I thought it was made in an earlier, deprecated game build (as the error message I saw when I tried importing the file on my end led me to believe), but I was wrong about the type of game build on which that car was built on - it’s the newer Al-Rilma open beta, rather than a pre-4.27 build (or, for that matter, the current stable release, as stipulated in the OP) as I first suspected.
If we were not mentioned in this round, does that mean we haven’t been binned? Or is there still a risk of additional bins in the next round?
For entrants who haven’t yet received a ping in the first batch of reviews, their elimination (or qualification) for the finals will be confirmed - but only in one of the later batches.
That is how a challenge works yes.
3 Likes
Updated with model history.
1 Like
i updated my ad too! pls read it i spent a lot of time on it!!! 
6 Likes
Looks pretty sick I know what those foreign characters mean now.
2025 Rhania Derogator Ultimo
New from Rhania is their latest in luxury SUV’s. Be the biggest on the road with a massive road presence and a top of the line V10 engine
@HappyFireBallMan and @mart1n2005
6 Likes
bro Your Chinese introduction is hard to describe
我不懂中文，哈哈。
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A week later…
Stepping out of the Vibrant Express MTR380A high speed train, William finds himself on the platform of the West Kowloon Railway Station.
As it turns out, the company that William works for also has a design studio in Hong Kong, and his newly assigned mission is to meet with his counterparts in discussing their new design.
Before that however, there’s just enough free time for William to meet an old friend of his…
“Haven’t seen you in a hot minute, Arthur!”
“Hey, I invited you to my place so many times, and every time you are busy!”
“Yeah… work has been pretty busy at the new place, sorry bout that.”
"You know I’ve been dying to ask you this, but how has this new challenge of a job worked out for you? You’ve been so much busier than when you were back in the UK, do you really enjoy it that much?
“Well, I do have to work a lot harder than before, and I do end up with a lot less free time… But at the same time, I love the feeling, that your design work actually has a significant impact on a car that has the chance to sell hundreds of thousands, yknow.”
“Doesn’t your company mostly make EVs? And you know how I feel about them.”
“Heh, you should come to Shanghai and try our car, I’m sure it can change some ideas in your stubborn British brain.”
After some more random chattering, Arthur and William stumbled upon the topic that has been plaguing Arthur for the last few weeks. The topic of choosing a practical family car.
“I heard there’s an American brand just establishing a dealership here in HK, they’re called flint I think? I think it might be worth checking out what they’ve brought here…” Arthur suggests the first car to check out.
Flint Constitution
@oldmanbuick
After some looking information up online, both people are quite perplexed about the car the American brand wants to sell in HK.
“Arthur, I know that you are old fashioned, but I didn’t know that you are this old fashioned.”
“… I liked their old cars, but I really didn’t expect them to, yknow, make what looks to be almost the same old car for the modern market…”
By using a body from 1987, the result is a car that looks like…
..it’s made in the 1987.
Importantly though, that by itself isn’t the end of the world, since if you have a timeless design, it could very much work in the 2020s
Case in point, Toyota Century
Unfortunately, instead of being timeless, the execution of this feels like it’s stuck somewhere between the 80’s and 2000’s.
While I am certain that the car does look dated and not well-aged while the Century doesn’t, I admit that I actually cannot pinpoint on why exactly is that the case. I had a discussion with some other designers in the community about this, and we all struggle to pinpoint an exact point.
What we do agree however, is that a very easy improvement would be changing out those wheels to something a lot more appropriate for the application
Plus fixing the odd fitment.
Another thing is a complete lack of depth in the front, taking away a lot of the immersion that makes it feel like a timeless design. The use of overly boxy design elements is also a detriment to that, and if you look at the Century, you will notice that its elements are a lot smoother looking across the board, from its headlights, grill to the beltline.
This is the most obvious comparison of how smoothness can make the difference of night and day, even with the same basic design layout.
I get what you’re trying to achieve, but in the end it just falls flat a bit due to the reasons mentioned above.
Engineering wise, instead of pushing for power figures, rim sizes and other “sins” of a modern car, this car focuses exclusively on comfort, resulting in the single highest comfort stat (not the car from @the-chowi , I was mistaken), much like how they do it back in the day.
While it is comfortable, doing things the old way has its consequences…
For reference, even the Enso, the 2.6 ton behemoth of an SUV, can stop with around 38 meters, which is far more in-line with modern safety standards.
This also results in by far the lowest sportiness recorded in the competition. While you don’t have to be an apex carving machine, having something that is as sluggish as a malaise era barge is also not ideal in a modern context.
An interesting vision overall, with an engineering that is quite unique from the competiton. However, it falters at the overall execution, not delivering the proposed vision.
verdict: Eliminated
“Actually, come to think of it, there’s another American brand that wants to do business in Hong Kong.”
“Are they bringing another fossil of a car?”
Somervell Siridar Centennial
@Maxbombe @Texaslav
“…Woah.”
Both people are stunned by the outrageous but gorgeous proportion of the machine. Not even bothering to check if the reviews are actually positive, the two people agreed to put this car into the test drive shortlist.
Sheesh
More details in finals!
“I remember seeing this cool looking ad of a luxury car in front of the Louvre Pyramid, I wonder what car was that.”
EMPIR XM9 LANDSYACHT
@Kitami
What they have found is a luxury sedan that looks stately and what you would expect from a car like this. Looking through it closely with different angles however, reveals some details and design choices that the two agreed wasnt the best.
The front facia is nicely proportioned, with appropriately modern headlights and the matrix lights underneath them. On the other hand, the champagne colored patches around the grill and headlights is a bit too tacky in my opinion. I would remove the ones surronding the headlights entirely, and replace the one surronding the grill with elements that’s more 3-dimensional, to avoid the flatness that it gives.
Another point of contention that I have with it can be seen right in the poster picture. Notice that the lineflow under the side windows forms a curvature, but the trim line that strikes through the door handles is a straight line, creating a conflicted visual identity. That’s said, I really like the execution of the side skirts.
The rear lights look modern enough, but a bit too bland to my taste, and I wish there are more more distinctive elements in it (Look at the tailights of the Orata Enso for an example). It is also missing the tailights as it only has the brake lights and the turn signals.
The interior is very solid, though the overly large perforations on the leather does seem quite odd.
In terms of engineering, while it has some decent stats across the board, its drivability stat is really low, with the reason being:
Overall it’s a solid entry, but just a step too short to becoming a finalist.
verdict: eliminated
“Come to think of it, the other day I saw this gigantic SUV on the road. I don’t remember its name but I do remember it being a really weird name.”
“Did it look nice?”
Rhania Derogator Ultimo
@mart1n2005 @happyfireballman
“…Yeah I think it didn’t look as nice as I remembered.”
First of all, the choice of using aluminum of the bottom paint material is debatable. I know you are trying to go for a frosted metallic look, but personally Id much prefer regular paint. There is also this awkward kink in the 2-tone line.
The DRL with the perfectly uniform U-shape with chunks of turn signal in it looks a bit uninspiring, and it needs to be extended out a bit so the front facia doesn’t look too boxed in
One of the consequences of using the 3.5m Defender body is that the wheels look a bit small, even though they are already 22 inch wheels. The choice of the door handles really dates the entire side view.
What made you think naming your car after an insult—and plastering it in this font—was a good idea? 
While the shaping is for the most part ok, covering the tailights in a flat red material that obscures every single design detail in it is not the brightest idea, resulting in a tailight that looks as flat as a red sticker plopped onto the back of the car.
With all that said above, this design overall works reasonably ok and is infinitely better than the first iteration of the design:
Engineering wise, using a gigantic V10 is very questionable due to its lack of smoothness compared to almost any other engine types. While the comfort is good, other stats are at or below average across the board.
With the engineering not being able to offset the design deficiencies, this entry will be eliminated.
“Actually, what about Italian cars? I’m not too familar with their modern luxury stuff, but I have plenty of sports cars from them in my collection.”
Derezzi Spadino 4.8ttF Velocita
@supersaturn77
In contrast to the marketing material and specification of the car, from the pictures the car does not look like the elegant luxury sedan they were expecting. In fact, it almost looks like it’s from 1 or 2 segments down from full-size luxury sedans.
Combined with less than ideal reviews of its mechanical capabilities, the two were not interested in keeping this in the shortlist.
If not for its 5.1m length and the fact its submitted to this challenge, I would have not known that this car is supposed to be a full sized luxury sedan. It just simply does not invoke the feeling of luxury expected from the segment.
Sure, a lot of that can be attributed to the choice of using the 20’s Spaceship body, which is modelled off a sporty executive sedan, but neither does the fixture design tell me that you are trying to make something that’s more upmarket with it.
An important design goal as outlined in the challenge brief is to create the feel of prestige through its visual design, and this really feels no different to a regular executive sedan, if not a compact sedan.
Apart from the low key stats, the laggy engine compared to the competition also negatively impacts its feel as an effortless luxury car. You might want to take a better look at the inspiration vehicle section next time.
Verdict: eliminated
After some more discussion about what other cars to choose from, Arthur remembered that he saw a billboard for an advertisement of a luxury sedan.
“I think they’re called, DCMW?”
“DCMW… the Arabs are also getting their cars here?”
DCMW Al Sheikh (Supremacy Sixteen)
@moroza @DoesStuff
From the front 3/4 angle the two find themselves looking at a rather stately and luxurious sedan, with an interior that looks pretty impressive (though a bit confused by some of the decorative details in there).
When they found a picture of its rear, however, both of them immediately thought of that one picture of a half-drawn horse, but backwards.
Credit where credit is due, while I don’t like the dark blue and black paint that it comes with, the design from this angle is pretty nice for a circa-2015 luxury sedan. It makes me feel like the Maybach 62 if it’s based on the W222 generation S class (though Id say this car feels a bit dated than that) instead of the older generation.
My problem with it is, as mentioned, it looks quite dated by 2020+ standards. It just simply does not have the crispness of a 2020’s design, and on first glance there is nothing distinguishing it from an older design at all.
And now we arrive at the rear. For advices on improving it, I’d recommend starting over again 
It’s pretty evident that there’s a ton of work put into the interior, though its heavy middle-eastern theme might be a bit too much for Hong Kong customers though. If this challenge takes place in the middle east however, it would be hard to come up with a winner over this.
The persion rug is probably pushing the middle eastern theming a bit too much lol, though using custom textures for floormats can be a very useful thing, I’m certainly stealing that idea for myself 
Raw stat wise, this is one of the best entries with a sky-high prestige stat due to the V16 engine, although…
I find V16 single turbo to be quite unrealistic, since how on earth is a 16 to 1 exhaust header going to work? All the piping will probably be insanely complicated and makes the already massive engine even bigger, which Automation doesn’t really show.
It also has an odd looking power curve, with the fact that an almost 8-liter V16 with turbochargers only makes that much power.
This is very close to being a finalist due to its strong stats and general effort being put into the design, but the rear design combined with the overall dated feeling as well as some unrealistic engineering choices, ultimately make this an elimination.
“Phew, we really went through a lot of cars. There’s no way we are missing anything now, right?”
“I know, but I can’t help but feel like we are missing something obvious, like a luxury brand that’s known for being the standard or something…”
“Luxury brand… well known…”
“uhh…”
“Sendo?”
Sendo Royal Calliope
@Xepy @variationofvariables @chiefzach2018
After confirming that Sendo does in fact, make an SUV, they decided that they have to test drive it no matter what.
I had zero input on the design of the Royal Calliope, and consequently I do have some opinions on the design. In the grand scheme of things though, especially with both Xepy and Zach on engineering, it's pretty clear that it's a finalist.
More details in finals!
After a night at the pub, Arthur called a VIP taxi to send William back to his hotel, and to send himself back to his house.
When they are waiting, a very futuristic red SUV glided in front them in silence:
Oryata Enso
@iivansmith @Oreology
“Holy shit, did some sneak a concept car out of their design studio?”
“Wait no I recognize that, it’s that luxury brand in the same group as Homada and Arusa.”
“Man, whatever that is, I want to drive that thing.”
Their VIP taxi arrived, while it does not have the visual impact of the red SUV they saw, when the rear sliding doors opened, they are greeted with a luxurious private lounge:
Hinode Aries Mobile Lounge Package
@S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T
Despite its various generations being a common sight in HK, Arthur has never ridden in a Hinode Aries, until today.
“See, it’s not the cheap, horrible cargo van based passenger van your British mind think it is.”
“I’ll admit, this is one of the most comfortable car I’ve ridden in.”
“Why don’t you get one for your wife then?”
“I dunno, I feel like it probably drives horribly.”
“Well, you’ll never know if you at least tried it.”
Of all the entrants, this one is probably one of the most realistic in terms of what a Hong Kong based family with such requests would choose.
With solid stats under its belt, this car takes up the last spot the finals.
More details in finals!
Results:
@azstudios - binned
@sutarttt - binned
@Happyhungryhippo - 15th
@AKA_NOBUDDY - 14th
@happyfireballman @mart1n2005 - 13th
@oldmanbuick - 12th
@supersaturn77 - 11th
@Beetle - 10th
@Kitami - 9th
@DoesStuff @moroza - 8th
@azkaalfafa - Finalist
@the-chowi - Finalist
@vero94773 - Finalist
@Maxbombe @Texaslav - Finalist
@Xepy @chiefzach2018 @variationofvariables - Finalist
@Oreology @iivansmith - Finalist
@S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T - Finalist
19 Likes
This is honestly the exact same thing I struggled with making this design, and I similarly couldn’t put a finger on quite exactly what it was that just seemed a little bit off. The Toyota Century was one of my primary design references. I appreciate the thoughtful critique and am glad you at least got the direction this was supposed to be going.
Good luck to the finalists!
4 Likes
Disappointing, but fair points. Pretty much the entire rear was slapped together in a hasty last-minute panic with only the vaguest of guiding visions. Elsewhere, I can see the difference between stylistic ages and how this looks a bit dated, tho I can’t fault my collaborator when I’d’ve taken twice the time to make something half as good.
Glad you appreciated the interior, at any rate. It’s my comfort zone and my happy place to put effort into making and to enjoy inhabiting.
Anyone who’d like to inhabit it, feel free:
As for the single turbo, that was a deliberate choice, but forgetting to note the justification was not. Would it have mattered, had I remembered to explain it as a hot-valley twin-scroll that Automation unrealistically forbids in this context?
1 Like
astaghfirullah it was binned
6 Likes
Impressed by the speed/quality ratio of the reviews this far.
4 Likes
This is my first time making a luxury car, and this ranking is quite unexpected.
Not to speak for the host, but I think it’s still a bit suspect. A single twin-scroll you’ll see on a V6, a diesel V8 - not on a V16 where each “scroll” has to contend with 8 pulses a cycle. As far as I know, in the modern era, you put a twin-scroll on any bank that has an even amount of cylinders that’s greater than four - so straight-sixes have a single (or two single-scrolls) and V12s have two twin-scrolls (at least the Aston ones supposedly does - I’m less certain about the BMW and Merc V12s, those may well be single-scroll biturbo).
From that perspective, two scrolls seems to be a very low-performance move for a V16 - though probably not strictly impossible.
1 Like
That it is, and that’s precisely the point: a big, lazy, gentle brute of an engine, emphasizing smoothness and flat powerband over outright power. Like the car itself, it’s intended to be decadent, even if wasteful (of potential), and refined like nothing else. Reliability is a nice bonus. You’ve seen enough of my engine torture to know what could’ve been squeezed out of it if sheer performance were the goal instead 
Technical tangent
Is there a reason 7-some liters of exhaust flow would be harder on a turbo if pulsed 8/cycle vs. 3 or 4? Single turbos are everywhere on sixes this size and up (diesels, but not too different for this context); why not on a 16?
The initial engineering for the Enso was also a V16, but I was actually power-limited to around 800hp due to emissions reasons (I did everything I could trust me). So in your case I would’ve just removed the turbos outright (mine was NA) and I was making plenty of power and the torque curve was super flat as well. Regardless, switched back to V12 since I was power-limited anyway to save on cost.
While I am not a turbo whiz, this appears to be a cylinder count-caused manifold pressure issue that even NA engines deal with. In anything with 4+ cylinders (sometimes even three with a very high duration cam), you’ll have two cylinders venting exhaust, at the same time but different pressures. Add the fact that with frequent exhaust pulses you’re looking at more back pressure, and you’re looking at an exhaust system that sort of wants to ping-pong exhaust between cylinders as opposed to actually scavenging it.
Ergo, you want a manifold (or turbo) arrangement with little to no exhaust stroke overlap. Four cylinders per manifold is okay, six is acceptable (especially with diesels which have less cam), eight is suboptimal, and, well, sixteen is silly. Depending on whether your engine is a twinscroll or not, it could be either of the latter two.
2 Likes