Hi there, and welcome to the Peregrine Motors thread!
Peregrine is a car company based in Daytona Beach, Florida, specializing in cars with uncompromising performance and innovative features, yet with plenty of consideration for everyday usability.
Starting things off, we have the 1989 Peregrine VTS. At the time it was new, this was one of the most technologically advanced cars in the world. Designed from the ground up as a track car that could be used on the road, it was renowned for its truly awe-inspiring handling as well as its comfortable interior (even though the actual ride was still rough thanks to its stiff suspension). Even with such a nice interior, the car’s liberal usage of exotic and lightweight materials throughout its construction means that it tips the scales at just 3,047 pounds.
However, the light weight is only partly responsible for the handling. Underneath the gorgeous exterior lies the heart of a Group C racer. Double wishbone suspension front and rear reduces body roll to nearly zero, while a Group C-derived underbody sucks the car to the ground without creating excessive drag. Under the engine cover sits a longitudinally-mounted twin-turbo V6 good for 450 horsepower, mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The engine is designed to make most of its power higher in the RPM range, so while the VTS isn’t very quick off the line, it more than makes up for that once it gets up to speed. In fact, a new, bone-stock VTS set a Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record of 7 minutes and 29 seconds, a time that would take decades to beat.
Technological innovations include a digital center screen with a lap timer, Peregrine All-Claw all-wheel drive, and a beautiful digital instrument cluster with only the info you need to go fast and not much more.
Detail highlights
The Peregrine VTS features an unrivaled level of detail covering every square inch. Just some highlights:
Cast aluminum stalks with beveled lettering
Huge door pockets with dedicated bottle holders
Shifter offset towards wheel for shorter shifting times
A Peregrine badge on the passenger side of the dash
Beautiful three-tone interior with liberal usage of body-color materials
Sun visors that match the door card designs
Fully lined roof
Two dome lights and a map light between the seats for night drives where a map is needed
Cast aluminum interior door handles
Washer jets for the windshield
Peregrine Race Switch Pack - ignition and starter switches near the dash-mounted keyhole for a racecar-like feel. With the car in neutral and the handbrake up, you simply insert the key, turn it to “ACC,” flip the ignition switch, and hold the starter switch until you hear the powerful twin-turbo V6 fire up.
Screenshots Interior - item descriptions in lower right
It’s a 2.8-liter V6 that makes 301.8 lb-ft of torque at 7,200 RPM. All the power is up high in this car, which is why it takes a while to get going. That and the fact that it only has 5 gears since that’s the max for 1989.
In Automation, the 0-60 time is 5.7 seconds, but in Beam I’ve been able to get that into the low 5s/high 4s by letting the clutch out slowly to keep the engine at peak power. Top speed in Beam is 202 mph, but just barely. It’s limited by gearing otherwise 5th gear would be too long to be usable on a track.
If the VTS was made in 4.24 (as I am expecting), then it has since been rendered obsolete by the arrival of 4.27 - but considering how detailed it is, it deserves a re-imagining for the new game build, which is now in its stable release phase.
Been thinking about this. I’d love to make a remaster with a few adjustments, but at least a few of the mods the original VTS uses are incompatible with UE4.27 so wouldn’t work. Would be a fun project though
Now here’s my latest project: the 2025 Peregrine Firehawk! 251 horsepower. 2,396 pounds. Supercar-level thrills for $58,000.
The Firehawk was designed as a last hurrah for the affordable internal-combustion-engine sports car. With Peregrine looking to electrify its range slowly but surely, the company decided to put together a lightweight, highly-agile track car with a back-to-basics approach and a raw, visceral driving experience.
This unique feel is a result of the near-total lack of electronics, driver aids or anything at all to complicate the driving experience. In a world where most cars come standard with lane keep assist, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and even the ability to drive themselves in many situations, the Firehawk has none of that. Forget Autopilot; this car doesn’t even have traction control or stability control, and the ABS is only there to help high-speed braking. The floorpans aren’t even carpeted - they’re bare metal with removable floormats. And of course, there’s the interior’s central element: a 6-speed manual shifter mounted on an arm running through the entire cabin, underneath which is an exposed shift linkage.
This extreme amount of weight-saving permeates the entire car, with its partial carbon fiber monocoque construction and aluminum body panels serving to save crucial pounds and improve the power-to-weight ratio and - more importantly for a car like this - handling. Speaking of handling, the Firehawk packs a 251-horsepower 1.6L boxer 6 - an engine layout chosen for its low center of gravity, light weight and potential for high power density. This engine powers the rear wheels only, while the grip is managed by innovative pushrod front and rear suspension derived from Peregrine’s racing efforts. This, combined with the wide and grippy tires, the low weight and the precisely-balanced power curve, means the Firehawk is one of the best-handling cars around.
I might post some WIP pics later
