset panel was added to add detail. The Avalon Badge was displayed loud and proud in the main grille, and two small vents were cut at the back of the bonnet to cool the engine.

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At the back, a vertical triplet of round lights set the design, with the exhaust exits placed directly inline with this line. A license plate holder was placed in the bottom-centre, and another indent was placed below the bumper for more detail.

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It sat on MacPherson strut suspension at the front and a coil-spring solid rear axle at the back. The brakes were a standard drum affair, though they were quite large. It came with a 4-speed maunal gearbox, and used a open differential for ease of design. The tyres were as wide as they came, 155/75R15’s all around, and the body was smoothed off for minimum drag. The interior had strictly two seats, and was a fairly premium affiar, with an AM radio included. The car had slightly outdated safety for lower cost, but was more than adequte for the car’s minuscule 1088kg weight. It had a very simple and driveable suspension setup, though this was more to do with the engineer’s lack of experience with tuning than anything else.

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From its first appearance, the Silica was a classic. Its low price and lightweight nature gave it great reviews from critics, and the concept forced the E-Type to be released earlier than planned. The Silica may not have had the raw speed of the Jaguar, but it had a similar experiance for a lower price, just £1100, 900ish pounds cheaper than the Jag, and the low price meant sales began to roll in immediately. The company had to work for nearly a whole year to satisfy the immediate demand, but the amount of profit earned off of the sportscar was astonishing. It was the beginning of an era for Avalon, a wave of money that would take them far into the 1970’s.

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Name: Avalon Silica MKI ‘A’
Price: £1100 in 1961 (£21,807)
Sold: 1961 - 1972, 27,895 units produced

3

Love it. 200 HP from a '59 i6? That’s damn good. Plus its looks awesome. Plus, the grilled blinkers and tail lights are really cool!

4

before steam update i had (will admit didn’t make) a V8 from 1940 with 200+ horsepower if i remember correctly

5

In 2011, production of the Silica MKVII was stopped. It was the shortest production length of any Silica at just 4 and a half years, because something arrived. A recession, which hit Britain hard, closing down multiple factories across the country. To reduce costs, production was halted and the Silica had its second break in production. This stoppage allowed the engineers to begin to concept an all new, improved Silica for when the economic crisis lifted. In late 2012, things were looking up, and the management board gave the all clear to begin work once again. Using social media as a starting base, the design’s were quickly drawn up and the concept was built for the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

The body was designed by a Brit called Adam Orders. He, like many other designers, entered the design competition in July 2012, and his design was picked with some minor tweaks. Gone was a simple, easy to modify shell. A curved, elaborate body was wrapped around an aluminium chassis, making it the first Silica made wholly out of aluminium. The body had a very long, low nose, and was streached out to make the car seem like the GT it should have been.

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The front fasica was extremely low and wide, giving the car a stanced look. Chrome trim was placed around the outside of the grille and lights, accentuated by the LEDs embedded into the lights themselves. The indicators and fog lights were placed behind a grille as a nod to the original Silica’s iconic grilled lights, and a complex lip was placed at the bottom for minor downforce. A large chrome grille was built into the centre to cool the engine, and the wheel-arches were artificially enlarged to give the car a racy look.

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The back was a direct homage to the original Silica. A triplet of lights were placed into a column, inside a fake vent, to give the car a retro feel. A highly intricate ‘diffuser’ was built into the bottom, and housed both an aerodynamic lip and the exhausts, and a large license plate holder was built into the centre of the fasica, adding detail to the middle.

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The car would be powered by two engines, a turbocharged Hornet IV producing 356hp, and a Raptor IV producing a smooth 442hp, each pertaining to one trim. The Hornet would drive the base ‘S’ model, a more affordable Silica which is very much the drivers car, due to its lighter wieght and less frills on the inside. The ‘GT-S’, powered by the Raptor, is the more luxurious one, with a much nicer interior and softer springs, as well as a more driveable engine. Both cars have the same 7-speed sequential gearbox, and the same base suspension, but minor changes, like larger ratios in the box, separate the two that bit more.

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The two Silica’s were released to a hopeful crowd, wanting to know when the icon would return. And it blew many of them away. Fast and comfortable was always this cars remit, and the VIII filled it perfectly. It won many GT and Sports Car of the year awards, and the praise keeps on coming. The tail was slightly controversial, but the car was not. After a lacklusture 2000’s, the Silica was back true and proper. A icon had been reborn.

It has also been rumoured that Normandy Automotive is releasing a special edition of the Silica. Neither party is willing to comment, but a masked Silica-styled car has been spotted at the main Avalon Testing Facility in Somerset.

Name: Avalon Silica MKVIII ‘S’
Price: £50,000
Sales:[/i] 21,697 as of May 2015[/i]

Name: Avalon Silica MKVIII ‘GT-S’
Price: £75,00
Sales: 6,293 as of May 2015

6

In the early 80’s, Avalon was back to full business after near bankrupcy in 1977. Production was at an all time high, and sales were higher than ever. In order to take advantage of the companies new-found mojo, CEO Andrew Mason requested that the company should enter the Group A and B rally championships by the end of 1984. Both entries would be based on the Silica, and the Group A entry was finished and homologation began in March. However, it was clear that the Group B entry would be a much more difficult task, so a new group was formed within the company. Avalon Motorsport Engineering & Technology, or AMET for short. The best engineers of the company set up the wing, and quickly got to work developing a car.

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The chassis remained the same as the Silica, but the body was completely new. A blocky, fastback body was designed, with a crap-ton of aerodynamic wings and splitters added to downforce at speed. The car was more roomy than before, allowing more technology to be crammed in, and it looked the part - very aggressive and blatantly a racecar. For the homologation, the car was mated to a variant of the Buzzard Engine with a rather large turbo, allowing for more than 200hp, which gave the car impressive speed. In addition, a very sporty suspension setup allowed for a very engaging car to drive, and it was packed with technology to make it tame and safe also.

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Sales of the homologation model outstripped expectations. 5000 were sold over a 28 month period, and the model was constantly upgraded as the racecar was refined. No two cars were identical, and each had Andrew Mason’s signature on a plaque in the interior. The car developed a cult following, much like its Group A counterpart, the Silica GT-RA, and it is still popular today.

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The racecar was much more extreme. A 2 litre V8 was custom built, and with two large turbo’s the engine output over 500hp. The car was famously unreliable, and for the first few months didn’t even have 4WD, and was very unsafe and slow in those first few races, though once that was designed put in place the car finished well (when it didnt break down). It could challenge the Audi Sport Quattro on a good day, though with its reliability problems it never got high in the standings. Once Group B was ended in 1986, the remaining 5 Iridium racecars were given to the two current drivers, one to the founder of AMET Mitchell Stevenson, and the others were put on sale, gathering very high prices, one selling for £100,000, an extreme amount for 1987.

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AMET would grow into a more shadowy skunkworks outfit, and would face the brunt of two large corruption scandals, but the Iridium was the start of their racing success, more of which would follow closely down the line.

Name: Avalon AMET Iridium MKI
Price: £12,000 in 1984 (About £35,000 in 2014)
Sold: 1984 - 1986, 5084 units produced

7

So I have decided it would be a good idea to post a timeline for Avalon, so it would be more clear what direction the company has taken and what cars I may be posting in the future (Timeline will be in the OP as well :slight_smile: ). Sorry for wall of text.

8

[quote=“Carmain”]In 2011, production of the Silica MKVII was stopped. It was the shortest production length of any Silica at just 4 and a half years, because something arrived. A recession, which hit Britain hard, closing down multiple factories across the country. To reduce costs, production was halted and the Silica had its second break in production. This stoppage allowed the engineers to begin to concept an all new, improved Silica for when the economic crisis lifted. In late 2012, things were looking up, and the management board gave the all clear to begin work once again. Using social media as a starting base, the design’s were quickly drawn up and the concept was built for the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

The body was designed by a Brit called Adam Orders. He, like many other designers, entered the design competition in July 2012, and his design was picked with some minor tweaks. Gone was a simple, easy to modify shell. A curved, elaborate body was wrapped around an aluminium chassis, making it the first Silica made wholly out of aluminium. The body had a very long, low nose, and was streached out to make the car seem like the GT it should have been.

DrujvRy.png1477×547 917 KB

The front fasica was extremely low and wide, giving the car a stanced look. Chrome trim was placed around the outside of the grille and lights, accentuated by the LEDs embedded into the lights themselves. The indicators and fog lights were placed behind a grille as a nod to the original Silica’s iconic grilled lights, and a complex lip was placed at the bottom for minor downforce. A large chrome grille was built into the centre to cool the engine, and the wheel-arches were artificially enlarged to give the car a racy look.

umJmbsD.png1477×547 813 KB

The back was a direct homage to the original Silica. A triplet of lights were placed into a column, inside a fake vent, to give the car a retro feel. A highly intricate ‘diffuser’ was built into the bottom, and housed both an aerodynamic lip and the exhausts, and a large license plate holder was built into the centre of the fasica, adding detail to the middle.

6acwTLG.png1477×547 801 KB

The car would be powered by two engines, a turbocharged Hornet IV producing 356hp, and a Raptor IV producing a smooth 442hp, each pertaining to one trim. The Hornet would drive the base ‘S’ model, a more affordable Silica which is very much the drivers car, due to its lighter wieght and less frills on the inside. The ‘GT-S’, powered by the Raptor, is the more luxurious one, with a much nicer interior and softer springs, as well as a more driveable engine. Both cars have the same 7-speed sequential gearbox, and the same base suspension, but minor changes, like larger ratios in the box, separate the two that bit more.

H5BsFP1.png1600×1099 1.45 MB

The two Silica’s were released to a hopeful crowd, wanting to know when the icon would return. And it blew many of them away. Fast and comfortable was always this cars remit, and the VIII filled it perfectly. It won many GT and Sports Car of the year awards, and the praise keeps on coming. The tail was slightly controversial, but the car was not. After a lacklusture 2000’s, the Silica was back true and proper. A icon had been reborn.

It has also been rumoured that Normandy Automotive is releasing a special edition of the Silica. Neither party is willing to comment, but a masked Silica-styled car has been spotted at the main Avalon Testing Facility in Somerset.

Name:* Avalon Silica MKVIII ‘S’*
Price:* £50,000*
Sales:[/quote]

21,697 as of May 2015

Name:* Avalon Silica MKVIII ‘GT-S’*
Price:* £75,00*
Sales:* 6,293 as of May 2015*

The Front sort of reminds me of a Dodge Charger Hellcat!!!
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