[LHC] - Letara History Challenge - Rd 5 [Results being posted]

AndiD · 14 October 2022 05:50

Mara Goes Letara, Ep. 1-2

Fedor Piechov, Mara’s chief development engineer, and Rodyn Gumprov, a junior engineer working under Fedor, exited Lerance Airport in Letara on a cool October morning. They made their way to the row of taxicabs. Both carried a briefcase, and Fedor’s contained Mara’s official bid for the Letaran government van. They had figured that a high-ranking Mara ~~comrade~~ executive handing the bid document over in person would add to the impression of the seriousness of their bid.

They entered a taxicab and rode in silence towards the government district in the close by Letaran capital of Lerance. “You are here on business?” inquired the Letaran taxi driver.

“Yes”, was Fedor’s curt reply.

“We do not get many visitors from other continents. I hear you are at peace again now?”

“Yes. For two years, actually.”

“Well, then welcome to Letara. I hope you can have some time off and see what our capital has to offer.”

Fedor nodded, inconsiderate of whether the driver just happened to look into his rear view mirror at that time to notice the gesture.

After arriving at the Letaran Ministry of Transport and exiting the taxicab, Rodyn wondered aloud. “On the way, I had a good look at the range of cars on Letaran roads. Some look quite different from ours. I wonder whether a wartime icon would not stand out.”

“I don’t think it matters”, Fedor replied. “For us, the HD6 is iconic enough to associate them with the war. But it is not iconic enough to make it into the history books on another continent. Our Konyk jeep might, perhaps. So the Letarans might never know the true roots of the ‘Visim’ that we are going to submit.”

Rodyn nodded and followed Fedor into the ministry building. On their way up to the right floor he wondered why all government buildings seemingly had to look alike from the inside.

Upon arrival, they were directed to take a seat in a small waiting area. While they were waiting, Rodyn had a final look at the artist’s sketch on the second page of their submission.

Outwardly, not much had changed compared to the familiar apperance of the HD6 - except that the sandy-brown military paintjob was replaced by a neutral white one. Rodyn assumed that the Letarans could possibly add some generic fake company names or so to the sides. Metal window blinds were added to the side and rear windows to hide the true nature of the vehicle.

The interior was rearranged to have three separate compartments: the driver cabin in front, one middle compartment with a front-facing bench and a rear compartment with a rear-facing bench. The middle compartment was accessible through the suicide side doors whereas the rear compartment was to be entered through the split rear doors. A few more minor touches were added to the interior as well, in-line with the brief. And under the hood, the somewhat overengineered flat-4 engine was simplified and retuned, and the whole car was made easier to drive for civilians as well.

After a short while, Fedor and Rodyn they were ushered in by a government aide to hand over their brief to the Letaran state official in charge.

AndiD · 15 October 2022 19:25

Mara Goes Letara, Ep. 1-3: Getting ready for… prototype testing?

As Fedor and Rodyn left the building after handing over their bid for the Letaran government van, they started to look for a place to have lunch. On their way towards the city centre, Rodyn grabbed a Letaran newspaper from a newspaper box. Fedor threw a curious glance at Rodyn but said nothing.

They found a nice restaurant with an outdoor patio and sat down.

Rodyn’s eye caught an advert on the flip side of the newspaper that he had thrown on the table. The advert spoke of a ‘Portunis Cannonball Run’. He needed a short while to make sense of the strange term and the whole advert.

“Look at this. They are running a yearly rally across Letara on closed public roads. The roads here look pretty okay from what I have seen. Imagine we would do something like this back home - that would be torture for any suspension. Even for our indestructible Konyk jeep, probably.”

Fedor’s interest was piqued and he took a closer look at the advert himself. He did not say anything for the moment and instead studied the menu in parallel that a waiter has brought in the meantime.

When the waiter came back, Fedor asked him whether he would know more about the event.

“Oh yes, sir, this has been a big event in the last two years. They close off some key roads through the city - and these cars are loud! And fast! All sorts of weird vehicles - and drivers - about. Best week of the year for us though - because they are hungry, too.”

“Thank you”, Fedor replied and ordered food and drink after a short deliberation. Rodyn followed suit.

Rodyn noticed a sudden unease with Fedor, quite out-of-character for him.

“Anything wrong… sir?” Rodyn had to think a second for the correct term. Publicly, he was supposed to address Fedor as ‘comrade’, but in private Fedor strongly preferred the more traditional ‘sir’ from his subordinates. Rodyn came to the conclusion that the current situation counted as private, despite sitting publicly outdoors, since it was reasonable to assume that no fellow Archanan would be around to hear their conversation.

“Not at all, not at all”, Fedor muttered. “Just tried to think where I would get an appropriate car to take part in the rally. This sounds like a very… entertaining endeavour, wouldn’t you think? I would not buy a car, of course, just for a one-off race in a foreign country.”

“I suppose…”, Rodyn began. “What I said earlier. Taking part in such a race would be torture for regular production car components… which is exactly what we had started doing with the first prototyped parts in the P47-1 project.”

Mara had started a new clean-sheet development project of a regular passenger car in January of 1947 after it quickly became clear that sales of their civilianised versions of the military JC-9 jeep - available as closed soft-top five-seater as well a bench-seater pickup under the name Konyk (‘grasshopper’) - had been spotty at best and below sustainable figures in the long-term in post-war Archana. Rodyn had been among the development engineers in the P47-1 project before Fedor had seconded to the Letaran government van project.

The civilianised Mara Konyk which was not regarded as a sustainable long-term product offering for the fledgling company

“What are you suggesting?” Fedor wondered.

“Well…” Rodyn wasn’t sure whether to outline his wacky idea in its entirety to Fedor. “At some point, we should have some working P47-1 prototypes for comprehensive testing. Theoretically… a prototype could be entered in the Letara rally as part of the testing programme… if officially authorised, of course.”

Fedor stared into the distance. In the meantime, their drinks arrived, and Fedor took a sip. “I suppose… I could give such an authorisation. But with what the waiter said - I don’t think the Konyk-derived 1.3 litre engines would leave much of an impression on the field, would they?”

“Probably not”, Rodyn conceded. “However… technically speaking, we don’t need that engine in there for testing. The engine is a tried-and-true wartime construction, largely unchanged for the P47-1. I don’t think we’d get much more insights endurance-testing it once again compared to everything else which is probably going to be pretty much new. In fact, the weak engine might actually give us problems to properly test the rest of the car.”

“How so?”

“There is not much power we can extract from it, even if we really want to”, explained Rodyn. “We actually had started looking into alternative testbeds for brake and suspension load testing beyond the low limits the Konyk engine allows us.”

“Such as?”

“We had not gotten far before I was assigned to the van project, and there were many other more pressing things to worry about. That said… we could check whether we can fit the government van’s engine into the P47-1 chassis. Being a bit less than twice the size, it also has at least about twice the power of the Konyk engine in current form, and I am sure we can extract quite a bit more, if top end-power is going to be the main concern. It’s not an ideal configuration, undersquare at all, but it may be the best thing that we have… if it fits.”

Fedor pondered the points raised by Rodyn. As their main course arrived, Fedor said to him. “Consider yourself reassigned to the P47-1 project, specifically for prototype testing programme development. When we are back, the first thing for you is to check whether the HD6 engine indeed fits into the P47-1 chassis. If yes, I’ll assign one of our engine specialists as well.”

Rodyn’s hand with a fork stopped halfway towards his mouth, as he listened to Fedor’s new directives.

Fedor continued. “I declare that we indeed need some high-performance prototypes for testing the P47-1 chassis and components. Make it happen, as I plan to spend one week of my annual leave next year or the year after in Letara, rac… er…, testing a completed P47-1 prototype under special circumstances!”

karhgath · 15 October 2022 21:09

THE WOLFE DYNASTY

History of Wolfe Motors, Chapter I

This is a whole bunch of lore stuff if you do not care about that

October 2022 - The great white north

(That's Canada, eh?!)

Grandson - “Hey grandpa! What is that wolf thing you have on the mantle?”

Grandpa - “Oh, that’s an old Wolfe emblem.”

Grandson - “Why do you have a wolf there?”

Grandpa - “No, that’s no a wolf, it’s Wolfe.”, then he mumbles “If you mother did not have her way, it would be your family name also…”

Grandson - “Wolf?”

Grandpa - “No.”, he shakes his head, “Hey kid, listen to me, I’m saying Wolfe, W-O…”

Cuts to 15 minutes later

Grandpa - “Nevermind. You would not understand. Back in the good old days, Wolfe meant something in this town. Come and sit here near the fireplace for another one of your famous grandpa stories.”

(narrator) And we’re all so excited right? The six year old grandson moved closer and sat down next to his grandpa on the wolves skins near the fireplace. Yes, wolves as in wolf. W-O-L-F skin. Pay attention, please. You’re good?

Grandpa - “The year was 1935. Your great great grandfather Lewis Wolfe had just started his business a few years back, modifying GMs engines and doing custom work for the local market. It was around the time your great granddad Noel was born. Do you remember him? I think you were 2 years old when the old man croaked.”

He mumbles somethings unintelligible.

Grandpad - “No? He always had a bottle with him? Anyway, he was always hanging out in the shop with his father, the little scamp. He was about your age I think… One time, I heard that he…”

(narrator) looks at his watch Ok let’s do a flashback here instead, it might be more efficient.

FLASHBACK

(narrator) The year is 1935. Everything is in black and white and stuttering. Imagine an energetic piano track playing in the background. Lewis Wolfe, with his 5 years looking fondly at him, was working on a big engine.

I WISH I COULD MAKE MY OWN CARS

The subtitles of the motion picture said. Then a piano crescendo comes in as Lewis gets an golden idea and raises his finger toward the sky, in triumph.

(narrator) The year is now 1941. The local GM Regina plant is taken over by the Canadian government and repurposed as the largest munition plant in the region. At about the same time Lewis was conscripted into the army for home defense during the war.

Until then, he had been pretty successful, he bought a coachbuilder in the area, multiple competitors and expanded even further into the province. He started making custom cars for rich people, body and engines - his dream a few years back, remember the Eureka moment? Lewis was now some kind of a big deal industrialist with many companies under his name.

I AM AN INDUSTRIALIST NOW!

Said the subtitle as he pulled Noel up in the air in front of his Wolfe custom body & motor shop. It would become Wolfe Motors very soon.

Things slowed down during the war, but when it ended, GM decided to not take back the plant as production techniques and the supply chain changed so much. Lewis had a plan.

He stepped in a crowded meeting room full of impeccably dressed men.

I AM A CONCERNED LOCAL BUSINESSMAN

Said the subtitles, as the piano took a suspenseful turn.

I WANT TO BUY THE PLANT AND EMPLOY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE

The most alpha looking businessman shook Lewis hands. Noel, who was just behind his father, raised his hands in victory.

YAY!

Said the sub… do I still need to explain that part? We’re nearly done with this flashback anyway.

(narrator) The year was 1945. He could produce a few hundred cars per year then, but a plant was a game changer. As a shrewd industrialist, he slowly ramped up the factory over the next 10 years, starting small thanks to governments loans - you know, he was lucky to be an industrialist.

A first prototype, the Wolfe Deluxe Sedan came out in 1946 and only 100 of them were built. The look was a bit retro, harking back to the 30s grand tourer. It was far from cheap. After two years the first real production lines were in service and a Deluxe, Executive and Custom line was done. He still worked on more unique and custom-built model himself in his shop.

END OF FLASHBACK

(narrator) We’re back in 2022.

Grandpa - “And that is how the most awesome car company ever was born!”

(narrator) cough Well, there might have been a bit of embellishment here and there…

In any case, the grandson was already gone. Probably bored to death - I am sure you were, imagine a 6 years old looking at black and white moving pictures with piano and subtitles. Boring much?

The old man was still talking alone, in front of the fireplace, but it wasn’t relevant to the story anymore so we do not really care. I think we can call this…

THE END

Letara 1948 - Consumer & Govt Market

To be young and carefree. The first real production line coming out of Wolfe Motors hit the Letera market in 1948 (well, it hit everywhere that year if you want to be pedantic.)

The offering was great, we swear. Wolfe counted on 3 trims to be the bulk of the sales in Letara.

Wolfe Deluxe Eight Sedan

For the posh city dweller, the Wolfe Deluxe Eight Sedan was to be the flagship of the marque. A full luxury offering, the 240cid V8 was pretty powerful for it’s time at around 200 american hp (so only real 130 hp, which was still pretty awesome if you think about it).

It had an independent front suspension and rear solid axle. It was comfortable with a hint of performance. The 3-speed manual was able to get the car to 100km/h in under 12 seconds with a top speed of around 160 km/h… which was a feat considering many cars could not even make it to 100 km/h.

The Wolfe philosophy at this time was whatever Duesenberg philosophy was in the 30s. It was not agile, but was not a big boat either. It seated 5 people comfortably and had cool suicide doors (but only 2 - a bummer). To make it truly unique, the top and hood was unpainted with a brushed steel surface, for the truly exclusive look. Many chrome trims all around, and coloured wheels completed the sleek look. Ohh, do not forget about the spare wheel cover on the back trunk.

Wolf Executive Six Fastback Sedan

The next model to make it to Letara was the Wolf Executive Six Fastback Sedan.

This was for the more sporty oriented. Still a fully premium car, it had a 225 cid inline six in there. Smaller, but it still packed 100 hp. It offered a bit of performance at a much lower price point. It seated four instead of 5, and used the same basic platform, but with a fastback body. The 3-speed manual used a Rack & Pinion instead, giving it a feel of sportiness.

It was slower but still exciting, from 0 to 100 in slightly above 14 seconds and toping out at 150 km/h. Less chrome, no visible spare, but plenty of style.

Wolfe Custom Six Pickup

Now lets go outside of the city in the countryside. The Wolfe Custom Six Pickup is a true but still stylish workhorse. Still cheaper than the Executive trim, it was still using the same engine and platform but a few corners were cut here and there. I was not 4x4, but could handle itself in the field and the dirt roads without problems with its AT tires and suspension.

Simple and reliable, no pesky radio to break down, but still a status symbol.

Wolfe Special Six Wagon

And finally the wagon. The model shown here is for a government bid - the Wolfe Special Six Wagon. It included exterior locks on the rear dual doors and no inside handles for the rear compartment. It was also isolated from the front cab with steel panels and heavy windows. The 2 rear benches were sideways for the lucky tourists. Everything was reinforced at the cost of weight, and this model had very simple engineering - the platform was modified for a dual solid axle setup for example and the inline six was modified for the job.

Hopefully it will convince the govt of Letara to invest in Wolfe Motors.

Choices of colours are bountiful across the whole line - Bermuda Green, Regal Red and Hawaiian Blue were the most popular. The two-tone was also quite in demand.

Wolfe - be crowned a king.

Letara 1949 - Wolfe Racing

Wolfe 200/200 Edition Coupe

After a successful first production year, Lewis was a bit sad he had less time to do custom work. Seeing performance events, rallies and races being announced all around, he decided to do something crazy - a race car. He always wanted to build a racing engine, and he did, a 268 cid 200 hp engine (a real 200hp this time). The redline was toping out at 5200 rpm with a triple carb setup.

The end result was the aptly named Wolfe 200/200 Edition Coupe. 200/200 because it was 200hp and could reach 200 km/h. A weird unit of speed for Lewis who is used to miles, but he wanted to participate in European races and his marketing team was adamant the name was cool, but decided to start to test his car at a small event in Letara - the Portunis Cannonball run. If he humiliates himself, it’s not Le Mans at least.

It used the same platform as the mainlines, but much improved. A 4-speed manual was provided, larger sport wheels, an offroad skidtray for some rally goodness, a sporty interior, the Rack & Pinion system used on the executive line and a whole lot of weight saving.

The look was striking, with much more brushed steel surfaces and a charcoal paint. It had an inclined radiator as well as mesh covered headlights and more wired rims, making it look more aggressive. While the name was not yet in use, this is the genesis of what would become Wolfe Racing.

Let’s race!

Petakabras · 16 October 2022 16:53

The SAETA Family

Exciting yet affordable, arriving in Letara for 1952

SAETA company

Founded in the late 40s, SAETA would try to bring a premium driving experience to the more cost-concious buyer. They didn´t have a choice though, since the spanish nation was still recovering from a terrible civil war and there was almost no demand for expensive cars. Their first car would be the Albor (sunrise) sedan. The monocoque chassis would be a novelty for most buyers, as was the overhead-valve, alloy head. Low fuel consumption and agile handling made the car stand out against it´s competitors. It was available in various trims. Starting at the bottom, we had the Viajante, a stripped down version equipped with a downtuned engine and reinforced suspension. It was mostly sold in the wagon body-style. Then there was the standard Albor, and above it, the Sprint version, only available with 2 doors, and featuring a more powerful version of it´s engine.

SAETA Carrera Coupe

The Carrera Coupe (or CC) was meant to be sold to the more hardcore racing fans. Based on the Albor chassis, serial work was done at the rear, fitting a swing axle rear suspension, which worked slightly better than the original rear axle. With the aim of reducing weight to the minimum, the roof was removed, along with all the body panels which were replaced with aluminium versions. Generous reinforcement was installed to compensate, though, and in the end it turned out 200 kilograms lighter than the original car. To propel this little car, a bored out version of the engine was used, and while the horsepower figure may not seem impressive, with such a low weight it didn´t need any more power. To make it legal in Letara, windshield wipers had to be installed. It doesn´t even have a windshield, SAETA engineers said, but they were forced to install them anyways, and so, a extremely useless manual wiper was installed, but it was deemed enough.

cake_ape · 16 October 2022 20:15

ONE WEEK LEFT!

Just a reminder that there is one week left for submissions - deadline is Oct 23. @ 11:59 PM UTC; no exceptions.

I know some cars might’ve been altered by patches/hotfixes, and may have been pushed over the legal limit in some instances - especially imporant for the race class. I will allow resubmissions in those cases, but it is your responsibility to check your cars, contact me and send a new file. Illegal cars will not be allowed to participate in the racing!

One more reminder for everyone:

Put all of your communications to me (e.g. submissions/lobbying/questions etc.) into one DM thread with the topic “LHC - <YourForumName>” please.

If you don’t know how to find your previous messages, see the tutorial by @AMuteCrypt in the ALC OP.

So far I’ve still had to ask over 50% of the participants to change the thread title (tally as of now: 7/12). It really helps me to keep things organized in this large challenge if the threads and cars are appropriately named! It’s big bureaucracy at its finest.

Thank you - the Government of Letara

lotto77 · 17 October 2022 11:37

is anyone even going to read this? I guess I'll just put a spaceship here (_)(_)=====D~~

^ The div above this is the first background, and the primary border. The background doesn’t move due to the “background-attachment: fixed” tag. The background loops vertically if your image is short or your device is tall enough, so this allows for patterns (see: portalkat’s AGC20)

Feel free to change the image to whatever suits your fancy.

^ The div above this is the second background, and secondary border. it also defines the text color and font family.

Planar History Files: P&A goes to Letara

Quick P&A lore rundown

Founded in Sydney in 1881 by friends Frank Planton and Bill Ardent, Planton and Ardent (P&A for short) quickly established itself as Australia’s premier luxury coachbuilder, building numerous well-known high end cars. Between the wars, they decided that they’d take a bold step forward and build their own cars, acquiring surplus and (at the time) reasonably modern plane engines, and waiting for investment. That investment didn’t make it before the war, however, and they were forced to spend WW2 making transports for the war effort with not a single road car to their name. After the war, the truck business was spun off into its own subsidiary, P&A Trucks, while the main company went to work on their long put on hold car.

In 1946 they finally launched their first car, the P&A Sportsman, to wide reactions of “What?”

While it was a beautiful luxury car with a well appointed interior, the car was powered by a 5 litre surplus aeronautical inline 4, which while it made decent power, was widely panned by the media, leading to agonisingly slow sales. Other cars picked up the slack, but it was left to shamble on for eight years.

1948 P&A Trucks Loadman “Bus” government transport

Lore and pictures

P&A’s first foray into Letara technically wasn’t even by them, the Letaran government was seeking proposals for a “legitimate” tourist transport vehicle for 1948, and P&A Trucks, preparing their Loadman line for launch in the same year, saw an opportunity. Planton & Ardent themselves also saw an opportunity to establish their name in the country before a wide launch sometime in the future.

A short while later, a proposal was sent off for a “Bus” version of the Loadman van, which would be provided to the government at the same time as actual Loadman Buses were sold to the public to provide cover. Modifications for the government version included sealed doors on the right and rear of the bus, with extra armour on the rear as well, strong curtains that could be secured in place to hide the contents from the outside world, and restraints on each seat that “tourists” could be handcuffed to.

The Loadman itself was a capable streamlined bus/van/small flatbed truck. Fitted with P&A Trucks’ new 4.5L Small Straight 6, it made decent power and torque, enough to propel the bus to 100km/h in 15 seconds, and more than enough to comfortably carry a full compliment of 9 people and their luggage (with the optional rear facing jump seat). It was even seen internally as so good looking that it would inspire future P&A cars!

Historic picture provided with the proposal to the Letaran government

1954 P&A Sportsman Mk.II Straight 6

Lore and pictures

For a flagship car, by the early 50’s the Sportsman sure didn’t feel like it. A car from 1946, with an engine originally from a plane in the 20’s, that (unsurprisingly) sold extremely poorly could surely only be an exercise in stubbornness. But P&A had a plan for it, and by 1954 they released the Mk.II, much to most people’s initial disappointment.

It was pretty obvious to see why, it was just the original car with some minor tweaks! And in reality it was, with the base chassis and body still being the exact same as the original 1946 car, but looking closer the minor tweaks started to make a lot of difference. The grill and front end were all tweaked to allow for the new parking lights and individual high beams, the interior, while looking largely identical, was of much higher quality, and it was offered in LHD for the first time thanks to being sold in Letara, but all of that paled in comparison to what’s under the bonnet.

The old, rattly, loud Neilson 4 cylinder was gone, replaced with a 5 litre version of P&A Trucks’ Small Straight 6, that was specifically tuned to be less agricultural than the original truck version. Making a quite sizeable 164hp and 352Nm of torque, it could get to 100 in a respectable 13.5 seconds, and thanks to the new gearbox could go on to reach a monstrous 180km/h.

Marketed almost exclusively to well-to-do people with more conservative design tastes, who wanted a big lazy cruiser to travel to their holiday house(s) in, the Mk.II would soldier on until 1964, receiving numerous tweaks and additions during its lifetime, but its performance in P&A’s first LHD market, Letara, were a whole other story.

Photo from the press event launching the car in Letara.

Riley · 17 October 2022 11:59

Zephorus Autos

Presents

The past, present and future.

Zephorus, a recent entrant to the production car market having come from the agricultural industries oversea. The Italian manufacturer wanted a piece of business from the Letara(n?) market, and so a car to enjoy the fine roads around the country is making it’s way to Letera, the Zephorus Espion.

Coupe, Convertible, Competition

The standard version of the Espion will be the coupe, a two door 4 seat grand tourer. Gullwing doors for ease of access to the rear seats.

Enough room for the family and luggage for day trips, a beautifally smooth 3.6L I6 producing close to 100hp propells the sleek Zephorus to the top of the people’s choice chart for premium cars*

An enjoyable and comfortable drive with premium interior and a manual gearbox, for only $16600**

*Based on research done within the company, no relation to actual choice of the people
**all prices are plus tax where applicable

The convertible Espion comes with two seats, and even more luggage room, perfect for those romantic evening drives.

Only $16000

Zephorus Races onto the market

The big story from Zephorus is that they have entered one of their car models into the Portunis Cannonball Run, a specially equiped, specially made Espion nicknamed the “Silver Bullet” for it’s special paintwork. Perhaps this will prove as good promotion for it’s more accessible cars.

With the lighter coupe body made from aluminium, but the roadsters two seats the Silver Bullet weighs a staggering 143kgs less than the original car despite retaining all the comforts them. The engine power has been increased from 97hp to 163.5hp with bigger carburetors and a freer flowing exhaust. Zephorus has quoted a 8.8s 0-60mph time, and an absurd top speed of 116mph.
Available to buy to public, but with a hefty price tag of $22,000 only the most spirited of drivers would see the need to buy one.

AndiD · 18 October 2022 06:50

Mara Goes Letara, Ep. 1-4

Rodyn Gumprov, Mara junior development engineer and in charge of running the P47-1 prototype testing programme, had gotten up early to watch the big cargo ship glide into a dock in Storia Harbour. Earlier in the year, he had arrived with one prototype car, a support van and a few colleagues on a similar ship to put the P47-1 through its paces on Letaran soil - first, to iron out the worst kinks, but also fine-tune it for its designated role as an entry into the Portunis Cannonball run.

A converted HD6 van turned out to be quite spacious to support prototype testing in Letara

The engine swap of the 2.5l flat-4 engine from the HD6 van (now called Mara Visim (‘eight’) for the Letaran government bid) into the diminutive P47-1 body had not been an easy task, but they had managed. In the process, he had learned quite a few new curses from his engineer ~~comrade~~ colleague Yenna Bielicki, but over time she had worked wonders to extract almost double the power from the venerable HD6 engine.

This extra power had been very handy in testing the P47-1’s suspension and brakes to the limit (and finding quite a few flaws in the initial setup). The engine had also proven surprisingly reliable, despite running close to its max rev range. On the ship were now two more prototypes with a few further enhancements (and parts in the trunks). As the dockworkers started unloading the ship, Rodyn made his way to the customs area to sort out the paperwork.

**

Later in the day, he met the two main drivers for the cannonball race in front of a large garage door. (He himself would enter as well, but only as designated support for the other two.) One main driver was his boss, Mara chief engineer Fedor Piechov, the other one, to his astonishment, Mara’s chief executive Henri Nordhov*. Both had arrived by plane a few days ago and were officially on holiday in Letara.

“Good morning, comrade director, comrade”, he greeted the other two.

“Good morning”, Nordhov replied cheerfully. “And you can drop the ‘comrade director’, as long as we are racing on Letaran soil.” Nordhov winked to Fedor and Rodyn. “I must say, I am really enjoying my time here in Letara. Great climate, nice wine, and everything else you might possibly want from life.” He winked again.

Fedor readily agreed. “Nice not to worry about things for a while. I had rented a boat for a few days - good sailing climate.” He looked at Rodyn. “The cars are ready?”

“Yes, comr… sir. If you would come in please.” Rodyn led the way into the garage they had rented to serve as the base for their Letaran prototype testing. It was almost empty on a Friday afternoon, except for the three P47-1 prototype cars and Yenna Bielicki, the engineer in charge of engine testing (and tuning).

Upon hearing the entrance door opening and closing, she looked up and turned around. “Comrades… Comrade director? What a surprise.” Instinctively, she stood at attention.

Nordhov kept his cheerful tone. “At ease… Yenna, right? Officially, I am on holiday. But can’t wait to put our prototypes through the paces myself. Carry on.”

Yenna happily turned around again and turned her attention back to the engine in the #99 car.

“How are they to drive?” inquired Fedor, pointing at the three prototypes.

“Much more powerful than the future production versions, of course. But surprisingly tame at the same time, after we happened to find suitable wider tyres locally to fit instead of the stock wheels. The speedometer gives accurate readings, by the way… until the end of the scale, that is.”

Henri and Fedor exchanged excited glances.

Rodyn pointed towards a table at the back wall of the garage. “There are the keys… and the registration forms for the rally. If you’d like to fill them out, then I can take them to the rally office before it closes for the week.”

Henri and Fedor quickly made their way to the table, hastily scribbled their names and other information into the form and handed them to Rodyn. Afterwards, they were eager to grab the keys and put the prototype P47-1s through their paces.

Meanwhile, Rodyn took three sheets of paper to the rally registration office which had the following lines at the top:
#42 - TEAM MARA #1: NORDHOV
#47 - TEAM MARA #2: PIECHOV
#99 - TEAM MARA #3: GUMPROV

OOC: No real-world car manufacturer executives of the past or present were harmed when seeking inspirations for the protagonists.

AndiD · 20 October 2022 06:03

Mara Goes Letara, Ep. 1-6

Previous post (chronologically)

15th December 1949, White Square, Kronagrad, Archana

Rodyn Gumprov stood among the people in the first line of the small crowd that had gathered around two cars and three people on an improvised stage at one end of the White Square in the centre of Archana’s capital, Kronagrad, a short distance from the Mara main factory.

What a contrast the cold December day was in an Archana that still slowly but surely was in the process of recovering from the now increasingly distant war, compared to the breezy warm autumn climate of (at least outwardly peaceful) Letara. There, Rodyn had taken part in the Cannonball rally only a couple of weeks earlier this year, driving a support car for two of Mara’s higher-ups, or comrade directors, Henri Nordhov and Fedor Piechov. The rally essentially had marked the ultimate - in more than a single sense - test of the P47-1 prototype that was now officially unveiled to the public, and given a proper name: Tovarysh, meaning comrade or friend.

Both Henri and Fedor were among the three people on the small improvised centre stage at one end of the square, giving short speeches about Mara’s first clean-sheet passenger and work vehicle developed after the war for Archana, its workers and its families. They were joined by a dour looking state official whose name Rodyn had already forgotten.

And what a contrast the first examples of the production vehicles next to Nordhov, Piechov and the state official were, compared to the prototypes which Rodyn had been in charge of testing for the better part of the year. While outwardly looking very similarly, and even being very similar mechanically underneath, many cost-cutting measures had to be employed in virtual all areas regarding material choice, attention to detail and production efficiency, compared to the well-engineered prototypes which they had entered with confidence into the rally.

While Rodyn understood that these strict rationalisation measures were necessary to achieve a sales price that made the car affordable even for the average Archanan and profitable for Mara at the same time, he still had to fight tooth and nail not to overly compromise functionality and durability in favour of price and production efficiency. One compromise had been to offer more than one trim level for the sedan, with the higher-spec trim levels K (Komfort) and KE (Komfort Ekstra) receiving less than favourable sales forecasts.

He knew that arrangements were already made to sell any excess production stock to foreign countries with open markets for Archanan products, such as the neighbouring Dalluha, but also overseas countries such as Araga and Letara, probably under a different model name.

Rodyn hoped that he would not be needed later today in a hands-on role to get the cars started in the cold temperatures, when, in conclusion of the Tovarysh’s unveiling ceremony, the cars would be driven down the small ramps, closer to the crowd, so that everyone interested from the public could take their first close-up look into what the three Tovarysh variants would have to offer for them, once they would go on sale in early 1950.

Rodyn also could only hope that their first outing in the Letaran rally would not have been their last one, would it not be up to him to make that decision. However, given the transformation that both Nordhov and Piechov had undergone being a mere week away from Archana on holiday in Letara behind the wheel of a (reasonably) fast car, Rodyn was reasonably sure that he and the two others would be back in Letara next year.

FidleDo · 20 October 2022 19:01

Liberty Motor Corporation

Liberty Motor Corporation was founded in by William G. Peterson in 1927 in Philidelphia. They would start off by making semi-premium family cars and utility cars. They stuck with this model until WWII, which is when they would start producing cars exclusively for the military. After that, they went back to producing the same cars as before. Here is the current situation.

In 1948, Liberty would announce their new line-up with a sedan, truck, van, wagon, and a limited production racing car. Each one would leave a mark on the company, and the would all jump-start the success of the company. They would decide to start selling the in Letara cars soon after the release, a decision considered quite controversial at the time considering conflict between Letara and Montelin. Let’s view all of the models that were sold in Letara.

Liberty Civilian

The Liberty Civilian was the main model sold by Liberty in Letara. It was meant to be a family car that was also semi-premium. It featured 4 Liter V8 that produced 110 Horsepower, which was probably pretty unnecessary. It had a leather interior with the most advanced safety features at the time. It sold for 14,000 AMU and it could be bought as a sedan or a 3-row wagon.

Liberty Artisian

The Liberty Artisian was a light duty pickup truck based on the Civilian. It had all of the same engine, same safety features, same everything. There really isn’t too much special about this pickup except…

It has 3 seats in the front that are definitely able to “comfortably” hold 3 adults ~~(it does not hold 3 adults that well)~~. The idea behind it was that a business would be able to carry more workers in one car. Like the Civilian, it would be sold for 14,000 AMU.

Liberty Merchant

]
Consumer model shown

The Liberty Merchant was a van, or a truck, that was built on Liberty’s heavy duty platform, containing a powerful V8 used in the Civilian. It was a symbol of the hard working breadwinner in American, with it being able to carry 1500 Lbs. of cargo and 9 people. That’s enought to carry a 3 generation family, and luggage, on a road trip! It would be sold for 14,000 AMU.

Interior

Liberty Professional

The Liberty Professional was a limited production racing car built for the Liberty Racing Team and a small amount would be built for the public. It was a modified version of the Liberty Civilian, with it being built on a different chassis, aluminum panels, a more sportier suspension, and a lighter interior. The engine was also a modified version of the Civilian engine, with it producing 175 HP.

HelloHi · 21 October 2022 01:18

INTRODUCING
THE 1951 ALIRA SAUSALITO

Nothing Else Like It!

The all-new 1951 Alira Sausalito is a modern tour-de-force! Designed for this new decade of hope and optimism, it thinks outside the box with its’ small dimensions and big American presence, its’ innovative Boxer engine and chic aircraft-inspired styling.

We offer two trims in Letara this year, the comfortable, capable Valueline, available as a sedan or wagon, and a sedan-only Prestige trim. The Valueline comes well-equipped with our powerful 80hp boxer 4 mated to a three-on-the-tree manual. It has American-style vinyl bench seats and a standard radio and heater. The showstopping Prestige trim features showstopping metallic paint, a smoother engine (thanks to our Luxomer engine balancing system), an automatic gearbox, whitewalls, and improved interior accoutrements.

Gallery

Admiral_Obvious · 21 October 2022 05:04

Immortale Automotive

The Colombri line of consumer vehicles.

You can get it in whatever color you want if it’s yellow.
Newly designed for the Letaran markets, we offer a family coupe and sedan with an eyewatering fuel economy of under 13 L/100 km. Designed from the ground up to withstand anything you can throw at it, and maybe even more!

Also on offer (not pictured) is the brand new Immortal line of passenger van with over 80 Kw of power, and full option of rangebox and reinforced frame to absolutely ensure you get the people you care about where you need to go. Currently only available to authorized government contractors.

abg7 · 21 October 2022 06:03

1954 Wolfram Wanderer

Replacing the smaller, four-cylinder Westwind that had been in production since 1948, the Wanderer was the first car from the company to use an independent rear suspension, and the first to have a six-cylinder engine. Powered by a 3-liter overhead-cam straight six developing 120 horsepower, the Wanderer was capable of exceeding 100 mph (another company first) thanks to its 4-speed gearbox in place of its predecessor’s 3-speed unit.

In parallel with the base model, a special version was developed for the 1954 Letaran Cannonball Run, featuring wider tires, stiffer suspension and an uprated engine with three carburetors instead of two. Along with the factory team, Wolfram Motorsport Developments, it would be campaigned by two other teams: Carlson Concessionaires and Wolfram Dealers North America.

(Note: This is a retcon of earlier lore which stated the Wanderer’s debut year as 1952 due to Automation having received numerous patches for the open beta release, and also due to the Automation Legacy challenge being on indefinite hiatus.)

mart1n2005 · 21 October 2022 09:09

Knightwick Company Lore up to 1946

Knightwick motors started life as Small Heath Cycles (SHC) in Birmingham, England in 1895. From 1908 they transitioned into a full motorcycle manufacturer building small sports and utility bikes.
The Knightwick company itself was formed in 1933 when SHC was taken over by Harris autocars, the SHC name carried on for motorcycles for the time being. The Harris name was used for upmarket vehicles while the Knightwick name was used for mainstream cars and light utility vehicles.

1946 Knightwick Dragonfly family

Dragonfly saloon

The first small car from the amalgamated Knightwick motors company using a cut down variant of the company’s steel ladder chassis. This body style was only available as a 2 door saloon with a four seat interior.

The exterior design had unusual semi hidden headlamps behind a front grille, with the actual radiator intake centrally located behind a metal grid grille. Running lights were located as small “torpedoes” above the wings. On these early models indicators were located on the B pillar, and a singular brake light was installed centrally on the boot lid.

Technical specifications
Chassis	Steel Ladder
Front Suspension	Double Wishbone
Rear Suspension	Live axle, coil sprung
Front Brakes	250mm SLS drums
Rear Brakes	250mm SLS drums
Steering	Recurculating ball. No power assistance
Front Tyres	P135 100C14 97K Cross ply
Rear Tyres	P135 100C14 97K Cross ply
Engine	999cc Knightwick 4 cylinder 49bhp@5000rpm
Transmission	Four speed manual

Dragonfly Utility

The utility variant had much the same front end design as the saloon, with some chrome trim removed for the more utilitarian look of the vehicle.

At the rear the metal pick up bed was available as an open top or a model with a canvas roof and steel ribs to give it a van style appearance.
The fuel tank on the utility was located beneath the bed so a wide opening rear tailgate could be fitted.

Technical specifications
Chassis	Steel Ladder
Front Suspension	Double Wishbone
Rear Suspension	Live axle, coil sprung
Front Brakes	250mm SLS drums
Rear Brakes	250mm SLS drums
Steering	Recurculating ball. No power assistance
Front Tyres	P135 100C14 104J Cross ply
Rear Tyres	P135 100C14 104J Cross ply
Engine	999cc Knightwick 4 cylinder 49bhp@5000rpm
Transmission	Four speed manual

MrdjaNikolen · 22 October 2022 19:33

Mrdja Cars Letara journey
Part 1: Quint and Omega, decisions and lineup for 1946

Quint and Omega

It was very early in 1946 when these two lovely fellas had appeared for the first time in country that will be basis for their new adventures.

Adventure here being the fact that they will lead Mrdja Cars operations in Letara, which also meant they needed to familiarize themselves with the country.

Climate was pleasant and they werent exactly new to fact that country isnt state of the art in economy, industry or roads - although to be fair, their expectations werent exactly high to begin with.
They will spend very pleasureable time together further improving upon their strong relationship, one of boyfriend and girlfriend.
Quint is the one that technically runs the operation and his observations would play big role in how to even start in first place, while Omega is his greatest help, also second-in-command in here. She might also have some fair share of making decisions herself.

After getting around country few times and sleeping in a car, it was decided where they shall place important bits of operation.
Jawole was chosen for its quiet suburban nature which meant they definitely needed to use the car to travel to work but had allowed them to have their own house and backyard.
As for where work part would be placed…yea, it would be in Lerance. There was consideration of living there, but train tracks were just too close to any place they would possibly be interested in.
Doesnt matter too much, as they would still live very close to job.

They decided to use one 1946 Kolondra 1400 Wagon as their personal transport. Its small, but still big enough for their potential wants and needs…not to mention its going to be used by grand total of two people.
As it turns out, thats going to be quite the entry for potential customers as well.

Choosing the brands

Quint had to make very hard decision right on start. He couldnt get more than four brands into the country, as per Letaran law.

As such, he needed to choose four brands from corporation that would be universal enough to cover everything this market may throw at them.
Choices were:
-Kolondra
-Kontir
-Daniloski
-Rosanda

Finding main brand in this little group is not exactly possible per se but either brand that starts with K would be good candidate for same reason.

Kolondra is car manufacturer. As it stands, this may be most universal brand of them all in Letara, seeing that Letarans want transportation from A to B…which is exactly the premise of this company.
Origin of this company stems from some doodling done back in 2013 IRL. In said time, Kolondra was presented as compact car with either sedan or wagon version.
Unsurprisingly, that would have put original vehicle against Golf, Corolla, Civic…some of most popular cars sold around the world.
Its its own brand in current interpretation, but going after segments that tend to sell in quite the numbers remains.
Based in Fruinia

Kontir is Gasmean truck manufacturer. To spare some US people from explaining what i meant by this: it will make pickup trucks, SUVs, vans and semis.
As was case with above brand, its inspired by my doodling in 2013 and was expanded for its current iteration.
Unlike it, it was originally a brand of semi trucks exclusively expanded to fit more products.

Daniloski is company with sporty image. Think about those cars that are perceived as both sporty and practical - this is it.
It doesnt exactly fit Archana with such premise, but i guess that will not really stop us.
Daniloski is surname of my best friend from high school, who was main inspiration for this brand in general.
He was looking at putting bigger engine in car he had avaiable (Coupe engine in Uno; both cars being Fiats) and also sent me few videos featuring tuned cars as in: Fiat Marea Weekend with 600+ hp.
Usual hot hatches/sedans/wagons are also fair play and few sports cars will be present as well

Rosanda is luxury/premium car manufacturer based in Hetvesia.
Rosanda is name of my uni crush and also happens to be name of someone that, to my knowledge, has 2011 Audi A6 Avant.
Prob needless to say, but main target here might be very European-oriented; exciting world of classic American take on luxury might await another implementation

Lineup

Kolondra 1400
As the name implies, this car has 1.4 liter inline 4 namely making 36hp transfered to rear via 3 speed gearbox.
Its placed in C-segment or compact car segment depending on who you ask for classification.
Its all-steel affair having double wishbone in front and solid axle leaf in rear, providing acceptable balance between handling and load capability.

In its original guise, its 5 door 5 seat car with roomy trunk for its size.
Not exactly fast, but needs only 12.2 liters per hundred km and is cheap+it can handle family trip

Wagon is blessed with additional three seats in rear, allowing it to serve as choice for extended families.
This entire range happens to be small, so parking is of no issue
Its also affordable choice for ones that do need it

Van
Having only two seats and just as many doors for people, it stands as no surprize that this is cheapest entry in consumer market
Unlike rest it cant do 100 kmph, but it would be most useful for potential small farms out of the three.

Kolondra V8
This bigger car is intended to easily blend in, seemingly being just like smaller and widely avaiable 1400 Wagon.
However, this car is actually intended to meet requirements of certain transport that Letaran government had expressed interest in.
This required removing internal door handles and adding divider

Has a V8 under the hood, making it much faster than lesser vehicles.
Ofc due to its practical shape, it might happen to be very useful in other roles as well

Daniloski KimiKup
Racing car, intended to be affordable coupe for masses.
These guys do happen to have decently tuned inline 6 engines and compact aluminium paneled body, which makes them rather fast and quick at same time.

cake_ape · 22 October 2022 23:02

24 HOUR WARNING

One day remains until the deadline - Oct 23. @ 11:59 PM UTC; no exceptions. If you want to participate, now is the time to submit your cars and post your showcase on this thread!

Here is the entry list so far. If for some reason I’ve missed you, let me know asap. For those on the list, please check that the type of entries you have submitted is correct, and send any corrections to me if necessary:


UserID	C	G	R
@abg7	x		x
@Admiral_Obvious	x	x
@AndiD
@Aruna	x	x	x
@benjamintamilia
@cake_ape			x
@ChemaTheMexican	x		x
@conan	x	x	x
@Edsel	x		x
@Fayeding_Spray	x
@FidleDo	x	x	x
@GassTiresandOil	x	x
@HelloHi	x
@karhgath	x	x	x
@Knugcab	x	x	x
@Lotto77	x	x
@Madrias	x	x	x
@mart1n2005	x
@Maverick74	x		x
@Mikonp7	x	x	x
@MrdjaNikolen	x	x	x
@Petakabras	x		x
@Prium	x		x
@Riley	x		x
@Texaslav	x		x

@AndiD and @benjamintamilia - you’ve posted lore on this thread but not submitted a car. Make sure you don’t forget.

LS_Swapped_Rx-7 · 23 October 2022 06:30

Kamaka Motor Corporation does a presenting: Chief 1953

Kamaka Motors are proud finally reach the land Letara to do the put on sale new Chief car. All new car for new modern.

New redesigning complete influence america cars. Front of the suspension system is seperated apart allowing for outstanding comforting driver and doing turning. Chief car comes in selection forms 3 variety.

Base Model

Chief base model design purpose is to doing simple transport cheap. Extra cheap assured by 4 cylinder 1.6. Makes 40 horsepower. Satisfactory fuel economy. Front rear triple seat preserves the practicality extraness. Allowing seat 6 person.

Van

Chief van variety also available for job exportation cargo. Perfection van producing small business enlargement. Better cargo exportation with incremented up suspension. Mechanical the base model going to van for economy same economy assurance.

Deluxe

Expensive market premium variety available for comfort extraness. Stand out materials for more premium. 3.3 liter straight 6. Makes 110 horsepower. Comfort seats and 6 cylinder smooth for comfort.

*Japan models are doing the presenting.

taste of the underground

Fascinated by the growing hot rod scene in the USA, a unknown group of Letaran tuners who wanted a piece of that fun made a custom Chief for the 1953 Portunis Cannonball Run. It sports the same straight-6 from the deluxe model but tuned up to 160 horsepower, and a load of other modifications to make it a very serious racer. However, to the surprise of absolutely no one, an overpowered engine in a tiny car resulted in an undrivable deathtrap that struggles to put power down most of the time. Oh well, at least it is fast when it isn’t actively trying to kill you, and those brown stains can be washed out of the seats when the race is over.

AndiD · 23 October 2022 07:00

Mara Goes Letara, Recap / TL;DR Ep. 1-1 to 1-5

Previous episode

Government car: 1948 Mara Visim

After the conclusion of the war in 1945, there were plenty of surplus ex-military cars available in Archana. For some types there were more cars than actual civilian demand, such as in the case of HD6, the standard Archanan eight-seater personnel transport. Mara thus gladly responded to the Letaran government’s brief since the HD6 matched the general profile quite well. They named their submitted car Visim (‘eight’), after the seating capacity.

If accepted, all Visims will be extensively refurbished - with most traces of their previous life removed - and retuned / -equipped for civilian use. In addition, Mara engineers found a sufficiently large stack of light steel plating to reinforce the regular driver cabin doors. Originally, there had been the plan that the pair of doors on each side could be used as improvised cover, but, except for the first models, this plan had been shelved in favour of more simplified wartime production, combined with an increase in useful carrying capacity. The metal window blinds would also be useful to deflect incoming bullets, in addition to serving to hide the insides of the vans to the public.

Moreover, the three interior compartments are all split by sturdy metal bars which can also be used to chain or handcuff the ‘passengers’ to the bars. The ‘passengers’ in the middle and the rear also do not face each other, limiting the opportunity for silent (or any type of) unwanted cooperation, and there are only ever three ‘guests’ at the same time to contend with, making the job easier for the guard(s).

Race car: 1949 Mara P47-1 Prototyp

When Mara representatives handed in their bid for the government van, they discovered an advert for the Letaran Cannonball Race. They decided to frame their initial participation as stress-testing of the final prototypes for the ‘Proyekt 47-1’ car that later would be known as Mara Tovarysh, or Companion in non ADM (Archana Domestic Market)-settings.

The three participants are Henri Nordhov (#47), Mara’s managing comrade director, Fedor Piechov (#42), the chief comrade director for engineering and development and Rodyn Gumprov (#99), a junior development engineer, to support the other two on the roads, and to oversee the actual prototype testing. The three participating prototypes were painted in the colours of the Archanan flag.

Since the P47-1’s 1.3l I4 engine was a tried-and-true variant that has had more than its share of stress-testing during the war, an enterprising engineer found out that it indeed was possible to shoehorn the 2.5 flat-4 from the government van into the P47-1 chassis and she was tasked with tuning the engine for maximum performance.

In the years after their debut, the participants simply took the prototypes from storage each year during their annual holiday which they spent a good part of in Letara racing and, most importantly, away from the sometimes rather dreadful environment in post-war Archana.

Consumer cars: 1950 Mara Companion 1.3 SK, TR, PR (Sedan, Van, Ute)

Companion (‘Tovarysh’) was Mara’s name choice for their first clean sheet postwar car design, code named P(royekt)47-1. Due to the prevalent resource shortage in Archana, the engineers paid special attention to the design’s production efficiency - for instance, minimising the amount of ‘unnecessary’ special shaping of sheetmetal to form curves or bulges etc., as common on many pre-war designs.

The resulting car built upon tried-and-true technology from the Mara-produced Konyk wartime jeep - such as a ladder frame and a leaf-sprung live rear axle. Double wishbones at the front were the only ‘innovation’ for the Tovarysh / Companion. The Konyk also donated its 1.3 litre inline-I4 engine as its about 35 hp (in civilianised form) was plenty to get the light car moving.

Compared to the P47-1 prototypes, many cost-cutting measures had to be employed in engineering and production set-up, however, to achieve a sales price that made the car affordable for the average Archanan and profitable for Mara. Even so, especially the higher-trim Komfort and Komfort Extra versions did not sell well and so Mara had excess production they could export to other countries such as Letara.

A Komfort interior

Moreover, the more barebones Tovarysh Pick-up competed with the leftover sales from their civilian Konyk jeep / ute, so they were happy to export those as well in the early years.

A Regular interior: more metal, vinyl seats and less gauges

And since there were no planned export contingents for any of the trims, no engine was not re-tuned for the higher octane fuel in Letara compared to the low-grade ADM fuel. Moreover, the build quality was the same as for those sold on the ADM.

SheikhMansour · 23 October 2022 14:18

Mocabey Motor Company presents its lineup for 1948

3600 Sedan

The Mocabey 3600 is a spacious sedan designed to seat five people. With a 2.7m wheelbase, AM radio, and all around independent suspension, the 3600 is designed to be comfortable for any family wishing for independent transport throughout Letara. Available with an overhead cam 3.6L straight six with 100bhp, or a twin carb version with 120bhp.

Mocabey Salesman

The Salesman is Mocabey’s offering for the commercial market. Sharing the same strong 100bhp engine as the 3600, this van can reach speeds of more than 120km/h, though only do this where legal, folks. For those with large families, this van is also available as a passenger variant with eight or nine seats, and can be ordered by government departments as a fleet van, from just $11,400.

Mocabey Karpater

Just like the rest of us car fans, Mocabey likes to drive at speed. Thus, for the 1948 Portunis Cannonball Run, the company has released the Karpater. With twin two-barrel carburetors and aggressive cam, the 3.6L engine produces 165bhp in the coupe. While this speed machine is designed first and foremost to shred tarmac at high velocities, it is not without its creature comforts, coming with a radio and special sports interior.

Lupus · 23 October 2022 15:00

Empire Motors (EM) was founded by Paul R. Gearling in 1929 in New York City. The company began building luxurious family cars which were popular among wealthy businessmen and families throughout the great depression despite lots of financial trouble. As the Second World War arrived, the company won a contract to build tanks for the United States Military. It’s Largest factory would be opened by 1940 in Queens. After the war came to an end the tank factory would be converted to build cars. Several different models including both economical and premium cars would be made from 1947-1950 but all were well-known for advanced comfort and safety features at competitive prices. Empire motors has now began exporting it’s newest mid-size family sedan to Letara.

EMPIRE MOTORS (EM) MANHATTAN 50:

The Manhattan 50, named after Manhattan Island, is EM’s newest version of their best-selling car. It is a luxurious mid-size sedan featuring the best tech Empire Motors has to offer. It was built from the ground up to replace its predecessor, the Manhattan 47.

DRIVETRAIN: The drivetrain on the Manhattan 50 is entirely new, sharing no components with the Manhattan 47. It features either the powerful “Six-Shooter” 3.1L (or 3.5L) i6 or the prestigious 3.3L “Empire State” v8. Paired with such powerful engines are a 3 speed manual transmission or the all-new “Gear-o-Matic” 2 speed automatic transmission with the “Auto-Locker” automatic locking differential to ensure a superior driving experience.

SAFETY: The Manhattan 50 is among the first cars to introduce seat belts to production vehicles. It also features a pop-out removable windshield and back seat safety glass to allow both the driver and passengers to escape the vehicle in case of collision. The passenger compartment is also separated from the engine compartment by a 8mm steel plate to further protect occupants from collision.

COMFORT: Depending on your choice of trim, the Manhattan 50 may include a premium cloth interior and seats or a carefully crafted hand-made leather interior and seats. The top-end “Luxe” trim includes extra-soft suspension for driving comfortably over unpaved or low-quality roads as well.

RACING: Upon recognition of the now legalized 1950 Portunis Cannonball run, Empire Motors decided to also make a Race-tuned GT Coupe version of the Manhattan 50. This model features a more powerful 3.3L “Empire State” v8 engine, 4 speed manual transmission, sporty interior, and tuned suspension. It keeps some of the luxury features of the original Manhattan 50 Coupe, so it goes for a pretty penny.

Engine: 3.1L i6, 3.5L i6, or 3.3L v8(racing uses improved 3.3L
Transmission: 2 speed auto or 3 speed manual. (Racing uses 4 speed manual)
Brakes: 290mmF/265mmR or 325mmF/325mmR
Wheels: P135/95C16 97K (Front) P135/95C16 97K (Rear)
Wheelbase: 2.6m

Trims:

Wagon starting at 13000 (import tax included)
Premium sedan starting at 14000 (import tax included)
Luxury sedan starting at 24000 (import tax included)
Racing GT Coupe starting at 23500 (Import tax included)

Manhattan 50 lineup