Wentworth Sports Donnington
1962 Reutlinger Blackadder 1300
The late 1950s were a rough time for Reutlinger AG, especially with the divide between East and West Germany and an economy not oriented toward Luxury Coupes, amongst the many failures of the company at the time was the original 1959 Reutlinger Blackadder, of which only ~150 of the 435 produced were sold. So, in a last-ditch effort to curtail bankruptcy, Reutlinger took inspiration from the growing lightweight coupe market and decided to try to salvage the project by modifying the remaining unsold stock. As a result, the car was retrofitted to utilize their smaller 1300cc engine from the small car line as opposed to the bulky and costly 3.2L V8 originally packed into the car. Pairing this with the removal of several luxury accommodations, Reutlinger reintroduced the Blackadder as the Blackadder 1300 in 1962, and the significant price difference worked wonders. The Blackadder 1300 sold extremely well at nearly half the price of the original and marked a very strange period in history where a full-size upmarket sports car was retrofitted to be a pseudo lightweight coupe and completely renewed the brand image of Reutlinger. And surprisingly enough, despite the size of the car it still managed a respectable 0-60 of 10.7 seconds and be competitive on the track at a cool 819KG, a nice economical 22.5 mpg (estimated) average also helped boost the car’s practicality angle. Overall, this car’s success for the company was so influential that it swayed the design directive of Reutlinger to the point where they invested much more into developing their Inline 4 division and shifted away entirely from their V8s. The Blackadder went on to be produced for a couple generations up until 1974 when the Oil Crisis made Reutlinger shift production to more practical family/executive oriented cars, but it’s story and execution remain iconic to this day and are an integral part of the history of Reutlinger AG.
was a bit lazy finishing the ad for this oops
Back in the 50s Revuelto came out with the Castanya MM for the millie monti. Although it wasn’t a home run out of the bat it proved itself to be decent enough as a race car. Few years later Revuelto needed something new and hip for the younger crowd and since there was a trend for small nimble roadsters they threw their hat into the ring with the Revuelto Rivulet. The word Rivulet means a small river which aptly fits this car.
The styling was all about making it look as smooth as possible utilizing pop up headlights to give an appearance that it’s moving at a standstill. The engine is the 1.4 liter Revuelto I4 tuned for high rpm and for 100hp though that was easy to make since they used their 2.0 liter I6 and just removed two of the cylinders to instead be straight 4 with aluminium heads, fitting for this type of vehicle.
Power is good but for the mountain passes of the french riviera you need to make it light and nimble and to get it to 600kg some compromises had to be made. The body panels are made out of fiberglass to keep it on that figure and with a comprehensive weight loss program this car was crazy quick for '62.
It doesn’t have an airbag, just don’t crash alright?
Specs
IVM is a lightweight sports car specialist based in Inverness, Scotland. The Medusa was their first ‘mass’ produced car, started in 1958. The S3 or Series 3 began in 1962 and lasted till 1967. The 1800EP ‘Enhanced Performance’ was the top of the line model, fitted with larger brakes, larger tires and revised visuals. It can do 0-100 km/h in 7.5-7.6 seconds. I can’t remember the exact number
Fun fact: IVM has an obsession with naming their cars after mythical creatures, and this is one of them.
round now closed. Additional submissions from:
@moroza
@superbiirdd
@sutarttt
@Cyder0719
@Dog959
@bang6111
@Capri78
Ayyy, can’t wait for results!
Just two rule breaks.
@YelloLight Malta
Tyres were 65 profile, the minimum was 70.
@lilphilyiv 1962 Seminole Seventeen
Fuel used was 100RON, maximum was 95RON
Aww man, I didn’t understanded about the imperial measurement, so yeah. Better luck for me in next time.
Am I missing something? Ultimate 95 AKI with an octane of 94.6 is 100 RON? Do you have a conversion table so I dont make this mistake again?
The game doesn’t really work like that, you chose to make it run on 100RON. When you then use fuel mapping and timing to make it run on lower it makes the car a lot more reliable than it otherwise would be.
Awesome, Thanks for explaining that. I’ll take that new tid-bit into my next challenge!
First a little housekeeping, this has taken longer than I wanted for a QFC due to the game clearly not playing nicely unless you have an nvidia gpu. I can open three cars and then on the fourth it crashes unreal to the desktop. So I have had to take plenty of images and notes for each car. The reviews are on the shorter side too, I can’t really compare the cars in a massively granular way at the component level in the confines of a QFC.
Reviews
MT - 1800 OFFY TUNE @HyperMud
Some of the design is a little strange, not a fan of the bonnet vents or the massive cut-out for the registration plate. Sportiness and driveability on the low end, worst reliability. The purchase price is decent enough but this was the least important stat.
Wentworth Sports Donnington @Dog959
Simple enough design, but overall it works nicely. The fixtures used do fit the body lines with no issues. The sportiness is the lowest here, and far too low for what is required. It does have the most comfort but this is much less a priority than being sporty. The purchase price and svc cost aren’t bad however.
Hayon Arrière @George
Totally the wrong body if I’m honest, I wanted small roadsters not unusually early hatchbacks. Driveability is middle of the road, sportiness is on the lower end. Reliability isn’t too bad. The purchase price is just too high. The car is also overly powerful for what it is trying to be. It’s like a group B rally car twenty years too early.
Miller E14 Stinger @sutarttt
Like the Hayon this is the wrong car, the power level is at least more reasonable. The front lights don’t fit the body very well, the rear lights are alright with the centre rear grille fitting in ok too. The sportiness is quite strong, driveability is middle pack, The comfort is on the stronger side of the entries. Purchase price is full budget and the svc cost is the highest here.
Izuka Zippy 1500 @Capri78
Love the design of this, it’s perhaps a bit more American boulevard cruiser than i wanted but i think it’s really great. If the sportiness hadn’t been so low the design would have carried this entry further. The driveability and Reliability are very good, the reliability being the best here.
Soleil Piorun @Rise_Comics
Th design of this mid-engined sports coupe is a little difficult in places. Overall it works well enough for the shape, the tail lights are far too big, the chrome side trim into a repeater doesn’t work due to how pulled out the arches are.
The purchase price is maxed out, svc is quite high too. Sportiness is strictly central, driveability however is quite strong.
Reutlinger Blackadder 1300 @Cyder0719
Sportiness and driveability are lower than the previous car, however the Reutlinger basically costs nothing to buy or run. It is a tad on the low power side though. The design, while very slight does work very well. Everything that is there is fitting exactly to the type of small roadster this is trying to be. My only complaint would be the use of a recessed registration plate holder, just placing it onto the bumper or boot lid would fit better.
Mayster Triumf S1 1.8 Roadster @AndiD
The design is weirdly proportioned, the rear being very cut-off. The headlights don’t seem to fit where they want to be very well either.
we are in the higher ends of the sportiness now, with very strong driveability and reliability for the Mayster entry. The price and svc cost are very strong, almost the cheapest here.
AMS Albatross 1.6 @abg7
The first car to edge over 40 sportiness. The driveability is high, but the AMS is let down by it’s reliability and maxing out the budget.
The design is a more modern take with a aerodynamic body with pop-up lights. The lights do seem a bit small and far apart giving the car a “sleepy” appearance.
Corvin Roadster @wafuq
The design is again very aerodynamic and modern in it’s execution. The rear with it’s lozenge shaped lights inset into the body and the front bumper flowing into the almost hidden indicators works well in my opinion.
The sportiness is very strong, driveability is very much not however. Reliability isn’t the Corvin’s strong point either. Luckily it’s purchase price and svc cost help it out.
Revuelto Rivulet @bang6111
At it’s most basic, the design of the Revuelto is the AMS but all of it just works so much better. The rear shape with the lights being inset into a black section works especially well.
The sportiness and driveability are very much tied with the AMS entry too, the Revuelto winning on massively improved reliability, a lower price and lower svc cost too.
IVM Medusa S3 1800EP @superbiirdd
the design is the most “classic” of the entries, it looks much more mid fifties than 1962. It is overall a good look, i personally like the elements used. Only thing that stands out to me is the vents on the top of the wings, maybe the headlights could flow with the body too.
Driveability is the highest here, the reliability is also good. With more comfort this could have jumped another place higher. Service costs are the lowest here too.
F&N Adder GT1600 @Ananas
some of the design is a little “messy”, lose the little lights under the front indicators and the tail lights could be incorporated in the shape a bit better. Overall however it works ok and nothing is too egregiously out of place.
The comfort is genuinely painful, the F&N does costs very little however with the lowest price by quite a margin. This being achieved with essentially no interior.
Sportiness, driveability and reliability are high, service costs are very much low.
Nordwagen Loki S4 @moroza
The Nordwagen is verging onto the road racer with it’s power level. It cannot be beaten on what is the most important stat though with an insurmountable sportiness level. Driveability could do with being stronger. The purchase price and svc costs are pushing the boundaries too.
The design is very much a strong point too, the Nordwagen signature tail lights and front grille design fit the body very well. The centre chrome strip running through the vents looks great.
Thanks for hosting. I really enjoyed designing my car.
It’s funny how many of us chose the Lotus Elan as inspiration, even though it had barely existed in 1962.
In the double hood vents defense we had to have a cold scoop for the DCOE and the outlet vent is do to the engine bay overheating on longer road test resulting in blistered paint on the bonnet.
We do concede that the plate cut out wasn’t the coolest option though.
That’s maybe because this car was first introduced in 1958 lol.
It’s part of the ‘Enhanced Performance’ trim. And it is a bit of an afterthought
So satisfied with the result. Didn’t even think I would make it to third. Building a car older than 1985 never been my strong suit, so this is very rewarding.
Thanks for hosting great challenge, really had fun with this!
RIP hatchbacks
Mildly unexpected but honored!
The winning car, for anyone interested
I have an idea but not the time for QFC75, since it’ll coincide with CW9. @Ananas It’s yours.
