In this QFC, you will be building 2-door pony cars from the mid-2000s. With this in mind, trim and variant years must be between 2003 and 2006 inclusive (with the variant year also not being newer than the trim year). Also, model and family names must be “QFC3 - (your forum username)”; otherwise, your entry will be ignored. Interiors are optional.
Rules For This Round
Must be a 2-door coupe (not convertible) with 2+2 seating (2 full seats in the front row, +2 seating in the rear row).
Wheelbase between 2.50m and 2.90m inclusive (both of these are hard limits).
A 3-way catalytic converter of some kind required. Therefore, you must use 91 RON, 95 RON or 98 RON unleaded fuel. Please note that using 98 RON will incur a slight penalty.
At least Standard 00s safety required. (Exception: trims made before 2005 may use Standard 90s safety.)
Longitudinal front-engined and RWD only; manual transmission heavily preferred.
V8 engines are heavily preferred; natural aspiration required.
No V16s.
Major Priorities
Sportiness - Pony cars have to be fast, don’t they? Oh, and since this is the 21st century, their handling and braking will also be placed under scrutiny - but straight-line pace still takes precedence.
Moderate Priorities
Drivability - Pony cars also have to handle the daily commute, and not be too difficult to drive.
Affordability - The absolute maximum price is $50k, so you can use as much of it as you like - just make sure that if you actually use most (or all) of your budget, it’s for a very good reason.
Comfort - We’re not expecting Bentley levels of comfort, but nobody wants to drive a torture chamber.
Minor Priorities
Reliability - Modern pony cars are much more reliable than their 60s and 70s counterparts, but they should still start up first time, every time.
Fuel economy and other running costs - This class of car was not known for great gas mileage or servicing costs, but every last dollar saved through some extra miles per gallon or a lower service bill is helpful.
Safety - A safer car is generally preferable, all other things being equal.
Deadline
Please submit your entries via DM (not Discord) no later than 12:00 AM EST (UTC-5) on Wednesday, June 15th, 2022.
Aesthetic Inspirations
The following are examples of 2-door pony/muscle cars that were either in production or first revealed in concept form during this time period. Please note that although you can make a Euro-styled entry, an American-styled one will still be favored.
Wheelbase should start from 2.50 m. After all, the 4th Gen Mustang (that is an inspiration for this round) has a WB of 2.57 m.
98 RON should be allowed - after all, every LS engine (Pontiac, Camaro, Firebird) requires US premium, which is 91 AKI/96 RON, and in states that sell 93 instead of 91, it (and not midgrade/89) must be used.
Standard 90s safety should be allowed. After all, Std 00s is not available for 2003-2004 cars, forcing them to use Advanced 00s.
I will not comment on the heavy V8/manual preference because those are the muscle car market’s Holy Grail.
With that in mind, I have chosen to reduce the minimum wheelbase limit to 2.50m exactly, and allow the use of 98 RON super unleaded (but with a slight penalty). In addition, trims made in 2003 or 2004 may use standard 90s safety. Speaking of safety, I have added it to the list of priorities, but it won’t be too important.
Euro-style muscle cars will be accepted, but American-style entries are preferable.
There have not been too many complaints or suggestions from others in the past 12 hours, so it’s safe to say that everyone is satisfied with the rule set, which means that…
Submissions are now open!
The rules are set.
Also, the deadline has been extended to 12:00 AM EST (UTC-5) on Wednesday, June 15th, 2022.
500hp of power on a modern V8 design combined with a lot of agility for a car of its class. The good news is that it won’t break your bank account if you are looking for some muscle. A lot of muscle.
Firmly entrenched in the “boxy” days of FMC of the 2000’s, the Contester Five-Six is equipped with a SOHC 5.6L 90deg V8. The internals are partially-forged on this motor, allowing a redline of 6800RPM. As you can see, even though it likes to rev, torque is available across the entire powerband, by way of VVL and VVT technologies. The engine is also incredibly efficient, netting over 23MPG at cruise.
Presenting, the Fukuro Umada!
What truly makes a pony car? Is it square edges? Is it a specific number of cylinders? No, says Fukuro- anything can be a pony car if it’s fast, makes a lot of power, sounds great and is fun to drive. Move over dinosaurs, here comes the pony car of the future.
First released in 2001, the Onizuka was Mayflower’s attempt at making a mature and business-like pony car. Under its smooth and anonymous-looking skin lies a 6.0l overhead valve V8 that produced 400hp. As they say, looks can be deceiving. Its new-fangled “independent rear suspension” was developed with assistance from Hinode Motors Corporation under the lead of engineer Onizuka whom the engineers at Mayflower consider to be a “Great Teacher”. Thus, the car was named in his honour.
In 2004, the high-performance Z8 was released to the public. Externally, there were a few subtle differences including the front lip, slightly larger rear wing, larger wheels, and the hood vents. However, all these modifications were necessary to ensure that the car can handle the might of a larger engine, which is capable of pushing the Z8 to a(n electronically limited) top speed of 186 mph. The car was well-praised for its cornering capabilities, though they are hampered by its large size and weight.
The Onizuka was eventually discontinued in 2006, proving to be less popular than other retro-styled offerings. As one reviewer put it, it was “more Deutschland than Detroit. Djapanese, even.”
Due to a recent game update, submissions have been suspended. To account for this, the deadline has been extended by an as yet undetermined amount, and anyone who has submitted their entry prior to the update may make one (1) resubmission.
Edit: the update has not broken any cars yet. I have extended the deadline by 12 hours to account for anyone who may still have to revise their entries in the wake of associated stat changes. Submissions are once again open.
In creating the new Cornell Motors Cherubin at CMDS America, Palm Beach, CA, designers knew they had a rich pony and muscle car heritage to draw from. There was also an immense pressure and obligation to get things right. "While designing and developing the bodywork of the car," recounts Robert Lavigne, principle exterior designer, "we brought in an actual 1971 Cornell Motors Cherubin ST-425. For me, that car symbolizes the most passionate era of American muscle car design."
“We wanted the concept car,” he continued, “to invoke all the memories of what a traditional muscle car would look in the modern era – from the classic soda-bottle shape to the ‘402’ decal, representing the cubic inch displacement of the modern, 440 horsepower engine. We wanted to stay pure, with simple, minimal linework that puts visual emphasis in all the right places.”
Just to clarify, the following users submitted their entries before the latest big patch and may revise and resubmit their entry if they wish to do so:
