1969
Somewhere in Europe
Long story short, it is the very end of the swinging sixties, and our client now has recieved a top position in a blooming company that makes mechanical calculators and typewriters. Boy, do the future look bright? One can only imagine where a company like this will be in 10-15 years, right?
So, naturally, our client also wants to trade up. We’re talking luxury class cars now. But don’t be silly. We’re not talking about someone that is going to be chaffeured around in something like a Bentley or a 600 Mercedes. Neither does he have any interest in a yankee land yacht. Nah, we’re talking a more modest and modern class of luxury cars now, that has the driver in focus as well as the passengers - since the owner will also be the driver in this case, it has to be rewarding for the person behind the wheel.
If it is still unclear what he is looking for, maybe the priorities and inspirations will help.
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PRIORITIES
COMFORT - This should be self-explainatory TBH. A car in this class just has to be comfortable.
PRESTIGE - Well. Another self-explainatory part I guess.
STYLING - It should look the part too, which serious successful bussinesman wants to drive around in something that people point and laugh at?
DRIVEABILITY - Effortless, relaxed driving is also something that adds to the comfort.
PERFORMANCE - While we are not looking into a 300 SEL 6.3-competitor, a car in this class is expected to have some oomph. However, I will go by what was seen as realistic in the 60s so there’s no meaning in over-exaggerating this bit.
SAFETY - An increasingly hot topic by the late 60s, and cars in this class were the first ones to introduce groundbreaking safety features.
RELIABILITY - Back when there still was a perception that money should buy quality, not only gadgets.
SPORTINESS - Cars in this class will maybe never be “sporty” per se, but some uplifting driving dynamics is never wrong for a luxury car that should also be a drivers car.
FUEL ECONOMY - Fuel in this era is still cheap, but it is not US cheap.
PURCHASE PRICE - Don’t sweat too much to use up the whole budget since our client is not looking for a cheap runabout. With that said, two identical cars but one of them being cheaper, we all know which one we would pick.
SERVICE COSTS - They aren’t going to be cheap in this class, just don’t go over the top.
INTERIOR STYLING - Interiors are not required, a nice one might give a small bonus though and a bad one will not lower the score compared to none at all.
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RULES
Trim and variant year 1969. Model and family might be older.
Max 8 cylinders.
No “race” parts.
The engine should be able to pass at least WES2.
Super leaded fuel (regular leaded won’t give you an instabin but won’t give you any advantage either)
At least one muffler required.
Radials are allowed but not mandatory. Minimum tire profile 70. Max rim size 16”.
At least four full seats.
Four door sedan bodies only. In case the body is listed as a “4 door coupé” but is obviously a sedan when it comes to the shape, it is allowed. It’s just that liftbacks or wagons weren’t really a thing in this class, and we’re not looking for a coupé. No hard rules on wheelbase, but look up the inspirations, something too far off from them will be frowned upon. No convertibles.
Maximum combined techpool car + engine $20 millions. No negative techpool.
Maximum price $27000
ATS is allowed in moderation for stuff that can’t be done via engineering, if you’re unsure just ask.
I don’t have any engineering realism priority here, since there were actually lots of interesting technology being tried out in this class. With that said, I might still instabin anything that has silly choices like a 3 cylinder engine or chunky offroad tires.
No hard limits on quality, but keep it sane. Obvious minmaxing will be frowned upon.
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SUBMISSIONS
Submissions start: Saturday the 6th of december, 6 PM CET. Rules delib until then.
Submissions end: Saturday the 27th of december, 6 PM CET.
Naming convention: Car model/trim: KSAC3 - Username / The name of your car. Engine family/variant: KSAC3 - Username / The name of your engine.
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INSPIRATIONS:
Mercedes 250S
BMW 2500
Jaguar XJ6
Opel Kapitän
Volvo 164
Ford Zodiac
Rover P5B
Fiat 130
Toyota Crown
Buick Skylark. I am throwing this oddball in, since if you really want to go american, this is probably where you should aim, a midsize from an upmarket brand. US cars still had a market in Europe by then, but Imperials and Cadillacs weren’t anything that was a realistic alternative to the other cars seen here.
folder for the game. Dm the host and include the .car file.
