Rioter MK.2 Lion: Keeping the lesser animals in check
The Rioter has never been a consensual cop. If anything, in a “Good Cop/Bad Cop” sketch, it’d play Bad Cop all the way to the credits. This two-door muscle car has one intention and one intention only; to shout and be heard.
Following the Official Car Design Competition, I decided to update the Rioter for a different era; the '70s. Disco balls can’t apply however, because the Lion would rather thrash the dance floor than dance along…
The badges on the side are one way to tell the Lion apart from other Rioters. The Lion’s 429 c.i. engine packs over 390 horsepower, thanks to a pair of fierce 4-barrel carburetors. When does 0-60 end? A meager 7 seconds. That would be the result of a short-geared 4-speed gearbox, complete with manual layout for those who want to control their elevens on the asphalt.
But above all else, it’s how pointy sharp these claws are. The design features the Rioter’s signature “Linkers”, a fancy term to describe the connected indicator lights at the front. Rather than adopting an L-shape like in the previous Rioter, the Linkers are angled to match the new front grille. At the back however, the Linker adopted a “half-plus” layout, slotting right between the tailights and the lower rear fascia.
The Lion is not known as the “Vicious Rioter” for nothing. It’s not subtle, but who buys a V8-powered sledgehammer for secrecy?