Carroserie D'Avant, Beauté et Classe Intemporelles

[SolidSnake]

                   Carroserie D'Avant, Vineau-les-Bains, Gasmea, Est. 1946

The Gasmean automaker was founded by Pierre D’Avant, eldest son of a machine worker and a seamstress. Born on Sept 29, 1899, he grew up in the Gasmean countryside and after the Great War went on to study engineering. After his father’s passing he took over the family business, training and employing his younger siblings, and grew the small machine shop into an engine factory by 1923 implementing his original designs, supplying power units to regional motorcycle manufacturers. Pierre designed his first automobile, the Fantome, in 1946, powered by his first 4-cylinder engine.

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This thread is dedicated the cars and history of Carroserie D’Avant, as played through entirely in the Lite Campaign V4.2 with lore based on fiction and sometimes inspired by real world events and organizations.

It is one of a few Automation car companies I’ve created in my time with the game. My original thread was dedicated to Bronx Motor Co. as an engine supplier to various other carmakers in that universe, but I decided to reboot that thread and spinoff each company with their own dedicated thread inhabiting the same universe.

I hope you all enjoy my creations!

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[abg7]

@SolidSnake

The first vehicle to be produced by D’Avant was to be superlative in all areas of import. A robust power unit, confidence inspiring chassis, and premium interior appointments. It was to be a tailored suit on wheels.

On first impressions, I think they’ve nailed it - there’s a bit of early Alpine in the Fantome, and not just in the way it looks. In a world still recovering from the ravages of war, this would have been a glimmer of hope in an otherwise grim motoring landscape.

[SolidSnake]

you’re a breath of fresh air yourself.

[SolidSnake]

Hello there!

After nearly a year, I finally regained access to my account so I can go back to posting again. Unfortunately, the car files seem to be broken and I can’t download them to pick up where I left off. So, instead of starting a whole new thread, I’m just going to start all over again on this one. The lore for this company will remain the same, save for a few changes to keep in like with some of the new features added to the game.

Looking forward to sharing new car builds after all the awesome updates the game has gone through!

[SolidSnake]

Over the last few days, I’ve been working on this company through the Campaign and it took me a few tries but I finally managed to make it profitable from Day 1.

All it took was a small factory, all-aluminium construction, some fine tuning of the engineering and tooling to make the car work as a sellable product.

It’s low production volume, with low sales numbers but ample profits to be able to continue engineering facelifts and hopefully more models.

Currently, the campaign, which started in '46 is in the year 1955 (or '57, can’t remember) and the first facelift has been in production two years. The difficulty is set to a 1x Score Multiplier and we have sold enough cars to be $7M over our starting budget of $500M.

Over the coming days, I’ll be sharing the original car and its facelifted trims.

Edit: Typos

[SolidSnake]

After 10 years on the market and with two facelifts the First generation Fantôme sold little over 10k units leaving the company nearly $50M in profits after considering factory, tooling, and engineering costs!

I’m excited to share this vehicle with the community as it’s also my first endeavor into creating interior for any car. It’s a bit rough, I’ll admit, but not to shabby if I say so myself for a first attempt.

I’ve also taken to streaming my campaign playthrough on Twitch, which I’ll be doing again today as I take pictures of the first generation and continue designing the second generation Fantôme on stream.

[SolidSnake]

–Just some previews–
Top to bottomn:
1946 Mk.1
1952: Mk.2
1957 Mk.1

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[SolidSnake]

Second try at an interior…

[SolidSnake]

I just can’t get enough of that blue…

[SolidSnake]

D’Avant Fantome (F11) '46

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D’Avant’s debut vehicle, the Fantôme, employed the company’s first ever 4-cylinder engine, the D4A-18A1, which made 71hp and revved to 5000RPM The lightweight aluminum body on spaceframe weight in at 875kg which made it quick and nimble.

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A premium, low-volume sports car, it was adorned with high quality materials inside such as soft leathers and solid wood on the steering wheel and shifter knob. The founding principle of D’Avant was timeless beauty and class, as the simple yet elegant design would have you believe.

The base model’s suspension was focused on comfort with a bit of an edge for spirited motoring. It was a financial success for the company, selling 21k units.

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D’Avant Fantome S (F11) '49

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For 1949, D’Avant introduced a sportier trim by way of the ‘S’ which shed 35kg of weight by using lighter materials and forgoing some sound deadening. The updated D4A-18A2 engine now made 78hp and revved to 5200RPM.

This trim sold remarkably well, moving 27k units.

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D’Avant Fantome S (F11) '52

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The 1952 facelift was the only physical design update for the first generation Fantome, as the platform was becoming dated. It kept the D4A-18B power plant, but now featured revamped suspension tuning which was lower, stiffer, and had less body roll.

It only gained 6.8kg over the previous version and remained popular enough to sell 20k units in 4 years.

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D’Avant Fantome GT (F11) '52

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The final rendition of the Fantome was only available in Bleu LeMans and was powered by the 2.0L D4A-20A1 - a venerable engine which put out 80hp and 100ft-lbs of torque (10 more than previous trims) while still revving to 5000RPM which had better fuel economy than the 1.8L units.

It proved to be very popular and desirable, as the company could barely keep up with the orders. A total of 24k units were sold to the public, further establishing D’Avant a producer of fine automobiles and setting them up for a bright futures as a premiere maker of sports cars.

[SolidSnake]

Preview of the Fantome Mk. II for 1956
I really love how this one turned out, especially the interior!

[abg7]

The body you used for the 2nd-gen Fantome unlocks in 1958 - you wouldn’t normally be able to use it in 1956, unless you used +2 tech pool for the body choice.

[SolidSnake]

Precisely, I’ve been investing heavily into that tech as well for posterity.
The body was unlocked in '56 and development took two years, so the car first went on sale on 01/1958.

The trim still keeps the model year of when the design/facelift was orinally made regardless of release year, it seems.

Once the company had become profitable enough, my R&D budget kept increasing, currently sitting at about $1.05M/month. I’ve also been spending a good deal on advertisement ($940k/month) to increase awareness. I tend to increase the budget considerably during the engineering phase of a new trim, rack up pre-orders, then tone it down a notch upon release.

The original car also had a rather short engineering time.

These were the base company settings when starting out, engineering time is also at 100% for a score multiplier of 1.0x. I didn’t get to use the starting engine factory, either. Had to buy a new plot with a small factory in order to no overwork the engine production from the get-go, and actually make that first model profitable.

Present-day funds and valuation.

[SolidSnake]

Something spicy while you wait…

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[SolidSnake]

D’Avant Esper (E11) '61

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Designed in 1959, the first editions of the Esper hit the streets running on November of '61 and was an instant hit in the City Car segment. It was a zippy little car and managed 30MPG from its 1.5L 4-cylinder engine - it’s no wonder it sold 623k units.

D’Avant Esper Sport (E11) '61

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The Esper Sport debuted alongside the base model and employed the same power plant. It featured higher grade tires, stiffer and lower suspension, thicker anti-roll bars, and shaved 17kg of mostly unsprung weight from the suspension.
Despite being more expensive than the base model it outsold it to the tune of 740k cars.

D’Avant Esper Plus (E11) '67

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For 1967, D’Avant further increased its grip on the Gasmean City Car market, thanks in no small part to this variant.
Fitted with a 3-speed automatic and a cushier suspension, the Esper Plus went on to sell 905k units before being replaced.

D’Avant Esper Sport+ (E11) '67

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The success of the Sport variant as well as the demand for a more comfortable ride around town birthed the Sport+ which featured progressive springs and mono-tube shocks with a ride nominally stiffer than the Plus, but with the same roll-bar thickness.
It was a financial success, selling 628k units.

D’Avant Esper Delta (E11) '67

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The popularity of the Esper garnered a lot of praise and criticisms for the City car that could do almost everything. The answer to drivers in rural and remote parts of the continent came in the form of the Esper Delta.
It came standard with all-terrain tires, 4-Speed MT, and the same hydraulic Rack-and-Pinion steering and Premium interior as the rest of the Esper lineup for '67. Over half a million (550k) of these go-anywhere, do-anything little “Country Cars” rolled off the line to happy customers all over Gasmea and Hetvesia!

D’Avant Esper CS (E11) '67

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From the mountains, to the plains; from the deserts to the urban jungle. The Esper found its way into the lives and garages of many people. Some even took theirs to the track. So, for them, D’Avant homologated the Esper CS under FIA Apendix J regulations for Group 1 racing.
That’s right, CS is for Club Sport! And 158k of these found their way to circuits and rally stages the world over … ok, maybe some were bought just to zip around town at absurd speeds or just to show off to their friends and neighbors.
But why not, when you have 100hp available in such a tiny package you can do with it as you please!
The Clubsport was the only Esper variant to have an engine other than the 1.5L unit the car had been sporting since launch, which made it highly sought after.
The waiting list was so long, in fact, that dealerships were marking the car an exorbitant $6k over the already steep sale price of $15k (thousands more than the sub-10k price of the other trims).

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Note:

• The Fantome Mk.II’s engineering lasted from 1/1956 to 1/1958 and came to market a full 18 months before the first Esper.
• Currently, I’m on 1/1976 of my campaign playthrough for D’Avant and both the Esper and Fantome Mk.II are still in production with each being on their 3rd and final facelift before being replaced by newer bodies.
• I decided to share the Esper first simply because I’d been having so much fun designing this car and couldn’t wait to share it!
• My next lore post will be the full Fantome Mk.II lineup followed by the Final Update of the Esper, featuring a new 1.6L engine for the 3 main trims and the company’s first turbocharged unit stuffed inside the Esper CS-R

[SolidSnake]

The first generation Fantome proved to be a financial success for D’Avant after 12 years on sale, which prompted the company invest massively into their design department as well as various engineering departments.

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D’Avant Fantome Mk.II (F21) '58

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The mantra for D’Avant being ‘Timeless Beauty and Class’ made it imperative that the successor to the Fantome make a lasting impression. And impress it did!
The new car’s aluminium body was draped over an all-new steel monocoque platform and had grown considerably in all dimensions yet kept the weight under 1050kg propelled by the company’s first ever Inline-6 engine.
Aided by a targeted advertising campaign, the base Fantome went on to outsell the original car by 20% in half the time. 124k cars in 6 years.

D’Avant Fantome Mk.II '63

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1963 brought the first technical update for the Fantome Mk.II, granting it mono-tube shocks and a revised transmission. It maintained the same 2.5L power unit and sold 89k cars.

D’Avant Fantome S Mk.II '63

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The second generation Fantome S missed the mark despite featuring a 2.8L Inline-6 putting out 131hp at 5000RPM mated to a 5-speed MT.
Having the same drivability rating as the base trim and was 50% sportier, but the drop in comfort made it far less desirable.
It only managed to sell 12k units in its 6 year run before D’Avant took the lessons learned and built a proper S…

D’Avant Fantome Mk.II '69

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For this technical update D’Avant gave the base model the 2.8L I-6 and 5MT from the S model which, paired with alloy wheels and their newly developed Hydraulic Rack-and-Pinion steering, made for a formidable sports car.
Having sold 52k units may not be seen as a success compared to the older trims, but then there was the new S…

D’Avant Fantome S Mk.II '69

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Also featuring hydraulic Rack-and-pinion steering and lighter alloy wheels along with the updated 2.8L engine which now made 141hp, the S trim finally came into itself as the sportier trim that Fantome customers were waiting for.
40k cars were sold, nearly stealing the crown from the base model. It nearly would have if there wasn’t another trim taking sales…

D’Avant Fantome GT Mk.II '69

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The GT represents the highest level of quality and technology for the Fantome line and this one was no exception. At the heart was a 3-Liter I-6 with triple 2-Barrel carbs mated to a 5MT. Alloy wheels and progressive spring mono-tube shock suspension made it agile and comfortable. Luxury-grade interior and AM radio were standard.
The high production cost of the vehicle made it costly to manufacture and the sale price reflected it, therefore only 12k of these made it to customers despite the high number of orders.

D’Avant Fantome S Mk.III '73

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For the final update of the lineup, D’Avant dropped the base model entirely. It didn’t replace it, instead introduced a new trim above the GT. For this year, though, The S received a slight bump in power, the 2.8L engine now making 145hp, and revised suspension tuning for the wider tires. In response to the overwhelming demand for the Fantome, in order to keep up with orders, the small factory was upgraded to a large one with three times the workforce which resulted in a massive increase in production output.
The latest Fantome S sold 138k cars!

D’Avant Fantome GT Mk.II '73

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The updated GT, as customary, featured D’Avant’s latest advancements. This time around it came with four-wheel disc brakes and improved aerodynamics.
The 3.0L I-6 was now rated at 177hp/188ft-lbs with a 5500RPM redline.
111k GT’s rolled off the assembly line, the luxurious interior and superlative ride quality making it D’Avant’s most prestigious model, save for their latest ace…

D’Avant Fantome V12 Mk.II '73

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15 years of technological advancements culminated in the ultimate Fantome. The V12 was everything D’Avant wanted from the platform, yet there was still room for improvement. Even so, the final send-off for the F21 platform was the most successful Fantome to date selling 175k cars.

[SolidSnake]

Wow, so apparently the base model of the Fantome Mk.III is in such high demand that the dealership is marking it up to almost DOUBLE the base price. That’s pretty insane, if you ask me…

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Compare this to the S model…

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It doesn’t really make much sense to me, considering that the S model has outsold the base model by a margin of over 17:1. Is this normal behavior for the campaign??

Another issue I’m having is that the V12 engine factory suddenly stopped producing the engine for the V12 variant of the Mk.III despite being fully staffed; I’ve reconfigured it a number of times trying to get it back online but to no avail.