The history lecture will come later. First, what Gründer offers currently and a small breakdown on how engines are classified.
Engines first, we’ll start with the smallest to set the trend; the 2.0L Ace-E.
(All engines currently are all aluminum, quad-valve designs)
2.0L: displacement (self explanatory)
Ace: # of cylinders (first letter of the name dictates this; A=4, B=6, and C=8, with D and E reserved for 10’s and 12’s when they finish prototyping)
E: how the engine is tuned (E=economy, and currently are SOHC; S=sport with DOHC; St=Top of the line, turbo DOHC)
There is also the SPC designation, which stands for Special Production Crate. In essence, these are high quality engines that are only produced in small numbers, and are unavailable in current models, but have been designed to fit as the ultimate aftermarket upgrade.
And here are the current motors, starting with the Ace line:
Next up is the Bustard line of I6 engines, which were designed using the same piston dimensions as the Ace line to keep things neat in production. Currently these are the smoothest engines produced by Gründer, and were almost kept as the most powerful before improvements to the V8’s were finalized.
And finally we arrive at the big guns. Unlike the Ace and Bustard lines, there are two current lines for V8 engines; the Cohort and the Callaway. The Cohort was the first to be designed, and as the name was meant to imply, it’s genesis came from mating two Ace engines at the crank to create the 4.0L Cohort (the name, as well as the design, were thought up by a few drunk engineers after making a wager with the CFO of the company on New Years). Due to reliability problems and further improvements to the Bustard line, the Cohort has been almost phased out completely and replaced by the larger and overall better 4.9L Callaway.
And now, part of the current lineup offered by Gründer. First the inexpensive side consisting of the small Hoplite hatchback and Paladin sedan.
Both were designed initially by a now bankrupt English company, and were bought by Gründer to start the company up again in 1990. The Hoplite has remained largely unchanged from it’s english origins and is aimed to compete in the entry level market, starting under $20k (exact prices are TBD). FWD, inexpensive materials and lightweight are the three basic traits for the small hatchback, and is currently only offered with the Ace line engines.
Hoplite: Ace-E
Hoplite-S: Ace-S
Hoplite-RS: Ace-St
The Paladin was initially just a sedan version of the Hoplite, but once Gründer got a hold of it there were some substantial design changes. From FWD only to RWD only, an extension of the frame to allow for more internal room (resulting in it no longer sharing almost any components with the Hoplite), and mating the frame with the more potent Bustard engines. The only real downside of the sedan was the use of a live rear axle, leading to many complaints from enthusiasts and comparing it’s handeling abilities to that of Mustangs.
Paladin: Bustard-E
Paladin-S: Bustard-S
Paladin-RS: Bustard-St
