PRIMUS GLOBUS is now on BeamNG resources! I uploaded the first three models, however, approval on that platform takes up to a week. I will inform you when they are available, and I will do frequent updates with more and more cars. Optimizing them for Beam is a pain (Light settings going wild, paints appearing white and having to reset everything, sound modulations for Diesels, adding rear pillars or having to correct grilles that suddenly poke through the headlights which they did not in Automation…
This will take many months I guess, but I will do it.
1986 was no less of a new model firework for Primus and Globus.
The Primus Urbano recieved a successor, but it was even more basic than the predecessor. Although Primus was a premium brand, they wanted to use scale effects - when a customer has a Primus as first starter car, he or she might become a faithful buyer later with more expensive cars. In addition, people having a Primus as their main car might buy another one as second or third cheap city car.
The new Urbano had no longer an avantgardistic design, it was plain and simple inside and outside, just as simple as a modern car could be, and even a lot smaller than the predecessor. On the other hand, no corners were cut too much, since a Primus can´t afford being bad in any aspect. Front disc brakes, a basic cassette, good safety, modern MPI injection. Since the Advance CE offered budget family transportation, the tiny Urbano was only a four-seater - and more for city use, although it could accomodate two adults in the rear.
For a car with an 1,0 liter engine, the performance was well above average, it was nimble and economical while offering some practicality at a low price, although the comfort was low. But this car was not built for long-distance use. There were no trim levels available, especially no fancy “Edition” models - this one did not address premium buyers, those could get an Advance GLX or GTi-16V. A few options existed, like a second mirror or better radios, armrests and a cigarette lighter. Neither automatic nor power steering were available, at least the latter was definitely not needed. The Urbano II was the last Primus / Globus to be introduced without a catalytic converter, and the only one that had none by 1986, since the Globus Intruder and Stallion recieved them with the facelift.
Primus Urbano II
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1991
LxW: 3,30 x 1,40 m
Power: 57 hp, 88 nm
0-100: 12,9 s
speed: 164 kph
cons.: 5,4 ltr regular UL
four-speed manual
price: 7190 $
Althought the Globus Traveller was a rather compact car built especially for practicality, a classic wagon was still desired - and since the end of the Globus Premier wagon with the 1982 model year, the brand had none. After the 1984 Letaran car show, the bosses of Primus and Saarland got drunk together, and the idea was born: Their Adjunkt was similar to the Primus Advance, and a wagon version was already in development, which the Advance platform didn´t really do well with.
When the Saarland Adjunkt wagon appeared in 1985, Primus followed one year later with the Solair - a standalone wagon model, which was and still is absolutely rare. The design did not change much, the car had a different front end to better blend in with the other Primus cars, that was it. Own engines and gearboxes, minor changes in the suspension fine tuning and different trim levels were all that was changed.
The base CL model recieved the 1.5 liter engine from the Advance, and it also felt like an Advance CL by using similar materials and almost identical standard features. Although the car was noticeably larger than an Advance, the passenger space was not really larger. What did stand out was the luggage space, which was impressive for something based on a compact car, but a lot of space was consumed by the larger hood, which was also neccessary for the wagon, why, will be explained later. The car actually did sell, despite being in direct competition with the Adjunkt, mostly to the existing customer base of Primus Globus. The 1.5 could be upgraded to the GL trim, but without the possibility of an automatic.
Primus Solair 1.5 CL
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1991
LxW: 4,46 x 1,69 m
Power: 82 hp, 130 nm
0-100: 12,4 s
speed: 175 kph
cons.: 7,7 ltr regular UL
five-speed manual
price: 9180 $
The next step up was the GL, just having the same benefits like it´s Advance cousin: Touch-friendly polyurethane, chrome interior door handles, rear headrests, power steering, power mirrors, central locks, even front power windows, which were not included in the Advance GL, but lacked the cloth-leather combination for the seats, the Solair had just cloth. The GL trim also added the possibility of adding an automatic transmission for the 1.8 and the 2.3D.
The Adjunkt platform with the much larger hood had one advantage: The five cylinder diesel fitted in, although it filled the engine bay and was rather difficult to service there. Diesel engines were popular among wagons, and the strong-pulling 2.3D delivered what it should, except for one thing: The consumption was not so much less than the gasoline siblings, and the difficult servicing scared fleet managers, so the diesel was rather rare in comparison, although some salesmen loved the giant trunk and travelled so many kilometers that the 2.3D paid off. Another reason for bearable sales was maybe as well the fact that Saarland offered no Diesel in their Adjunkt and in general almost no competitor at all in this segment.
Primus Solair 2.3D GL
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1991
LxW: 4,46 x 1,69 m
Power: 85 hp, 206 nm
0-100: 12,7 s
speed: 178 kph
cons.: 7,4 ltr D (regular UL)
five-speed manual
price: 10.400 $
For the same price as the 2.3D, you could trade in 1,6 liter consumption and get the 1.8 engine - more comfortable than the Diesel and also easier to service. With 96 horsepower, the Solair was performing well enough in all situations, while the GL trim offered all neccessary equipment - this Solair became the most successful in the private market, while fleets rather took the 1.5 CL or the delivery variant, the Globus Metro.
Primus Solair 1.8 GL
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1991
LxW: 4,46 x 1,69 m
Power: 96 hp, 158 nm
0-100: 11,3 s
speed: 184 kph
cons.: 9 ltr regular UL
five-speed manual
price: 10.400 $
Top of the line was the GLX trim, intended for the Gasmean market, but sold everywhere else, too. Leather interior and some plastic wood and rear power windows were premium midsize standard, and the engine was now the 2,2-liter from Globus as known in the Bravura. Since too much configurations with a foreign platform would end up chaotic, the GLX was only available as automatic. The only extra was an aircondition. Popular luxury features like CD radios and a sunroof were not possible for any Solair model. Saarland did not offer an Adjunkt overseas in Gasmea, so this car had no “half-inhouse” competitor and sold great there and quite good everywhere else.
Primus Solair GLX
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1991
LxW: 4,46 x 1,69 m
Power: 110 hp, 197 nm
0-100: 10,7 s
speed: 193 kph
cons.: 9,5 ltr regular UL
four-speed automatic
price: 11.400 $
The dated RT320 rolled into retirement, and the successor was - from a visual point of view - a lot less radical. The insane 1965 Alpha looked front engined and had a rear one, and this tradition continued with the Ares that had the engine mounted in the middle of it. It looked like an usual sports car, but it was more than that. It had the biturbo engine from the Imperator tix as well as the AWD system, and it handled a lot better than the RT320 that required a driver that knew exactly what he was doing when pushed hard.
The Ares was a lot larger than the RT320 but not more comfortable than the predecessor that was often criticized for being cramped and hard. The Ares was also more a track-tool than a daily driver, offering a firework of latest technology. Adaptive dampers, fully clad underbody, electronic traction control, four-piston vented discs.
All that in a car that looked like it had only 200 horsepower. With the service cost of a supercar (and also the performance).
On the Automation test track it came clear that the rather heavy weight of the AWD system compromised the possible lap times. The legendary, crazy Alpha hypercar in its later 1971 variant needed just 2:10,29 minutes, the RT320 turbo from 1981 clocked in at 2:14,01, and the new Ares with even more horsepower was last at 2:17,23, even if it was quite good at handling and easy for amateurs.
Despite being praised for that and an overall still impressive track performance, it was not a success. While the purchase price was not too much for what it offered, it did not look the part for what the owner had to spend, especially in the service which was absurdly expensive, since it even used heavily staggered tires despite the AWD system. The comfort was a lot worse than one might think. Despite the not-welcomened understatement, the Ares was not a total flop: The tame handling of the huge power was not the only positively outstanding thing, it also turned out to be very reliable for a supercar and offered latest safety features, even an airbag could be ordered, while crash tests showed impressive results of the structural integrity.
Primus Ares
mid engine AWD
built: 1986-1990
LxW: 4,13 x 1,78 m
Power: 315 hp, 493 nm
0-100: 4,5 s
speed: 287 kph
cons.: 11,6 ltr regular UL
five-speed manual
price: 27.700 $
The 1986 Globus offerings started with a facelifted Intruder. The sales were negatively affected by the more modern Primus Advance in export markets, but a conservative and price-sensitive clientele was still faithful to Globus´small sedan. What was pleasing these customers was the fact that the visual changes were little, although for the better, and the engines were changed as well, to those engines that mobilize most Advance and Solair - the 1.5 and 1.8 4C82MV variants.
The LE lost its three-cylinder since this was considered odd by the old-fashioned buyers, and it only sold because it was cheap, economical and surprisingly reliable. The four-cylinder offered a much better comfort and was noticeably stronger, making the Intruder LE a surprisingly agile car, at least on a straight line. The fuel consumption rose, but remained rather low overall. The 1986-1989 base model even turned out to be more reliable than before, although the complex injection system and generally more filled engine bay led to higher service cost.
Globus Intruder LE
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1989
LxW: 4,03 x 1,68 m
Power: 82 hp, 130 nm
0-100: 11,7 s
speed: 188 kph
cons.: 7,1 ltr regular UL
four-speed manual
price: 8460 $
Especially in the home market, the LS played a bigger role, and instead of getting its 2.2 liter in the new 110 horsepower variant, it was replaced with an 1.8 keeping the 96 horsepower. The small and light sedan simply did not need more than 100 horsepower to move quickly enough. In addition to that, the automatic was now electronically controlled like in the other Primus and Globus cars, the simple Intruder was the last one to get it. While the acceleration remained the same, the consumption dropped by a whole liter - making the LS an even better commuter car.
Globus Intruder LS
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1989
LxW: 4,03 x 1,68 m
Power: 96 hp, 158 nm
0-100: 11 s
speed: 193 kph
cons.: 8,9 ltr regular UL
four-speed automatic
price: 9270 $
The Stallion was criticized for its unusual design, and this resulted in more exterior changes than done to its platform donator. The car now had a conventional grille, and the headlights were still weird but not as weird as before. The taillights were changed to a more conservative design to match the Intruder more than before. The higher price was justified with a much better trim level, power steering, a fifth gear and a new cassette radio were now included.
Globus Stallion
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1989
LxW: 4,03 x 1,68 m
Power: 128 hp, 176 nm
0-100: 7,6 s
speed: 221 kph
cons.: 9,1 ltr regular UL
four-speed manual
price: 10.600 $
The Bravura recieved additional convertible variants, the SE and LE, with the latter having nothing in common with the low-level Intruder LE. Market research showed that small sporty convertibles are sought-after, and the Advance platform with the Gasmean-ized Bravura seemed perfect. The rear seats had to be deleted for the folding mechanism of the roof, so the Bravura convertible was not practical at all, but affordable for what else it offered. The SE was the comfort model, based on the LX sibling with closed roof, but with a few goodies like more fake wood trim and the Check-Mate computer instead of the analog clock, since the convertible was above the “normal” two-door in the model hierarchy. Despite the good offer, not many SE were ordered, compared to the market size: For a normal convertible, it lacked rear seats (even small ones), for a roadster, it was too generic and had only average driving dynamics and a lazy engine.
Globus Bravura SE
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1991
LxW: 4,00 x 1,62 m
Power: 110 hp, 197 nm
0-100: 10,6 s
speed: 215 kph
cons.: 8,9 ltr regular UL
four-speed automatic
price: 11.500 $
Even if the LE had the 16V engine and a sportier overall setup, it still did not strike in, although it had slightly more success than the SE. With an automatic transmission, a rather restrained styling and transverse front wheel drive, it did miss the expectations of those looking for a sports convertible.
Globus Bravura LE
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1991
LxW: 4,00 x 1,62 m
Power: 156 hp, 214 nm
0-100: 8,1 s
speed: 237 kph
cons.: 8,4 ltr regular UL
four-speed automatic
price: 15.200 $
The Phoenix models were expanded with the GT, combining the advantages of the both existing trims: It had the mighty V8 and the comfort features of the LT, but featured a manual transmission like the LS. Medium compound tires, a limited slip differential and adaptive dampers were standard on the technical side.
Visually, the GT trim added a fancy plexiglass T-top and bicolor paint in exotic colors - if ordered so, classic white/white or black/black was still possible for the GT.
This version of the Phoenix matched the buyer´s taste, and originally just planned as a nice addition, it became the most-sold trim and granted the Phoenix a second spring, and it was able to compete with more complex sports cars that costed a lot more, unless you wanted to use it in professional competitions, where the simple suspension lacked refinement that could no longer be concealed. Press reviews were positive.
The test driver hopped into the drivers seat and started up the engine. Getting moving onto the open road the driver noted that the car was easy to drive and had a good weight behind the wheel, it was decently comfortable but lacked any feeling of speed, atleast everything was robust, it felt like it would be reliable to own and it was cheap.
Arriving back at the roadside where the other cars were gathering the driver announced “It felt like a solid car, but it needs some better handling if you want to throw it about. Very high driveability, low sport, average comfort, prestige is still on the low side, highest safety, second highest reliability, it is cheap as well.” (Riley, TMCC26)
Globus Phoenix GT
Front engine RWD
built: 1986-1988
LxW: 4,33 x 1,80 m
Power: 238 hp, 392 nm
0-100: 6,3 s
speed: 277 kph
cons.: 13,2 ltr regular UL
five-speed manual
price: 17.700 $
While the first information about the new DuraTrans was leaked and it was officially confirmed to be offered in 1987, Globus offered another delivery vehicle, based on the Saarland-cousin Solair. Called Globus Metro, it was meant to serve as courier vehicle, larger and more comfortable than the spartan Ratio, more highway-suiting than the boxy Traveller. The high roof accomodated even large items, so the descision between the Express and the Metro was mainly personal taste, and while the Express used the 2.3D, the Metro had the 1.5 gasoline mounted in the engine bay - although the Diesel could be ordered, it was not common.
Globus Metro
Front engine (t) FWD
built: 1986-1991
LxW: 4,44 x 1,69 m
Power: 82 hp, 130 nm
0-100: 11,1 s
speed: 169 kph
cons.: 7,6 ltr regular UL
five-speed manual
price: 8480 $