Flug automotive [complete revamp coming]

[squidhead]

1982 Flug L series

As Stolz production came to a conclusion, a successor model had to be introduced. Following a reshuffle in the naming convention for Flug, the new car was to be named “L series”, with L standing for luxury. The process of building the car was a very much safe and conservative approach, utilizing much of the outgoing Stolz platform. The new car had double wishbone suspension all around, corrosion resistant steel and a steel body, with Vladimir Yakubovich once again providing the design. A serious interior redesign helped keep things fresh.

As usual, performance took a back seat to the driver comfort. Powered by the same KH6-39 series engine in 2.7 liter turbo trim as the American K27 model rated at 120hp and 240nm and mated to the same 4 speed automatic, the heavy car managed a 0-100 in a blistering 13+ seconds, and topped out at 174kph, while returning a decent 13l/100km economy. To keep things comfortable an air suspension was installed. This was deemed sufficient by Flug and the main treat of the car lied on the inside. Every interior was hand crafted, and included 4 leather clad seats with heating option, wooden dash trim, a Bang & Olufsen top of the range sound system, double glazed windows, curtains, drinks cooler, electric windows and sunroof and cruise control, and much more. The car was finished off with advanced safety features, including 4 airbags. This however was an ageing platform, which allowed for a cheaper production as technology moved on, so the price of the car dropped from 45,000 of Stolz to 35,000 of the L27.

The car has gained some attention and soon after production began Flug were approached by the German government, securing a conract on building special version of the L series car for autobahn patrol. Flug gladly agreed, and in 1983 the L31 Polizei special vehicle was produced, never available to the public. The Police version differed from the original Sedan. Flared wheel arches were installed to allow for wider tires, 245 mm, to help with cornering, acceleration and braking. The air suspension has been replaced in favour of a cheaper and easier to maintain regular springs and shocks, and beefier brakes were installed. A hood scoop was introduced to help cool the engine as well as a secondary exhaust pipe was needed. The interior has been completely replaced by a very basic design, allowing for a multitude of police systems to be installed, and 2 less airbags less than the civilian version. Under the hood the engine was bored, introducing lower compression pistons, as well as a forged stroker crankshaft, allowing for 3.1 liter displacement. Turbocharger was replaced to a bigger unit, as well as pressure raised from 0.4 bar in the regular version to 1.2. A more aggressive camshaft and a different settings to the fuel and ignition allowed for 235hp and 345nm of torque. The engine was mated to a new 5 speed manual transmission. Together it resutled in a car that was able to reach 100kph in 6.4 seconds and topped out at 226kph. All this has taken a toll on consumption, which was now, very regrettably to Flug a shameful 16,2 L / 100 km

The car served the purpose well, and has also resutled in one of the german comedians (the most precise comedians in the world) to dedicate a stand up act to it (in which he described the insult to injury of being caught speeding by the fact police drove a Flug). Naturally these cars served not only a purpose of a good basis for future government contracts, but also as a test bed for new decissions in the car, as many ideas coming from this were soon implemented in the restyled L27.

[DeusExMackia]

I loved it. I absolutely love it. Such a characterful car!

[Awildgermanappears]

Great minds…
Two german car makers, one name

• shameless self marketing -

[squidhead]

In the next episode - a lawsuit with IMP automotive for the right of L series name

[Awildgermanappears]

IMP calls dibs, we used it first.

[Oskiinus]

There’s Airborne A27 and Flug L27… Illuminati confirmed?

No offense, just pure coincidence

[squidhead]

##2016 Series R prototype

(This branch of the company will be more expanded on, including it’s creation at a later date and somewhere in early 80s)

As 2016 Automation Endurance challenge II came about, Flug saw this as an opportunity to test components for the new upcoming cars, and secured an entry. A few one-off prototypes were built for testing purposes, with the most successful one being entered in GT-AM class.

A front engined, rear wheel drive chassis was selected, powered by an all new 2.6 liter inline 6, powered along with a turbocharger. Developing 200hp required by the racing reglament and weighing in at 1200kg exactly. The interior was not a concern, as it only consisted of a steering wheel, gear lever and racing seats. The goal of the car was to publicly prove the reliability of the new components, as well as economy and speed available from the new chassis. A street legal version was not planned, but a performance oriented trim was already in the works.

[squidhead]

##1983 Alpha 15

Having gained serious momentum, Flug has experienced first minor sight of trouble, as a lawsuit was filed against it for the naming rights to their L series car by IMP Automobilbau. A suit was settled out of court, with new Flug models to be named after Greek alphabet instead as of 1982. That however did not hinder the plan, and on time, a replacement for the A series from 1974 was released, 9 years after it’s introduction, refining the car from a mini to a micro size, now called “Aplha” instead of “A”. This was the first sign of a major Flug reform, which would set all models further apart from each other, to eliminate potential competition from its own models.

The car seen in 1982 was a supermini, of a very simple technical design. A corrosion resistant steel monocoque and body, hosted a basic cheap interior for maximum affordability, an 8 track player and that was about it. Everything that would keep the costs up (both retail and development) was cut, so that meant no power windows, no luxury materials, no air conditioner or any of the luxuries you could find in other flug models, Alpha was as basic as it got in every respect, but that does not meant it skipped on safety, featuring 2 airbags as standard.

The little hatchback was powered by an all new 1.5 liter OHC-8 turbocharged i4 engine, producing just 51hp, and putting it down to the front wheels with the use of a 4 speed manual transmission. The car’s eco setting managed a return of 7.5L/100km, and the cost cutting returned the market price of $10,000.

By the end of 1982, however, the new Flug marketing director, Natanael Ramo has seen an opportunity to claim a new niche that was beginning to see real development - the hot hatch. After quite a bit of arguing and discussion with Viktor Kruger, the company’s CEO, he was eventually able to convince Viktor to form a new division of Flug, specialized on sports cars. The division was simply called “Division R”, and their first work, was the police version of the L series, which was quickly followed by Flug Alpha 15 R.

Minimal changes to the construction have paid off, as the only real mechanical changes to the engine were the exhaust and the performance intake, the boost was raised on a stock turbocharger, finished off with a remap, resulting in a power increase to 88hp. The suspension saw new antiroll bars and a new camber setup, with wider tires and sportier pads. Finishing off the modificaiton list was a new geared limited slip diff, helping to put the power to the ground.

While not being very hot, the car did well on the track, doing a 0-100 run in 9.3 seconds, and topping out at 170 kph, and cornering at 1.11G. The price of the car was raised to $11,000, and saw a moderate success, ensuring that a sports division of Flug would be a continued project.

[VenturaBay]

Nice car you got there , would’ve been great if Flug can compete with my Parade Turbo S if that’s possible

[DeusExMackia]

Well hang on a minute, if Flug are using the Greek alphabet, what are Lancia going to say about that?

Lovely little car by the way, I especially love the pop-up headlights on the front. And I think I’ve finally found a vehicle that looks good in beige!

[squidhead]

Lancia will have to share Also yeah, this thing was born to look good in it. We call it “midlife crisis exciting beige”. Will be a popular choice for mid 90’s convertibles among 50+ demographic.

[Hshan]

A car named Stolz produced in Poland? Noooo waaay, not in this world But apart from the name, I’d definitely buy '78 series one. And one from '80 series.

[squidhead]

#1984 Tau
With the K series production over USA needed a new Flug model to call their own. While the new model was developed a temporary solution was introduced. Using old molding presses and mostly the same chassis as before Flug could cheaply manufacture Stolz chassis, although using materials of inferior quality than before. The whole project was completed in record terms, and arrived just in time.

Being basically an updated and restyled flug stolz, the car shared the same double wishbone suspension and the same hydropneumatics, providing for extra comfort. The interior was done in sync with the European version of the Stolz, but did not excessively use exclusive materials this time, while still sporting luxury and high quality leather. The safety was updated and a Bang & Olufsen system from the L series was also implanted into the tau

The engine was same FL6-39 series engine as you would find in the L27 models, modified for 1984, now producing 138hp and 240nm of torque, while being even more economical than the previous versions. Coupled with a 4 speed automatic transmission it propelled the heavy luxury cruiser to 100 in 13.7 seconds and topped out at 185km. The economical way of building the car has paid off as the price was a reasonable $26,000, compared to the Stolz it was based on went as high as $45,000

The strategy was mildly successful and allowed to utilize the assembly line that was otherwise to be rebuilt to be able to create completely new cars.

[Awildgermanappears]

^That turd looks like something I could have designed in the 1970s. Totally not hyperbole.

[Hshan]

That front… Almost exactly like my design concept for mid 70s to mid 80s I made recently for my company Fortunately I have a bit different grille and less chrome, so that’s not 1 to 1 similarity.
I like it. The more models I see, the more I am convinced that I would drive a Flug

And if there is anyone on this forum waiting for new Zavirs (I hope so ) - there will be some, but I need to write a bit of story.

Am I too much concentrated on my own company?..

[Speedemon]

This design is great! I need to work on my 80’s designs.

[squidhead]

#1985 Epsilon
With the success of the 1983 microcar “Alpha”, company’s CEO Viktor Kruger has felt it was time for the long awaited pension, and transferred the position to his son Patrick. The new found CEO has had much to prove, so he instantly comissioned a new car, and with that Flug took another step forward to creating a car for each marketable niche. This time it was the compact city car. A new chassis was developed, mated to the 1.5 liter turbocharged engine first introduced in the Alpha, updated and upgraded, now using water to air intercooler, working with a 4 speed gearbox through an open differential.

A small city runabout was noticeably bigger than the Alpha before it and was meant to compete with the Mk2 VW Golf and it’s rivals. Naturally, seeing that the competition is very versatile in providing different specs to suit particular needs Flug has outdone itself by creating a whole 2 versions of the car

The base model used standard interior and radio for the time, with a lot of attention going into the chassis potential and it’s safety. The car revealed in 1985, the Flug Epsilon in E trim sported 65 horsepower, and was available for $12,500. The acceleration to 100km was done in 13 seconds, with top speed reaching 173 kph. Average fuel consumption was a modest 7.5l/100km

Flug did not, however forget about the newly found “Division R”, which was responsible for creating a hot hatch version of the Epsilon, called the Epsion SP, short for “Sport Performance”. While retaining most of the original bodywork, the SP used more unpainted plastic to lessen the retail price, which gave a lot to it’s stand-out look compared to it’s E trim counterpart. Other ways to notice the SP was the twin tail pipe, different foglights and 15 inch Ronal Turbo wheels, instead of 14 inch steelies found on the E. The arches were wider than stock to host the new wider 225mm tires, and the brakes were bigger. Under the hood the same 1.5 liter engine was treated to new con-rods, pistons, camshaft, exhaust manifold and turbochager. This allowed the tiny i4 to rev up to 6400 rpm and produce 119hp. The front drive now also featured a new limited slip differential, to help cope with the overwhelming power. This resulted in 0-100km to be done in 7.9 seconds and the top speed to rise to 208kph, at the cost of fuel consumption now being 10.5l/100km.

The Epsilon enjoyed a moderate success in the very competetive market, and further cemented the notion of needing a performance branch, since at the price of $15,500, the SP outsold the E model at almost 2 to 1.

[DeusExMackia]

Very tasteful use of black plastic on the SP version, me gusta!

[squidhead]

Well, Flug is ready for a complete revamp, starting from the very top. Adjustment to the models, history, drop of some cars, adding a few others, new strategy, new company politics. etc etc.
I’m not sure if I should wait on the chrome to be added to the fixtures, but it would make the old school way more authentic.

That’s the A25 combi getting the UE treatment and a few new body versions.
But without chrome, I don’t feel like it’s just right

Thoughts on whether if i should wait or just start working chrome-less

[Hshan]

Looks ok now, but wait for chrome - then it will look better