Montuzo Engineering Ltd

[KairaWolf]

[size=200]Welcome to Montuzo![/size]

*Montuzo Engineering, based in Lisbon, is an up-and-coming car manufacturer from Portugal. Founded in 2002 by Italian-born Fabio Montuzo, the company hopes to provide supercar performance in an easy-to-love package that is reasonably reliable, and most importantly - fun to drive (Actually, scratch that. Reliable is the wrong word). Despite initially starting off with limited funding, Montuzo has managed to keep the company afloat for more than a decade, which is unquestionably a very impressive feat for such a small market.

At this point in time, four cars have been released as fully-fledged production cars (the face-melting Furacao, the chest-rupturing Vortex VI/4, the somewhat civilised Mach and the return-to-form F6X Typhoon). They are currently working on a fifth, much more mysterious build. Relatively.*

***Company Locations :
Lisbon, Portugal - Primary headquarters, production facilities and dealer.
Reading, UK - Secondary headquarters, production facilities and dealer.
Berwick, Australia - Tertiary headquarters, production facilities and dealer.
Plymouth, Massachusetts - Production facilities and dealer.
Roswell, New Mexico - Production facilities.
Jiamusi, China - Production facilities. ***

With each production line averaging just 50 people, it does take a very long time to achieve any goals, but the chemistry between the workers are seen as top priority, as this will help eliminate any language barriers and the time elapsed. While we agree that we’re not very good with creating great value-for-money cars, we assure that every Montuzo Engineering product has the blood, sweat and tears of all of these workers, and their heart and soul has been poured into the cars we make meticulously.

[KairaWolf]

[size=200]Stupid looks. Stupid fast.[/size]

When people think of Portugal, they think about things like tempura and Cristiano Ronaldo. And, with a hint of salt, marmalade. However, despite many attempts to get it right, Portugal isn’t really the first place you’d look if you wanted to buy a car. With many failed prototypes and production flops in the country’s past, it’s a large suprise to see that they are still giving it their all. The latest contender, the Furacão (Portugese for hurricane) hopes to finally bring some hope to the automotive industry.

First things first, let’s talk stats. The 7 litre V12 is tuned to hell and back to produce a ridiculous 950bhp. Along with the ferocious power is the bodywork - or, I should say, the lack of it. Thanks to its carbon-fibre monocoque shell and extensive weight reductions, it weighs just 1.1 tonnes - less than a Ford Fiesta! This means it can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in a face-melting 2.5 seconds. Top speed is an estimated 230mph ; mainly due to the fact that nobody has been brave enough to run it through its paces. However, that’s where the fun stops. The team at Montuzo Engineering has admitted that they have had trouble getting the car legalised for road use, as there are a lot of problems with the Furacão.

*One, exhaust noise level. The Furacão is so loud that, despite fitting reverse-flow exhausts, it still peaks at over 130db - probably enough to kill people, let alone be legal. Two, tyres. They’re as slick and sticky as a guitar player with wanker’s cramp. And three, throttle response. Due to the extremely jittery power curve, it is basically suicide to take the Furacão to the shops. It’s actually a one-off project, showing what Montuzo can do when they really put their heads together. Thankfully, soon they will plan to make a road-going version of the racer.

After three years in development, the (not) legal Furacão R has now got (barely) legal siblings : the Furacão SV series.

While the R is a stripped-out prototype, the SV has many creature comforts, such as leather seats, a radio, air conditioning and even SatNav. It is also compatible with most Bluetooth devices, so you can pump out your music of choice whenever you want. The heart of the SV, the engine, has been switched from a V12 to a V8, as having such a large block is very space-consuming, along with countless reliability issues as a result. The new V8 also has a very sizable turbo, meaning the SV can pump out anywhere between 550 and 900 brake horsepower. This means that it can accelerate from 0-62mph (0-100kmh) in three seconds or less.*

Current Models :
SV550
Power : 542bhp
0-62mph (0-100km/h) : 3.0 seconds
Top Speed : 210mph
Price : £150,000

SV700
Power : 691bhp
0-62mph (0-100km/h) : 2.8 seconds
Top Speed : 227mph
Price : £225,000

SV900
Power : 895bhp
0-62mph (0-100km/h) : 2.7 seconds
Top Speed : 245mph
Price : £300,000

[KairaWolf]

[size=200]Quicker than Sonic the Hedgehog and a face like a torn arse.[/size]

*The Vortex-VI/4, or 6/4, is a soon-to-be production car from the boffins at Montuzo Engineering. Thanks to a ridiculous amount crowd funding and support, absolutely nothing has been spared to create the ultimate driving experience. Following the mantra of Colin Chapman - “…simplify and add lightness…”, there are absolutely no driver aids to help you. It’s just you and the car. Basing the car off a modern Le Mans Prototype design that they “borrowed” from somebody, the Vortex is sure to raise at least a few eyebrows, whether that be due to surprise, endearment or just blank, soul-reaching stares that say “Seriously?”. And don’t worry about other drivers flipping the bird in your rear view mirror… because the Vortex doesn’t HAVE rear-view mirrors.

So, not exactly passing with flying colors in the practicality department. However, what it lacks in usability on the open roads, it makes up for usability on the Vortex’s battle ground ; the track. As the name suggests, the Vortex VI/4 is comprised of a 3 liter V6 engine lifted straight from a Phase II Clio. However, despite the lack of racing pretensions from the engine, it has been fiddled with by the tuning department at Montuzo Engineering to produce anywhere from an easy-going 200bhp to a face-melting 550bhp, the power of which can be controlled by a knob located on the (lack of) centre console. To transfer this colossal amount of power onto the road, it has been fitted with an extremely complicated all-wheel-drive system, along with an electric limited-slip differential to make sure every last horse is transferred into pure speed. Thanks to super-sticky 265/45 by 325/35 (barely-legal) DOT-grade Pirelli tyres, the Vortex can catapult from 0 to 62mph in a jaw-dropping 2.5 seconds, and on to an estimated top-speed of 220mph/355kmh. These statistics, despite being extremely impressive, aren’t exactly cutting-edge. There are cars who are a lot faster, powerful and better looking (the latter of which is a given, considering that the Vortex looks like, quoting Montuzo himself, “…something out of a crappy horror film”). The one thing that is unique about this car, and sets it apart from the rest, is the specially designed shark-like fin at the rear of the car.

The fin is connected to a compact-yet-powerful central processing unit running an accelerometer program in order to provide maximum g-forces (i.e : turning power) in order to maximize efficiency around corners. While the fin is engaged (by inserting a special key, similar to a Bugatti Veyron), potential cornering speed is increased by an extra 33 percent. This, accompanied with the aforementioned “magic” limited-slip differential means that the Vortex has already set world-records around the world for the fastest production-car, at places like Monza, Tsukuba, the Top Gear Test Track, Silverstone and even the fearsome Nurburgring, beating such names as Lamborghini’s Sesto Elemento, the Porsche 918 Spyder and even the borderline-illegal Ferrari FXX-K.

All in all, The Vortex VI/4, with its independent suspension, revolutionary shark-fin and crazy speed does come at a cost. Which, if you think about it relatively, is quite cheap. If you call £750,000 cheap, that is. Also, on a positive note, Montuzo Engineering are revealing more information about the Vortex and possible upcoming builds at Geneva. If you would like to know exactly how the pivotal shark-fin system works, feel free to send me a PM.

(There’s also a prototype track-only version coming soon which is even faster, according to recent calculations - it can lap the Nurburgring in well under 7 minutes!)*

[Oskiinus]

Vortex 6/4 seems like pretty nice car. That idea of street legal car with LMP body (like Ultima does lol) is pretty cool. I must build something on it.

[KairaWolf]

*Our first ever car, the insane Furação (fixed spelling, thanks), was simply a proof-of-concept to show that we were serious about becoming a fully-fledged car manufacturer. The next car, the face-melting Vortex 6/4, was our first real accomplishment - our first dip in the water, if you will. These are all well and good, but we are truly missing the point ; who are going to buy these? Accountants? Surgeons? Premiership footballers?

They would honestly crash them both within thirty feet, and we at Montuzo Engineering don’t like having to ring them up and remind them that their car crashed. Because we watch them. So, to avoid said phone calls to their next of kin, never mind their insurance companies, we’re actually going to build a car that is actually drivable. Actually. What we plan on doing is setting a platform to base our creation on, and then expand it to encompass what we see fit (roadster, coupe, etc). That way, people who actually have a soul can buy it. Rough numbers, prices will start at around £50,000 for a (sort of) cheap and (hopefully) reliable runabout, and work their way up to a luxury suite-like GT car for around £100,000 to [insert a stupid amount here], depending whether or not you equip it with a diamond-encrusted gearbox or not (We really do those).

Our first call-of-action will be in the form of our latest creation, the Mach series. The model system should be easy enough to understand - Mach 1 is a 1 litre engine, and so on. A minimum of £50,000 will get you a sports car to get you from A to B and everywhere in between. Which may or may not include a race track.*

[strop]

The Vortex 6/4 seems like a car that might compete with some of Gryphon Gear’s earlier cars, which makes me want to know: what year was it actually produced? Can you provide screenshots of the statistics, and particularly, since you’ve also made claims about setting world records around the circuits, the times you’ve obtained? I’ve neglected my leaderboard quite severely, but I can guarantee you that there are probably quite a few users who may or may not wish to dispute your claims

Also, is the drivability of your car 0.0? If so, be aware that the devs plan to change the calculations in future releases and tweak a few things, such that having a drivability of 0.0 means you will literally not be able to drive the car.

[KairaWolf]

Hello, strop.

When I mentioned “setting lap-times” around Green Hell, I wasn’t arguing that my car was better than any cars on Automation. If anything, it’s a heap of junk. I was simply (and possibly wrongly) comparing the times set by my car to the times set by real-life cars. After some research, I’ve discovered that my method (and possibly other methods) used to time the laps are null-and-void, since times are stopped when you pass the gantry on the Dottinger Hohe straight for safety reasons. So, in short, I’m not dissing anyone, and I’m not trying to cause a row. The fact that my car’s drivability is indeed 0.0 and that my car is indeed set in the future proves that I’m actually rather shit at making cars that go fast around any sort of race track. (To be fair though, I am only 16.)

However, I will persevere and attempt to reel back the year of manufacturing back to present day and increase drivability in order to set a valid lap time. Of course, it won’t be anywhere as near as the time set by anyone with a competitive edge, since I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing when I’m tuning my car. I do have a rough idea, but I don’t have the know-how to really get my car going.

Thanks for your input.

[strop]

That’s OK, no need to backpedal quite that much! I only mean to say that the Automation game has its own metric for this kind of thing, and comparison with real world stats are not perfect. But if you’re getting under 7 minutes on Green Hell you’re going very fast.

If you need help with car tuning that’s right up my alley. You can ask me anytime.

[KairaWolf]

[size=200]As majestic as a swan piloting a B-52 bomber.[/size]

*Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine if there was a car that was…

More powerful than a Veyron.
Quicker to 60 than a Nissan GTR.
Longer than a Countach.
Better equipped than a Maybach.
Rips open the ozone layer and makes it its slave for life.
All wrapped in a body older and more hideous than Janet Street Porter after facial reconstruction surgery.

Well, don’t imagine anymore. The brand new F6X Typhoon fits all those characteristics.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “You were right. It’s a crapbox from when the dinosaurs walked the earth!”
Well, listen closely. This is where it gets interesting.*

One, the body itself. It may be brought from the Dark Ages (or thereabouts), but it has been widened from all angles in order to give a more sinister sense of perspective. Not only that, but it’s made completely from carbon fibre, so it’s light… relatively. Two, luxury - and quite a lot of it. It’s equipped as standard with white leather seats, along with ambient LED lights that change colour according to the style of driving (i.e. if it is set in Comfort Mode (as default), it will be set to a deep-sea blue colour. If then changed to Corsa mode, it will change to a dark-green colour. If, for some stupid reason, you set it to “Maximum Warp” mode, it will then start changing colours extremely violently, along with automatically playing songs by Cher, in order to make you switch it back to a different setting. Along with in-built TVs at the back of the front seats in order to keep your friends and/or children busy, along with many creature comforts such as temperature-adjustable seats, cabinets and glove-boxes (the latter of which is stocked with assortments of international wines in case of a party and/or gullible police officers) and, under the carbon skin, SIX-INCH 30-06 CAST IRON, you should be safe in case of a war. However, as it weighs more over two and a half tonnes, you need the get-up-and-go of a Saturn V rocket to get it going.

And that’s exactly what we have.

Three, the performance. It can bolt from a standstill to 60mph in just 2.7 seconds, and on to a theoretical top speed of 230mph. This is possible as, instead of throwing in a 6 litre V8 like we usually do, we decided to grow up a bit, and be more sophisticated. With an 8 litre twin turbo V12. Said engine will produce 1750 horsepower. We can’t actually tell you how much torque it produces as, by the time it got to 5000RPM, it was so loud and ridiculously powerful that it managed to shear its own tyres clean off, and we’re scared to put it back on again. Estimates state at least 2,000NM. With all this power and torque, it can out-drag just about any car in production today, besting even the hybrid trio from Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche. Not only that, but it’s also been proven that it can indeed turn a corner. So well, in fact, that it can lap the “Green Hell” in under 7:20 seconds. And that’s pretty nippy for a car you can, quite literally, live in.

All yours for just £500,000.

[KairaWolf]

[size=200]Power-to-weight? Koenigsegg Regera, eat your heart out.[/size]

When Mr. Montuzo was browsing the internet (as you do), he found something that caught his eye. The Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, in Colorado, U.S.A, is one of the most dangerous rally events of all time, as it is basically a mad dash up a mountain, ending at its 14,000ft summit. What makes this so interesting is the cars that are participating. While most are relatively commonplace cars such as Focuses and the like, there are some, in the “Unlimited” class, which really are from another world. Take the 90’s Pike’s Peak Escudo. While it was based off a compact SUV, it has been enlarged from all angles. Not only that, but they strapped a ridiculously powerful V6 to it, producing nearly 1,000 brake horsepower. This sounded very tempting to Montuzo, so he gathered his fellow employees and set them to work building the fastest car they could up Pike’s Peak.

So, they replicated what “Monster” Tajima’s worst nightmare would look like. They strapped a 3 litre V6 under the bonnet of a small hatchback, and proceeded to widen the wheel arches to the point of no return. By doing this, they hoped that it would give a wide enough track to handle the enormous amount of power. And what a load of power it was. Its dual-turbocharged V6 developed 1250 brake horsepower, and over 1200 torques. That’s insane by anyone’s standards - especially from a V6. It’s also amazing as it weighs a smidgen over a tonne. That’s over 1200bhp per tonne!

It took more than four years, but they did manage to finish this arduous project. They traveled to Colorado to send it up, but it was deemed a failure. It only managed 11th place out of a possible 12 places due to the heat causing it to lose many valuable seconds. The terrain was also a big factor, as the car couldn’t put all of its power on the road. However, one plucky researcher came up with a brilliant idea. “What if we put some slicks on it and send it round the airfield track?” They did. And, in doing so, they set a new world record, coming in at 1:02.05 seconds… only three seconds slower than an F1 car. After the crowning of the insane machine, they named it the R.O.A.D Machine, or “Ridiculously Overpowered And Dangerous”.

P.S : Sorry for beating your time, Strop. :3 I’m positive that you’ll beat me with something else, though.

[KairaWolf]

[size=200]We’ll be there.[/size]

New York. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world, this is where the 2016 New York International Auto Show will be held. The city that never sleeps will continue to be such for a long time… because they’ll all be insomniacs when we arrive. Keep your eyes peeled for us, because you won’t be wanting to leave any time soon. We’ll be sure to bring our history of automobiles, as well as our latest build, which will be revealed very soon. We’ll keep you posted.