Amazing to see such competence in design. You clearly didn’t hold any barriers to achieve the looks you wanted. That’s a serious amount of fixtures! I especially liked how you make details on the truck body that were lacking in the original mesh, like the lower rear valance and side indentations.
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Two Countries, Different Paths
A tale of two car companies, two countries, two paths and a fully different world
Bremen, Germany, 1967
IRL, Ursula at that point would have released the all-new upmarket F5 sedan four years prior, and with the launch of the F5, the German company would have entered a new era of making sporty premium vehicles.
However, this is not the case on that world. With the fall of the Soviet Union, East Germany (German Democratic Republic) would never be a real thing, and the whole new nation was formed shortly after the defeat on the great war, under the government of the Federal Republic with Konrad Adenauer becoming the first chancellor of the nation.
The war have hurt the country badly, and everything needed to be started from scratch. Just like what happened IRL, Wirtschaftswunder still came and the country’s economy does recover from the gloom and doom. However, Wirtschaftswunder didn’t really help the country so much (which in IRL the economic miracle helped Germany propel to prosperity and becoming an economic powerhouse), as serious issues related to the country hampered progress, leading to the full recovery of Germany’s economy slower to materialize.
Germany in the 60s wasn’t the paradise was meant to be. In the port city of Bremen, wartime rubble, weak economy and terrible infrastructure still dominates the city, People at that time don’t have enough money to own something fancier, so low-cost economy vehicles became very popular in the country.
This dire economic situation led Ursula, then an economy vehicle manufacturer, you’ve guessed it, continuing their economy vehicle production instead of going upmarket like its IRL counterpart. The Ursula 1500 sedan, the company’s compact offering sold well, and the company went on to gain a reputation for budget and economy vehicles for the mass market till this day.
1967 Ursula 1500-Series
https://i.imgur.com/1DfFxgY.jpg
The 1500-Series compact vehicles are proved to be popular in the country, as the vehicle is known for its practicality and reliability. With this advantages, the second generation of the compact car is launched at the Frankfurt Auto Show in the same year.
https://i.imgur.com/NacQIqp.jpg
The 1500-Series are available in a range of engines, including the 3 variants of inline-4 petrol engines, as well as a sole diesel 4-cylinder model. There’s a variety of body styles including a 2 door sedan, an estate, and starting from 1968, a 4-door sedan as well. Production of the vehicles are mostly focused on Germany, although export markets may get models built in France or Russia.
https://i.imgur.com/R1VHhxt.jpg
The 1500-Series proved to be very popular, infact, production of the second generation model had to be extended until 1988 due to the car’s reliability. The 1500-Series also gained a lot of nicknames, shown on lots of cultural creations, and became a cultural symbol of Germany due to its immense popularity.
Mumbai, India, 1967
IRL, Gujarat in the 60s solely focuses on economy and commercial vehicles to satisfy the needs of the country, as poor infrastructure and low wages meant that most people in India couldn’t afford anything fancier at that time.
Well, not in this case, either. At the same time after WW2, the British decolonization of India, like usual, still happened 20 years ago. Naturally, things went on like IRL, including the Indo-Pakistani War and all the other things that happened in India which leads to the country’s first ever election which happened in 1952.
In 1952, Jawaharlal Nehru became the country’s first leader after declaring victory on the 1952 elections. After his victory, he adopted a free market policy, and started plans to initiate economic reforms to improve economy (unlike IRL, as most reforms didn’t happen until the 90s) and adopted social reforms to change the society of India. This was later known as “The Miracle of the Ganges River”, as the reforms worked successfully and India became a developed country and an economic superpower of Asia.
In that world, India in the 60s is a rising economy with lots of untapped potential yet to be discovered. Mumbai, then, is a bustling city with lots of hidden opportunities. People were getting richer, and vehicle tastes have become more sophisticated due to the newfound wealth and the rise of motorsport in the sub-continent.
Thanks to the ever-growing economy, Gujarat discontinued the production of the Master in 1966 (IRL the Master was actually still built until 2009) and sold their commercial vehicle division to an other company to focus on more expensive vehicles. Thus, a new era of Gujarat-branded high-performance vehicles were created, and the name Gujarat will stand for excess performance and speed in the brave new world.
1967 Gujarat Orion XR-1
https://i.imgur.com/MFNA39d.jpg
In 1965, Gujarat finally released its own first sports car, the Orion. Early models include a 3.0 liter boxer-six generating 225 horsepower, and can sprint from zero to 100 in just 6.0 seconds. Thanks to its superb handling, it became a excellent sports car that can take on with the Europeans and the Americans for a much lower cost.
https://i.imgur.com/3PfSOdA.jpg
The improved XR-1 came in 1967, with a host of improvements including a 5-speed manual, better brakes, as well as an enlarged 3.4 liter boxer-six with 263 horsepower. These improvements are proven to be excellent upgrade over the standard model, which the XR-1 shaved 0.8 seconds from standstill to 100 km/h compared to the standard model, while top speed was raised to 268 km/h, a 10 km/h improvement.
https://i.imgur.com/zpbva7I.jpg
To beat the Italians at their own game, Gujarat sent some modified Orions to race on endurance events, such as Le Mans. These proved to be a good move, as the Indian Jewels snatched the win on Le Mans for 3 constitutive years from 1968 to 1970, as well as some other wins in other races. This propelled Gujarat into the high-performance club, and the Indian automaker will be known for performance from that point on.
In 1971, Gujarat retired the Orion nameplate after more than 1000 cars was sold. The Orion became a collectors item these days, with pristine units fetching more than $1 million in auctions, and the car will be seen in a collection of music, books, films, TV shows and video games.
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Also, what about some muscle bosozoku?