QFC48 - Genesis of Eurosport
The year is 1973. The oil crisis just happened. Europe, with its somewhat less auto-centric and smaller-engine culture - as well as a much more lax schedule on phasing out leaded gas - won’t see the same aftershock as the US had in terms of performance. However, the pendulum will swing, for a time, toward smaller engines - not only because of sheer economy, but also because Italy - a large and influential country with a serious market for sportier cars - has just vastly increased the tax burden on 2-liter engines.
Faced with this cap on displacement, manufacturers wanting to produce mass-market sporty cars can take the hit in power and go after weight, or they can apply some… New-age remedies for specific power. You know, all the stuff that came into use in fighter jets in the War.
At the same time, a heresy is developing against traditional sports cars. Sure, they’re great toys, but is it really so hard to combine their sporty steering and suspension - and their lusty engines - with four to five seats (and maybe doors) and a decent luggage space? Well, it might cost and weigh more, but some companies will take the risk anyhow. After all, what customer could resist the urge to buy one car to do everything instead of different cars for duty and pleasure?
There are now many different pathways to affordably achieve driving nirvana, the “point where you are left alone with the machine and everything else disappears”… Pick your poison.
RULES
Car Model Year: 1960+.
Car Trim and Engine Variant Year: 1974.
Body: Types: Sedan, Coupe, Hatchback, Wagon allowed. Maximum wheelbase 100in/2.54m.
Convertibles: Automatic and Hidden Automatic roofs not allowed.
Convertibles will be re-balanced by boosting their prestige, as well as wiping soft tops’ comfort penalty.
Seat Count: At least 2 full seats.
Engine Variant: Displacement 2,000 cc/122ci or less.
Aspiration: Max Boost 0.6 bar/8.70 psi; Intercooler must be set to 0!
Fuel Type: Super Leaded, 93 AKI/98 RON.
Exhaust: At least a single muffler required.
Emissions Standard: WES 3 or higher.
No Racing Parts, including tires.
Approximate Cost: $14,000 or less
Techpool: $30M (Your value is the sum of the 2 underscored values below; keep that below $30M)
Style Guide:
Make sure your car has lights (headlights, taillights, turn signals), wipers, side mirrors - that is, make sure it looks like a car that could exist.
You are not required to hook up every light properly with automation’s lighting feature.
Do not make the car look like something it isn’t, either via fixtures or advanced trim settings. If you lose the roof, use ATS to raise the suspension by 10 whole inches, or somehow manage to have your car only have 2 visible doors - you’re out.
The above point applies especially to making “fake” convertibles.
PRIORITIES
Drivability
No doubt, some drivers like a more fighty car - but fundamentally, dead sports car drivers don’t pay and are bad for PR. Your joyful drive of a car ought to also be controllable.
La dolce vita gets sour in a hurry if you run out of cash. In Europe, the hallmark of a successful small sports sedan or sports car is being able to offer all the excitement of rival offerings at a lower price. “Maxing out the budget” will bite you hard in this challenge, so do so only if you’re convinced it’ll put you over.
This should be self-explanatory. After engaging in the sugar-high rush that is driving a sporty Euro car, you have to be able to look back at it and feel just as good. Don’t make a car that would give its owner “Post-run clarity”.
Practicality
Back in the olden days, it was just accepted that buying a sports car meant buying a toy and accepting the losses in usability. Now, though, as the cars and engines get more substantial and expensive - and as family sedans get access to those same engines - the question of: “Can I have it both ways?” really bubbles to the surface.
You need proper sports credentials in order to be taken seriously; a 17-second 0-60 or tires borrowed from a bicycle may no longer be sufficient. Note that for this stat, having very good handling OR very good speed/acceleration will get you 75% or so of the way there.
Part of feeling good about your frivolous purchase of a fast car is being able to feel good about people’s opinions of it. You want people to admire you and your car, to whistle enviously as you pass by. I’M BETTER THAN YOU ALL, DAMMIT!
The price of gas is rising - and it’s never pleasant to shell out on repairs, especially in this segment where you already pay in other ways for performance. Fuel economy and repair costs will be important.
Expanding on that which was said in the Drivability section: drivers do prefer their cars to feel alive, responsive, light on their feet. The Alpine hills are no place for a Dodge Charger.
Safety
In the far-away land of the US, they’re contemplating banning drop-tops because they’re unsafe. But we are not in the US, and we don’t care as much. Still, the less bones broken on a joyride gone wrong, the better.
In the far-away land of Japan, they’re building cars that don’t have dozens of defects on average from the factory. But we are not in Japan… You see where this is going. Dependability, especially for a weekend car, is not as important - but it’s a nice bonus.
The cheaper the car, the younger the target audience - and in this case, we are still selling to mortal men. Nonetheless, car companies that eradicate their customers’ spines tend not to last all that long.
INSPIRATIONS
MGB
BMW 2002
Fiat X1/9
Lancia Fulvia
Triumph Dolomite Sprint
Golf GTI
Chevrolet Cosworth Vega
Ford Escort 1600 RS
SUBMISSIONS AND DEADLINES
Submissions Open: 09/14/2024 11:59 PM CST
Submissions Close: 09/21/2024 11:59 PM CST
All-reviews-out Commitment: 09/28/2024 11:59 PM CST
Extensions: None - not even if the openbeta starts.
Name Convention: QFC48 - [yourname] as the Engine Family and Car Model name.
Engine Variant and Car Trim are free.
Submission Method: DM your .car file to me on this forum; Make a reply on this forum post with at least one picture of the car.
Resubmissions: Unlimited until the deadline, provided the same DM thread is used. Note that I will use the last resubmit - even if you introduce an illegal part that a previous resubmit didn’t have.
