QFC50 - Pocket Rocket Man
The world did not end with Y2K. The nerds did their jobs and life continued without a hitch. However, a different tragedy did occur: A dark age for rear-drive sports coupes. The Supra was dead; the Camaro was dead, partially replaced by a competent but boring Australian 2-door sedan; the Mustang lay languishing as an old stick-axle dog; the 300ZX and RX-7 both died and were replaced by downmarket alternatives.
The reality was, though, that these cars had to fail: They offered only somewhat remarkable performance with very remarkable compromise. The rooflines were low, the ride was harsh, cargo room was often compromised - and while some of those clung to reasonable prices, service and upkeep could be expensive. The segment that once housed the populist “pony car” niche had become hard to access - a trend that would later continue when the class was revitalized, with an arms race extending to the top of the performance genre.
And so it came to pass that a different kind of car took up the mantle of “people’s fast car” - the front-drive sports compact. Or, if you’re European, the hot hatch specifically. Either way - those cars were based on modern and contemporary cars in the same compact segment that modern budget buyers dwelt in. None of the ostentatious attention-seeking (okay, maybe a little); none of the outdated underpinnings; all of the modern conveniences; and a turbo, or a V6, or something of that nature to spice things up.
In 2006, a Mustang GT lost to a Golf GTI and a Cobalt SS - both its inferiors by 100 horses - around the high-speed VIR course. The Mazdaspeed3 was captivating the same hearts and minds that had Lamborghini posters hanging. The age of the sports compact had arrived.
RULES
Car Model Year: 2000+.
Car Trim and Engine Variant Year: 2006 only.
Body: Types: Sedan, Coupe, Hatchback, Wagon, People Carrier allowed.
Wheelbase: 2.55 - 2.75 m (100.4 - 108.3 in).
Drivetrain Layout: Front Transverse only - UNLESS you have a Boxer engine, in which case Front Longitudinal only.
Convertibles: Prohibited to streamline judging.
Seat Count: At least 2 rows with at least 2 seats each. “+2/+3” seats on rear row allowed.
Drive Type: FWD is free;
AWD of any kind adds $2,000 to approximate cost;
RWD Prohibited entirely.
Aerodynamics: No positive downforce - that is, both the front and rear downforce in the Performance menu must not be positive, and the lines in the Downforce graph must not be pointing up.
Fuel Type: Premium Unleaded, 90 AKI/95 RON.
Exhaust: At least a single muffler required.
Emissions Standard: WES 9 or higher.
No Racing Parts, including tires.
Approximate Cost: $25,000 or less
Techpool: $50M or less (Your value is the sum of the 2 underscored values below; keep that below $50M)
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, or use ATS to raise the suspension by 10 whole inches - you’re out. Tasteful ATS adjustments, however, are allowed.
The above point applies especially to making “fake” convertibles - especially given this challenge doesn’t allow real ones.
PRIORITIES
Looks
Perception is reality. Put your best foot forward. Rasslin’ is still real to me, dammit!
You get the point. In order to even be considered by the discerning and emotional audience that are car enthusiasts, a sports compact must look good and it must look right. What that means is purposeful, non-boring design, and a degree period-correctness.
Since this is a QFC, I obviously won’t be inspecting tiny things like the number and sizing of your windshield washer nozzles. Just make sure that the car looks like a 2000s sports compact car and that you like the way it looks.
Sportiness
What’s as important to a hot car as looking good? Not many things, but the e-brake mating ritual, The peel into first out of reverse, and the swerve between semis and seniors all come to mind. A sports compact cannot under any circumstances turn out to be a pig.
Purchase Price
In any segment that isn’t Rolls Royce, price is a factor. And in a segment like “non-luxury compact cars”, it’s a big one - the desire to drive fast tends to magically shink your wallet, not grow it.
Prestige
While many of these cars are derivatives of everyday grocery getters, they should not act as if they’re nothing more than that. Quality, distinction and thorough engineering show that the customer is cared for and isn’t being sold something bland and unexceptional.
Drivability
Since a hot hatch or sedan is driven everywhere, it needs to be good to its owner. Machismo only gets you so far, and if the car is a bothersome handful, sooner or later you’ll renounce your folly and sulk on back to the car lot to trade your washboard in for a mildly well-equipped Honda Civic.
Reliability
Once you’ve blown all your money on a fancy new pocket rocket, the last thing you want is for it to fail to bring you to work. This stat isn’t a 3-star only because I expect a healthy average in the first place - but make no mistake, building a stereotypical Alfa Romeo may well be betting on bad odds.
Running Costs
You are not building true rally homologation; nor a GT3 car; nor a Ferrari Daytona. A car that you can’t afford to drive makes no sense to own in this segment, so take care in noticing how much it drinks and how easy it is to keep drinking.
Performance
Gone are the days of the twin-cam GTI or CRX being sporty enough: twin-cams and even direct injection are common now. Nay, if you want any respect or cred, you might need more cylinders, forced induction, or sky-high revs.
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Safety
Granted, the target audience for these cars is not that concerned for their own well-being - but their parents and partners still are, and in some cases they control their funds. Deathtraps may be at a disadvantage in 2006 AD.
Practicality
As always, more space and more usability are welcome when your car’s a pocket rocket - but at the same time, we’re talking youngsters here. They’ll squeeze 10 of themselves into a 4-seater for fun.
Comfort
As with drivability, every macho has his (or her) limit. Comfort isn’t the greatest of priorities, but it may be appreciated in the era of compact-car IRS and the upmarket tour de force that all Golfs past Mk IV have been.
Environmental Resistance
As stated to death in this brief, of the appeal of modern sports compacts is that they fulfill the responsibilities of normal cars. Not least among them is staying in one piece and good shape at least until the owner elects to resell.
INSPIRATIONS
Volkswagen Golf GTI
Saturn ION Red Line
Ford Focus ST
RenaultSport Megane
Mazdaspeed 3
Subaru WRX
Honda Civic Type R
Chevrolet Malibu SS
Dodge Caliber SRT4
Opel Zafira OPC
Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
Seat Leon Cupra
SUBMISSIONS AND DEADLINES
Submissions Open: 10/31/2024 11:59 PM CST
Submissions Close: 11/08/2024 11:59 PM CST
All-reviews-out Commitment: 11/14/2024 11:59 PM CST
Extensions: None - not even if the openbeta starts.
Name Convention: QFC50 - [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.
NOTICE OF INTENT
The above rules, priorities and have been laid out to produce entrants that reflect the landscape of midmarket compact (C-seg) performance in the mid-2000s, with limited but legitimate leeway to introduce lower-D-segment size or upmarket aspects and less-than-meta body styles. I invite discussion during the deliberation period on whether anything should be changed and whether any errors, loopholes or abuse opportunities exist in the above rules. Should there be any question or suggestion on the rules or stylistic guidelines, it may be delivered either in private (DMs) or in public (This thread) in a respectful manner.
10/30/2024: Reduced both upper and lower wheelbase bound by 0.05m; Swapped priorities for running costs and prestige
10/31/2024: Added rule on downforce; extra two inspirations
11/07/2024: Extra day till deadline
