Not a surprise, really, considering that it uses a dual-wishbone front and a multilink rear - but its superior throttle response got it over the line.
1 Like
you did pretty well, but you were essentially in the wrong market. your car was over 1000 below the next cheapest car, and close to 8,000 below the median price
1 Like
Oh, in South East Asia and Australia also having this which called “Ford Laser” (without this grill)
Its cool to know that I almost made it to the next round. I tried thinking outside the box a bit and ended up with this. Who knows if the Sidewinder 4 will make it to see another generation, only time will tell. And if it does, hopefully its a proper successor.
2 Likes
Reviews 1-2
Standard Cars - The Drive
Gary started out his day of drives with the pedestrian Baumhauer 423E Vier. He leafed through the owner’s manual, surprised to learn that the hood and roof were actually aluminum to save weight. It struck him as odd, considering the motor had a cast iron block. With all wheel drive and its soft tires, he had been more sure of it being a commuter’s car.
During his drive, he found the limits of its handling. It wasn’t particularly impressive in that regard, and thanks to its four wheel power, it meant that he still couldn’t drift it or anything particularly fun like that.
Power delivery was expected to be mediocre, but what he hadn’t realized was how much he’d lose with each gear change. First to second was bad, but so were second to third, and third to fourth. It made for a slightly jarring experience, and it was only a few minutes before Gary was back at the dealer, handing in the keys.
Despite its impeccably low service costs and good fuel economy, the Baumhauer just wasn’t exciting.
On the subject of not exciting, Gary was impressed by the Primus Astrona 200 GLS. It was a truly cool car. Its handling sure wasn’t, though, unsurprisingly. It made up for it with impeccable engine design.
The naturally aspirated, twin cam, sixteen valve four cylinder was pretty small. But it developed very good torque for its displacement and the weight of the car. It was very fun, and while the raw handling of the Astrona wasn’t great, it was very responsive nonetheless. Front wheels being where the power went didn’t hold it back from an awesome experience.
Things sort of fell apart from there, though. While it was supremely fun to drive, it was undeniably slow. Faster than the Baumhauer, but of the sporty sedans he was driving today, it was still the slowest. And thanks to that nimble tune, it wasn’t actually that much more comfortable than the Baumhauer. No slouch, but not what you’d expect from the brand, which was disappointing considering the price.
Also like the Baumhauer, the Astrona was riding on more typical comfort tires rather than true sports tires. Gary wasn’t too sure about this one.
Beaten only by the Baumhauer in price was the Somervell Sinclaire SBP. The Sinclaire was a good looking car. Photos didn’t do the paint justice, and Gary loved the shape. It was very American, and looked right at home on the east coast.
Like the Baumhauer, this had some aluminum panels. But its rear suspension was a simpler design, and the motor was much lighter despite making more power. Proper sports tires, big alloy rims: this was today’s first true sports sedan, as fun as the Primus was. Right away, Gary knew that of the two front-drivers, he’d have the Sinclaire.
Despite being four thousand dollars cheaper, it was almost as fun. Something about the suspension wasn’t quite as exciting as the Astrona’s, but it more than made up for that with speed, being a full second faster on the quarter mile and almost that much faster to sixty. The V4 was a great sound, too.
Things were not all sunshine and rainbows, though. There was a serious drop in comfort compared to the Baumhauer and Astrona, and while that was to be expected given the performance and price, it was still a factor, and one that surprised him given the adaptive dampers. Gary knew those were pricey to replace, too.
The Sinclaire also wasn’t as effortless to drive. More power, more agility- the most low-speed agility he’d ever felt, actually- and more tail-happiness made that unsurprising. That said, Gary didn’t expect a car at this price to be perfect, and it offered a lot.
Curious, Gary held onto the Sinclaire in his mind, even if he was putting back the key. He knew he’d rather have it than the Astrona or Baumhauer, flaws included. But this next car was nothing like it. Despite being only a few thousand more expensive, it was almost hard to compare the Vittoria FC to a lot of the other cars.
A strange car, it was. Minimal rust protection. Big iron single overhead cam V6. Advanced fuel injection. Rear wheel drive. Old-school springs.
But man, was it fun, and fast, the fastest today. Gary spoke, and the Vittoria listened. The handling wasn’t the best, sure, but it was still good. The red paint and the cool styling spoke to Gary. And the motor was truly awesome, especially with the six-speed gearbox. It screamed its heart out, and Gary could tell right away that it was the truest sports car he would drive today.
Unfortunately, that was a double-edged sword. To get its good handling, it had big, expensive tires. It was reliable, but it wasn’t rust proofed, and it sucked down gas. But the real nail in the coffin for the Vittoria was its touchiness.
The FC was pretty tough to drive, threatening to oversteer if you overdid it. Gary couldn’t really see his wife, or a kid he was teaching, handling a car like this in the rain. As much as it pained him, he couldn’t take it along. It was just too compromised. But he did have something nice in store.
Up next was the green machine made by AMS, the Acolyte 3.0S. Gary liked it right away. The advanced suspension made the car a nimble, fierce competitor. The twin-cam straight six was very responsive, and it combined with the chassis to make for a riveting experience, all naturally aspirated.
Being rear-wheel-drive, Gary naturally decided to send it in an abandoned parking lot. Him arriving in an Irena had assured Lenny that Gary was trustworthy enough to test drive on his own, and so he was able to push the Acolyte.
In slaloming around arbitrary points, Gary had no trouble thanks to high tech power steering, and it had enough power to do proper thrilling donuts. The five-speed gearbox gave him plenty of versatility, and it was a familiar, conventional layout, requiring few gear changes and being quiet on the highway. He was overall pretty impressed with it, because it was very comfortable without giving up a drop of excitement, with only the Primus being close, though penny-for-penny the Sinclaire was no slouch.
The other thing for Gary was that it really had the ease of driving he was afraid these cars would give up, despite how exciting it was otherwise. The rear-wheel-drive he was so excited about was tamed by a quality differential in the rear and smart alignment specifications that balanced agility and stability. It still wasn’t as easy to drive as the Astrona or Baumhauer, but it wasn’t any tougher than the Sinclaire.
So, Gary had to make a decision…
Decision
It was a really close decision. The AMS Acolyte was better in many ways, but the Sinclaire ultimately won out on value. It was less than half a second off the Acolyte’s quarter mile, better in low-speed handling, and not much worse at high speeds. While the Acolyte was a bit more fun to drive, the Sinclaire offered slightly better rustproofing, safety, much more fuel economy, and substantially better reliability.
The Acolyte also didn’t look great. If it had looked as good as the Sinclaire, or better, it might have been able to offset its less-critical deficits… but Gary definitely liked the Sinclaire better.
Of course, he wasn’t buying today, and Lenny nodded in understanding when Gary said as much.
“Sinclaire’s a great car,” Gary explained. “Especially for the money. But I want to look at some… less responsible options.”
He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and Lenny grinned, taking the key back.
“No, I totally understand. Look, I’ll retain the Sinclaire for you until next week. They’re not too expensive, so it’s not the end of the world for me if it doesn’t sell right away.”
“Thanks, Lenny.”
“Hey,” Lenny said, “You want someone with you at the other dealer?”
“Oh, I’m sure you’re unbiased towards the cars your competitor is selling,” Gary said with an eyeroll. “No, but I’ll buy you a pity beer if I go with someone else.”
“Busted,” the other man grinned, his bronze skin seeming to glow with the big smile he gave Gary. “Sounds like a deal. See you around.”
“Definitely, Lenny,” Gary said, and he hopped back in his Irena. He’d head home, and then tomorrow morning head out to the city, where the exotic and luxury cars dwelt.
Results
Standard Cars Ranking
- @Texaslav Somervell Sinclaire SBP - A great all-rounder with good performance, handling, and bang-for-buck, especially on secondary stats.
- @abg7 AMS Acolyte 3.0S - A great all-rounder with good performance, handling, and comfort. Suffers a bit from price vs competitors and poor secondary stats, but the styling was what really held it back
- @Happyhungryhippo Primus Astrona 200 GLS - A wonderful sedan with some sporty characteristics. Suffered from an engine that was a bit too small and thus was too slow, as well as not committing fully to being a sports sedan.
- @Danicoptero Tarquini Vittoria FC - A true sports car that is only pretending to be a sedan. Good reliability failed to make up for poor drivability and secondary characteristics, but it should be noted that this was the most fun and fastest car present. With a bit more agility, and perhaps better panel material, this might have won the segment on performance alone.
- @S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T Baumhauer 423E Vier - A sedan that isn’t depressing to drive, and maybe even fun sometimes. Unfortunately, this car focused too much on being a daily driver, and compromised its sports characteristics for value, quality assurance, and comfort. It’s a great car, but it’s in the wrong market.
10 Likes
i couldnt think of a cool name in time so i named it after what i thought it looked like
but yes it is the intended name
it says 350 S on the back if you prefer that in writing
2 Likes
The Sinclaire reminds me of a larger version of my LVC LF2, flat-four and all (which in the Sinclaire’s case simulates a V4, something that may never be featured in this game), but unlike the LF2, the Sinclaire is a FWD sleeper sedan - and it uses the '85 Juliet body set instead of the '87 E36/405-like body set.
Very interessing reviews, I wonder if being old and wise isn´t some kind of handicap sometimes. The Astrona is exactly what would have happened in 89, a mass-produced boring car with spiced up engine and suspension and … nothing else. And it is already faster than most real life competitors. I guess in challenges it can be helpful to “forget” about real life cars of these long-bygone times, just to be less restricted in your mind.
Nevertheless, I felt like this was a fair and balanced judging, and I can be quite satisfied with being 3rd in this category, considering the competition wasn´t sleeping and the Astrona GLS had to fight well-engineered cars from respected and established manufactors.
3 Likes
Yeah, all judging is relative to autoverse. Even P5 would be a fun car, in real life, as it is actually quite fast for the era.
I mean, I went with a very similar concept as well: your usual “luxury compact” with a stronger engine and tauter suspension. In fact, the displacement and power of said engine, despite the unusual layout, pretty much mirror those of the Oldsmobile Quad-4 High-Output mill.
Did I overall go a bit overboard compared to reality in making the car a partial alu lightweight? Maybe. But fundamentally, my car is literally just an Oldsmobile Calais 442 with my brand’s inherently more old-fashioned (read: complex and sporty) suspension choices.
In other words, realism itself isn’t your handicap; if you do have one, it’s trying to stick to exact era numbers.
2 Likes
Yes, the only time I deactivated my realism brain TOTALLY and I instantly won 
But I thought, well, a daily-suiting sport sedan might not need more than 200 horsepower in 1989, however, that`s my fault and not a host problem if I bring a .45 Magnum to a modern warfare contest.
1 Like
i thought it was funny at first but it stopped being funny so
for the good of the write up - the car has a name now, the stoica-moretti 350
1 Like
Lmao I just noticed, the port into beam clipped the Somervell’s badge to center and now it only has a bar instead of a cross on the badge
1 Like
shh… its only a minor major bug
it affects all badging so i took my photos in ways that de emphasized them, or i tried to.
part 2 is Coming (i ended up folding both halves into one writeup since there are fewer cars)
6 Likes
Reviews 2-1
Luxury Sports Cars - Sports, right?
Right away, Gary was able to eliminate a few competitors to his value pick of the Somervell. During his studies of the more expensive cars in magazines, he noticed a few keywords, phrases, and ways of speaking about cars that indicated they were sportier or more fun. As such, he decided to read about all the cars he wanted to test drive the next day. Thankfully, a series of Auto and Operator articles covered everything he was interested in, and then some. He sorted them by price, and got to reading.
Auto and Operator
Luxury Sports Sedans. Or, the executive car. Fast, fun, yet comfortable, practical, and the sort of car you can drive to work every day. We’ve come to love these cars over the last few years, and now a storm of them is taking the premium and luxury market by storm.
Up first is the Katana Osaro USDM SF Turbo… lots of letters, not much substance. This car provides solid handling for the price, but at this dollar value we’d hoped to see something with a bit more style. The front end is novel and well executed, but the sides are very uninspired. The tail is really nice, but none of the parts ever seem to come together. Combined with the very okay performance from the turbocharged engine, mediocre safety, average comfort… and frankly, it just isn’t that engaging to drive, despite being sort of a handful.
The Stoica-Moretti 350 was a car we were pretty excited about from its looks, but upon close inspection, things fall apart. On the surface, we have a legitimately fast car with a high-tech V8, a supremely quality interior, and fun driving characteristics. The issue comes, though, that for the money it really isn’t offering enough. That V8 is fast, but not a whole lot faster than many six-cylinder mid-range or entry level cars, and the focus on comfort-to-cost ratio has left the car’s accessibility in the dust: it’s a real pain to maneuver, one of the hardest cars to drive we’ve seen in a while.
Despite its long-winded name, the Planar SM45 Owlsa EX-S 3.8 is not a bad vehicle. It fails to deliver on comfort and engaging handling, but it’s reliable, offers about average fuel economy for this segment, and boasts a surprisingly low cost of long-term ownership. Unfortunately, it’s hard to recommend because it’s slow, not very agile, and just outdone in a lot of ways by some of its competition.
Such as the Swanson 237 SPNX, perhaps the Owlsa’s closest competitor. For $600 more, you get a car that is improved in almost every way, aside from a jump in cost of ownership. It’s a real thrill to drive, with the huge flat-six motor delivering awesome power as soon as you touch the throttle. While the styling is perhaps a little too aggressive in the front, it’s still a good looking car, and to us is arguably the best deal in this bracket.
And here’s the opposing argument. The Valkyrja GS-6x4 is a staggering $8,200 more than the SPNX, but it’s… slightly slower to the 1/4 mile, and almost 2 seconds slower to 60. But straight lines are not the Valkyrja’s forte, despite squeaking under the 13-second mark. This car is the most agile by an order of magnitude. Huge tires with a very aggressive tune allow it to be a real monster on the track. A stunningly assertive suspension tune, a peppy engine, and graceful ease of driving make this car truly compelling. However, reliability does suffer a substantial dip, and $8,200 is a lot of money.
Which nobody mentioned to the Hexen TTV6 MkIII. This car is extremely fast in a straight line, breaking under the 12-second mark. Handling isn’t bad either. Unfortunately, a staggeringly high cost of ownership, mediocre comfort, and a dull driving experience make it hard to recommend. If you like the futuristic styling, though, there isn’t really anything else like it.
The Roamer Executive 3.5 EX is one of those bittersweet things in life. The engineering team and the design team were making different cars, for one, with the exterior being reminiscent of a commuter car. Meanwhile, it’s a rough-and-tumble race car underneath. Sadly, it’s just too expensive and unreliable to really succeed as the sleeper-car it was trying to be, and falls short of the mark.
2-1 Results
Passed Over:
- @Calja-05 Katana Osaro USDM SF Turbo K Package - Just not good enough overall, falling short in many key categories.
- @pentiumbased Stoica-Moretti 350 -Mediocre key stats and poor drivability result in a car with good feature choices coming apart at the seams. Probably should have been more expensive.
- @lotto77 Planar SM45 Owlsa EX-S 3.8 - If the SPNX hadn’t basically been a 1-to-1 upgrade of this car (aside from service costs and a sub-1.0 reliability dip), this would have moved on. You got the prompt exactly right, but the styling was a little off, and the key stats were just not there, limited harshly by poor throttle response and speed.
- @Arianne777 Hexen TTV6 MkIII - It’s hard to say why this car is so expensive, considering that despite being the fastest, it’s not actually that much faster than the SPNX. The poor secondary stats (worst in several of them) and throttle response are the main failing of this car (it had one of the lowest combined Fun scores).
- @Mausil Roamer Executive 3.5 EX You are barking up the right tree, but need a little more time in the oven. One of the earliest submissions, and a little bit of fine-tuning or clearer vision could have eliminated many of its flaws. It’s slow for the price, the most expensive entry, doesn’t handle too well, and has the lowest comfort. But the styling is an improvement compared to some other stuff I’ve seen from you.
Moving On:
- @Ludvig Swanson 237 SPNX - The first car to beat the Somervell in terms of fun, and it still gets beaten in a few departments. However, it’s worthy of the price jump.
- @moroza Valkyrja GS-6x4 - The “buy once cry once” mentality of this car earns it the right to move on. It’s fast, agile, and serious car.
I split it back up because 1 car into part 2 driving reviews, I realized it was gonna be way too long and complex if I didn’t. Thankfully, the field is narrowed enough for me to get the next part out in relatively short order.
9 Likes
Reviews 2-2
Luxury Sports Cars - SPNX vs Valkrja
Black and white.
Mr. Guarnere was talking to Gary, explaining something with the Valkrja’s engine that the SPNX didn’t have, or maybe the other way around. He wasn’t as good a speaker as Lenny, not as personable. Of course, Guarnere was a nice guy, even a good man. Just not someone Gary could pay close attention to, was all. Gary watched him, and when he stopped talking and beamed at Gary, Gary smiled back.
“So, when can we test drive these?”
Grinning, Guarnere handed him the keys. “Thought you’d never ask. I hate the sales pitch part of this job. Better to let the cars sell themselves, I says.”
“Yeah,” Gary laughed. He put the key in the ignition. Up first was the white knight: the Swanson SPNX. SPNX was a cool name- Gary and Guarnere were both saying it “Spinx.”
“For lack of any fuckin idea what it means,” Guarnere had explained.
The motor in the SPNX turned over, and Gary had to keep himself from grinning. It was a kickass motor: all-aluminum flat-six. Four cams in total, a performance intake, tubular headers: this was real race car stuff. And so were the numbers. 320 horsepower made the Sinclaire sound like a toy.
As they drove down the winding mountain road the dealership was on, Gary let himself feel the car. It was a lot better than the Sinclaire, and Gary could tell exactly where the money went. On the run up to 60, with the windows down, the wind rushing by, the smell of autumn leaves mixing with the faint hint of exhaust that the roads here always clung to…
…the SPNX was awesome. It wasn’t quite as agile at low speeds as the Sinclaire, but it wasn’t far off either. It didn’t look quite as nice, was a bit more expensive to run, fuel economy was terrible… but man, did it absolutely nail that straight-line thrill, as Gary knew when flying down the highway.
Under the body shell, there was a lot to love. The better-quality interior was how the SPNX was able to offer similar comfort to the Sinclaire but a better road feel. Four-corner wishbone suspension and partial aluminum panels were reminiscent of the cheaper car, but the SPNX offered all-wheel-drive, magnesium rims, high-tech power steering, and despite all that better reliability. It was a solid, well-made car.
It wasn’t without faults, but as they pulled back into the lot, Gary knew the Valkyrja was going to have a lot of selling to do for that $8,200 of his hard-earned dollars.
The startup for the black knight told him there was hope. Despite being smaller, the flat-six running the Valkyrja was actually more powerful- at least at the top end. 360 horsepower. It had a more aggressive intake that made a hellish noise befitting the aggressive, aristocratic styling. While it was maybe not as sporty as the SPNX, it was a better execution, leveling the playing field in Gary’s eyes.
Naturally, it was slower, thanks to its active, high-tech suspension sucking up power. Gary was a little worried about those failing, and supposedly not without reason; but it was still in the upper half of cars he’d looked at recently as far as consumer reports went. And all that was paper stuff, just like the all-aluminum body over the galvanized chassis that promised to never rust. Or the high-tech rear suspension with “multiple arms,” whatever that meant.
Driving the car, it was head and shoulders above the rest. Putting the driving feel into words wasn’t possible. And it was easy. It had so much grip that driving the Swanson or Somervell at the limit wouldn’t even be pushing the Valkyrja.
The straight line wasn’t as good as the SPNX. When they got to the highway, there was no denying that. The SPNX was faster to 60 by a really wide margin, and it was a half-second faster at the strip. But both cars were under 13 seconds, so neither was gonna be a disappointment.
Choosing just one was hard. But the way Gary saw it, the Valkyrja delivered more on the things he valued most, and hit a lot of high notes along the way. All he had left to decide was which of the two black cars he was going to pick.
The underdog, rough-and-tumble Somvervell Sinclair SBP, taking a low-horsepower front-wheel-drive platform and showing everyone just how capable it was anyways.
Or the heavyweight, the Valkyrja GS-6x4, a high-horsepower no expense spared super saloon. It was undeniably the better car… but was double the money a gamble it could win?
Results
Moving On: @moroza Valkyrja GS-6x4
Passed Over: @Ludvig Swanson 237 SPNX
In the end, while the Swanson was a tough customer, the Valkyrja was better at what it wanted to do. Some numbers for you:
- SPNX had a Fun score of 123.6, and the Valkyrja had 166.4.
- The Valkyrja was the only car with >1.10 cornering Gs at any speed, and has a cornering G-force of 1.28 at high speed.
- The Valkyrja has the highest Drivability score in the entire challenge.
In short, while the SPNX has a case for being a better deal, and it provides improvement over the Somervell in key areas, it doesn’t have quite as much to offer in secondary stats as the Valkyrja, and both of them are massively more expensive. In short, if Gary is going to pinch pennies, he wants to pinch them tight, and the SPNX just wasn’t quite the right balance of excess and cost savings.
Part 3: Finale, coming soon.
10 Likes
Finals
David vs. Goliath
Gary listened to the road under the car. He could feel it, smell it. The engine hollered its story, and over the black hood, he could see the horizon.
It would help, he thought, if he knew which car that black hood belonged to. In the dream, it had all been so clear, the decision simple and easy. But now, as he recalled the two cars he’d driven, he wondered if that was true. He’d been poring over spreadsheets all night, and come to a few conclusions that at least gave him a starting point.
First, Goliath. The Valkyrja GS-6x4, offering a lot. All-wheel-drive, a huge engine with a ton of power, and undeniably the faster, more fun, and more capable car. The styling, though, was a little weird.
While pretty, it had much more of a luxury or stately feel. The old-school split windscreen was a throwback to cars Gary saw in old movies as a kid. The big triple grille was certainly intimidating, and the styling was unique and creative without being bad. But, it wasn’t really as sporty as Gary would hope, despite the black-on-black that was somehow fitting the big super saloon like a glove.
On the other hand, there was David. The Somervell Sinclair SBP. Where the Valkyrja was no-compromise, the Somervell was for the smart shopper. It offered less, of course. Front wheel drive only, softer suspension and a worse ride experience overall, as well as reduced speed from the smaller engine. But… it was hardly uncomfortable, unfun, or slow. It was cool, too.
The styling was unrepentant and American to the core, reminiscent of other modern American aerodynamic front ends. But where the big F dropped the ball on cohesion and had an awkward forehead, the Sinclair is smooth, collected, and well put together. The aerodynamic front is mated with a clean, simple, and well-executed all around look.
So, while it was slower and not as nice, Gary did like the Sinclair. But for road trips? Well, the Valkyrja was hands-down more comfortable, no real sugarcoating there. And it was quieter at highway speeds, operating at a slightly lower RPM around 60. The Sinclair had the edge in fuel economy and reliability, though- rather handily in both cases, though reliability was more of a concern to Gary. That said, the Valkyrja was quite a bit easier for the wife and kids to drive if he needed a break.
The coin refused to land heads or tails. The aluminum body on the Valkyrja made it effectively rust-proof. The Sinclair was definitely cheaper, but over time it would fall victim to Virginia’s nasty rust without proper, continuous care. Of course, the lower cost of ownership would mean that taking it to a wash or even hiring a professional detailer would not be a big deal.
He thought for a long time about it. Weighting cost to performance was hard. There was no tried-and-true metric for really comparing these cars, even though he was trying. They were in different markets completely. They both spoke to him anyways. Tapping his finger on the desk, Gary pushed aside all the papers, charts, magazine articles, and photos. He cleared his mind. When it came down to it, he’d be happy to own either car. Which one did he want to see in the morning?
The Winner
The sun shone down on Gary’s driveway, catching the red and gold leaves of the Shenandoah fall in the light. He breathed in the air, and clutched his key in his hand. First drive in the new car- first real drive, anyways. It had been taken to a detailer he new personally for unwrapping, polishing, cleaning, and prep. It had been delivered late at night due to unexpected traffic on the highway and some difficulty getting the truck up here, so he hadn’t even been able to get a good look at it. He’d been thinking about it all night, almost worrying it would disappear before he got to take it for a drive.
Of course, it was right where he wanted it.
Results
Congratulations to @Texaslav on the victory and @moroza for an incredibly close second! In the end, while the Valkyrja was undoubtedly the better car, Gary does car a little bit about money… but that wouldn’t have swayed him alone. The Sinclair has an underdog spirit, and strong American styling, rare in the world of post-malaise Automation challenges. It refused to do the popular thing and instead stuck to realistic, believable engineering, yet still put the beatdown on a ton of other cars.
It has spunk, and Gary liked that. He’s an entrepreneur, a businessman who worked hard and got lucky. The Sinclair embodies that to him. It’s not as gentle, not as capable as the Valkyrja, but it’s reliable and plucky. It was a hard-fought won, but it should be savored nonetheless. Congrats to both of you!
What a wonderful challenge with a great showing from many entrants. Thanks everyone for reading and being patient through the delays. I hope your holidays are nice and relaxing despite the update that just destroyed all your cars! 
9 Likes
It’s a good thing you received and judged all the entrants before the update, otherwise your results would have been unrepresentative!
And I actually like the ethos behind the Sinclair - it may be American through and through, but it leveraged its Euro-inspired powertrain configuration (longitudinally mounted flat-four driving the front wheels, just like an Alfasud) to great effect to come out on top.
3 Likes