JOC4B - A Hero’s Homecoming
Frankfurt, Germany, 1995 - 13 years since JOC4A
(The video above shows what a drive along a derestricted section of the A3 Autobahn near Frankfurt looks and feels like)
Brief
9 years had passed since Bruno Schultz (son of Magda and Stefan Schultz) earned an industrial design degree from a renowned university, accepted a job offer from a major electronics company headquartered in Japan, and bought the car of his dreams - a white Zephorus Stelvio TT. In that time, not only had he married his fiancée and had two children (a son named David & a daughter named Anna), but the Berlin Wall had been demolished, leading to Germany (and its capital, Berlin) being reunited under democratic rule; meanwhile, on the opposite side of the world, the Japanese economy went into freefall as its real estate bubble collapsed.
Amidst these upheavals, Bruno moved back to Frankfurt in search of new employment, taking the Stelvio with him - but he was no longer satisfied with it, and so he sold it off, receiving a decent amount of money from the sale. Three years later, however, Bruno has found himself at a crossroads: he’s secured another high-paying job, which means his finances are once again robust (though not to the point of being virtually limitless, but he cannot live without a dedicated high-end sports car or supercar (which he now plans to reserve mainly for weekends and special occasions) for much longer. So he must now replace the Stelvio - but with what? IAA 1995 is just a few months away, and he must make his decision soon - before it’s too late.
Priorities
High importance 
- Aesthetics/cohesion - As the saying goes: “If it looks right, then it is right” - this is often true, especially for sports cars and supercars.
- Sportiness/performance - It has to be fun to drive, no question. To that end, Bruno will be evaluating entries based on various factors such as top speed, acceleration (to 60 mph), handling (in terms of lateral g’s on a 200m skidpad, as well as the low- and high-speed steering graphs), and braking (not just stopping distances from 60 mph, but also the level of sportiness brake fade). Gearing, brake force, and suspension tune will also be scrutinized.
- Prestige - Bruno’s next car has to stand out from the crowd. In addition to the base stat values, Überholprestige (i.e., how menacing a car will look in someone else’s rear view mirrors) will be judged.
Moderate importance
- Comfort - It may be reserved for weekends and special occasions, but Bruno won’t want to sacrifice too many creature comforts for the sake of driving thrills.
- Drivability - With the advances in automotive technology that have been made in the past decade and a half, Bruno expects his new car to be easier to drive.
- Design and engineering realism - Anything that deviates too far from realism for the era, and/or is a min-maxed/meme build, will make Bruno turn and walk away.
- Value for money - Bruno prefers to go for a cheaper car if it does the same job as a more expensive one, all other things being equal. He is not afraid of spending most or all of his budget on a superior car, though.
Low importance
- Reliability - Even a sports car shouldn’t break down all the time, and Bruno knows this.
- Safety - Although it’s better to not crash at all than to survive a crash (mostly) unscathed, Bruno wants his next car to take care of him if things went badly wrong.
- Environmental resistance - Rustproofing on car bodies is generally more common and thorough than it was 15 years ago; that said, Bruno wouldn’t want his new car to rot away too quickly.
- Running costs - Bruno can afford to spend a lot of cash annually on fuel and servicing, but not too much.
- Practicality - It won’t be used for carrying lots of passengers or cargo, but Bruno would appreciate some extra trunk space.
Rules
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Trim and variant year must both be set to 1995.
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Model and family year must both be no newer than 1995. Either or both can be older than this, though.
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Maximum price: $50,000 AMU
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4.3 open beta only.
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No V16 engines (I don’t have the key yet).
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No legacy bodies (I haven’t installed the mod pack on my end).
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Must be a 2-door coupe (this includes coupes with a hatchback rear window, but not actual hatchbacks) with a wheelbase of 2.3m to 2.8m (hard limits). 2-door convertibles will be allowed as well, but they will receive a minor overall buff to offset any stat penalties compared to an equivalent coupe. However, if you make a coupe look like a convertible by any means, I will still treat it as a coupe.
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No SUV, pickup truck, or van body styles. Do not turn a coupe into one of those, either.
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Body unlock year must be 1980 or later.
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Must have no fewer than two seats, and no more than four (front seats must be full-sized; rear seats can be either full-sized or +2); however, a second row of seats is not required.
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3-way catalytic converter required.
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No carburetors (they won’t be legal on new cars sold in Europe for much longer anyway).
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Fuel must be unleaded, either 95 RON premium or 98 RON super.
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Must meet WES 8 standards at minimum (as seen in fuel economy section of detailed stats tab). It is therefore optional to make your car pass any future emissions standards (WES 9 or later).
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Maximum loudness of 55 (to accommodate performance intakes).
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Manual or auto manual transmission mandatory, although the former is preferred (Bruno’s daily driver has an automatic transmission, but he hasn’t forgotten how to drive with a stick and three pedals, and anything else would be out of place on his weekend car, except for an auto manual done right). A sequential transmission is not allowed, though, since it counts as a race part (see below).
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Must be RWD or AWD; however, Bruno prefers the former, and if using AWD, engine must be longitudinally mounted, with a rear bias of 50% or more.
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No race/offroad parts of any kind - in other words, do not use any engine or trim part with the words “race” or “offroad” in them (including all-terrain and semi-slick tires). Sequential gearboxes (as opposed to auto manuals) will be treated as race parts and must not be used.
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Tires must be radial, with widths ending in 5 (not 0).
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Toe angle (as shown in suspension tab) must not exceed -0.50 or +0.50 for both front and rear.
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Any aero fixtures must not be made invisible (i.e., having transparent material for all areas) and must be attached to the car’s body; in addition, wings must be fitted to the rear of the vehicle, and not the front.
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There is no limit on boost or displacement for turbocharged engines, but regardless of aspiration, make sure to keep safe power limits (the value below which the associated reliability penalty doesn’t apply) in mind. Exceeding this by a small amount is fine given the type of car Bruno is looking for - just don’t go too crazy with outputs.
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Engine idle speed (the leftmost part of the power/torque curves on the dyno sheet) must be 1000 rpm or less.
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At least standard 90s safety required.
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A CD player of some sort is mandatory (although premium grade or higher is strongly recommended) - Bruno grew up listening to music on a cassette tape deck, but his belated acceptance of new technology has led him to believe that even the best tape deck on its own may not be enough for his in-car entertainment needs.
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Techpool values must be between +3 and +7 inclusive.
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There are no quality limits, but excessive positive or negative quality could make Bruno suspicious.
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Maximum sandbox techpool cost of $75m. You can check this by clicking on the techpool value in any area.
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Advanced trim settings may be used, but sensibly and in moderation.
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An unscaled Euro-sized license plate fixture must be fitted to both the front and rear ends of the car.
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Detailed interiors (if fitted) must be left-hand drive. They are not required, though.
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Last but not least: No meme builds! And if it’s not written in the rules, then it isn’t a rule.
Notes
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Bruno is now a 34-year-old man, but he will be 35 by the time IAA 1995 begins. He has no specific preferences for engine placement, and will take any color as long as it fits the car’s overall shape.
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In 1995, real-life Euro-spec cars were not yet required to have a third brake light, nor were side marker lights mandatory for that market (although the latter had to be amber on both the front and rear if fitted). However, they were required to have one or two red rear fog lights, in addition to a small amber signal light between the leading edge of the front side door and the trailing edge of the front wheel arch. I won’t bin entries for any deviations from contemporary European lighting specifications, though.
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In hindsight, it was obvious why Bruno sold his Stelvio a few years ago - a high idle speed, excessive turbo lag, lots of unused octane rating, too much downforce (and hence drag, which explains its low top speed) and strong understeer (due to the overhauled weight distribution calculations in 4.3) would have been tolerable (for Bruno, at least) on their own, but not all at once.
Inspirations
These are examples of sports cars and supercars that were in production at the time, or were introduced within a year or two of IAA 1995.
Submission guidelines
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Rules deliberation ends on 12:00 am (UTC+7), Thursday, October 19, 2023, at which point this round will open for submissions. It will remain open until 12:00 am (UTC+7), Thursday, November 2, 2023.
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To register your entry, please DM me your .car file on this thread, and post an ad here with at least one picture of your car.
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No resubmissions will be accepted, except in the case of minor rule breaks or major game updates arriving before the deadline, in which case you will have one (1) chance to resubmit.
Autobahn speed run playlist
Some mood music for high-speed autobahn runs to get you in the mood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViP87WipSm0)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pav2f4b-1ZE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrChA17AWLc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFJIEK17b9M
Changelog
10/18/23: Removed quality limits and restrictions on displacement and boost for turbocharged engines. Also added inspirations and relaxed emissions targets to WES 8, as well as allowing auto manual gearboxes and extending wheelbase range to 2.3m-2.8m (hard limits). Techpool cost is now set at $75m, and all model/family years up to and including 1995 are eligible.
Good luck, and have fun!
