Oh my gosh. I’m sorry but the Swift is so damn cute!
It’s like a puppy with wheels.
Also, dayum, 81 drivability, nice!
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Oh wow, another classic Lancer Evo… You will take this fight with Dimension’s SSP Rift all the way to the modern ages yeah? 
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Allowing KHT to tune the Knight must surely have been one of the best decisions that Storm has ever made. Should they do the same thing with the two-seat, mid-engined Gunslinger?
2001
Luke’s first designs ended up in the trash can. Unappealing, bland, boring.
However, he had one design that one of the younger designers thought was ‘radical’ in the form of the Storm Mirage.
Initially designed as a comfortable family sedan, Luke decided what it really needed was a unique design feature and more horsepower.
The split-covered headlights were backed up with fully-legal lower lamps, with servo-driven covers to reduce the chances of a cover failing to open.
Power was supplied by the trusty 3 liter AluStar V6, fed into a new transmission, the six-speed ShiftTronic Sequential gearbox, bolted to a new revision of the SymTrak unit, then tuned for 360 horsepower.
While the car was unusual, it got approval from a target market of young adults wanting a cool car, but needing more room than the average compact, and wanting more power to be able to have fun.
Having a sequential gearbox made the Mirage unnaturally quick, with Luke having tuned the transmissions for quick shifts. While some purists screamed for a stick shift, others embraced the electronic-shifting transmission, with shifts faster than even Luke could do with a stick.
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The Mirage is a great sports sedan for the new millennium! I’d be looking at well-cared-for used examples if it existed in real life.
Breaking Continuity here for a moment because of this.
New Storm Excel GT runs Nurburgring faster than Saminda C2000R with its eyes closed. Sure, it’s a sedan, but it ran with all four seats and the base grade radio installed.
Because of this, exactly 2000 Storm Excel GT RWD Lava Hatches will be built. These monsterous 4-door hatchbacks will be designed with all the same underpinnings as the Excel GT Sedan.
Both cars will be available with, and without, ventilated hoods.
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Your transmission helped you , i am sure if the C2KR with 7 speed DCT and a basic interior instead of sport would be less then 7.50 with 50 horses less , however i am impress that it’s only a 3 cylinder but i am not sure if it’s logical
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Oh, I don’t doubt that the C2KR with a 7-speed DCT would be faster. As for logical, what makes you think anything Storm Automotive does is sane, logical, or even reasonable. We made a 700+ twin-turbocharged V8 station wagon in the 80’s for crap’s sake.
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i can get 7.46 with semi-slick and 7speed DCT , if only 7sped DCT i could get 7.50 , but i got power disadvantage.
let’s see , a more extreme C2KR might happen.
EDIT : Timing for 7.52 is unofficial , the C2KR is still under development.
Mag block… What the hell?
Now y’all are just ridiculous
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That’s some mid-2000s BMW level shit.
Oh the N52 is solid. Its the N54 when things went properly downhill.
N53 is best.
2002
Realizing that the aging AluStar V6 was starting to show weaknesses in design, a few new engines were to be created. In 2000, the AluStar II was assembled and unleashed for the first time, a proud and strong 1.5L I3 with AlSi construction.
2002 would bring in the AluStar III, a 6 liter V8, designed to bring a taste of V8 fury back into the lineup.
The first car to unveil the AluStar III would also be the first car to be named after a snake, a particularly nasty tropical rattlesnake, the Cascabel.
The AluStar III V8 was tuned for 700+ horsepower, wearing twin turbochargers and packing the latest in Storm Automotive engine technology. Direct fuel injection made it possible for big engines to make big power, while using smaller amounts of gasoline.
With an all-aluminum chassis and body, the Cascabel aimed to be light, fast, and fun. As the lower-powered Mirage had proven the technology, the Cascabel was given the second batch of ShiftTronic sequential transmissions, which proved to hold up well to the surge of power from the aggressive turbocharged V8.
The design philosophy of the Cascabel, as laid out by Luke, was simple:
“It is the supercar on a shoe-string budget. For a little under $60,000, you get a car that is quick enough to have a lot of fun, yet not so extreme that you can’t take it anywhere. Further revisions of this particular chassis line aren’t guaranteed, but I feel that it meets, and to some degree exceeds, the general expectations. Undoubtedly, some people would want us to sacrifice AWD in favor of RWD, but that is not going to happen in this car.”
Despite a Nordschleife time of 7:43.49 seconds, the Cascabel sold well, proving to be a budget super-car that people could actually afford to drive, and yet was also drivable enough to be a car people seriously considered for their weekend track warrior.
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That new direct-injected V8 engine could not have found a better home! What models will you show to us next?
2002
For those not quite ready to leave their mid-engines behind to go fast, for the V6 purists out there, and for those holding out for the Gunslinger to receive another refresh, Storm Automotive updated the AluStar engine line with the all AlSi constructed AluStar IV. At a smidge over 4.2 liters, the bigger engine was designed first and foremost to fit in the Gunslinger. Specifically, a little snugly.
The Gunslinger was updated in the nicest fashion possible, stepping it up from bare-budget sports-car to a low-budget mid-engine mild super-car. Pushrod suspension found its way into the front and rear of the car, a ShiftTronic sequential cuddled up to the AluStar IV V6, with a SymTrak Super-M output splitter on the end. This was designed to fire 72% of the power into the rear tires, avoiding a lot of the wheel-spin from the 600 horsepower engine.
With a sporty interior finished in matte-black lightweight plastics, and carefully sculpted and padded racing bucket seats as factory standard, with a full racing-grade 5 point safety harness, the Gunslinger arrived both Street Legal and Track Ready all at once. A bare-bones CD player filled in the dash, added as an attempt to appease the not-quite-so-hardcore drivers, while being light enough that the mild track-day crowd could ignore it, and easy enough to uninstall that the hardcore “Track-Day-Warriors” who claimed “Weight reduction, Bro!” could just get rid of it.
Again to save weight, the Gunslinger sticks to progressive rate springs, gas mono-tube dampers, and semi-active swaybars, keeping the weight down, but adding in a ‘track mode’ option with stiffened swaybars and a more aggressive track handling. 17 inch magnesium rims held the 215mm wide front and 285mm wide rear tires, wrapped in a somewhat standard-specification sports tire. Rounding out the underside of the car were the 6 piston calipers up front and 4 piston calipers out back, grabbing vented discs to haul the Gunslinger to a stop in 28.83 meters without fading.
The Gunslinger had a unique performance package, with active aerodynamics, exhaust muffler bypass valves, active cooling flaps, and a fully clad undertray to ensure the Gunslinger stayed on the track, kept its cool, maintained nearly 24 MPG, and sounded awesome. Being the first car with active aerodynamics, you could be forgiven for thinking it was merely a fancy way of adjusting the rear wings on the fly, but it was really a lot more than just that. The flaps in front of the wing could open up, acting as an air-brake, but also could open independantly for enhanced high-speed cornering. The cooling flaps, situated under the lower rear wing, opened up and provided additional downforce at high speeds, taking advantage of the ram-air effect from the intake scoops to shove air through the radiator. Under heavy braking, the upper wing side could tip upward, up to an additional 10 degrees of angle, to aid in braking.
The exhaust was again redirected to the sides, exiting ahead of the rear drive wheels, mostly for stylistic purposes. The exhaust bypass valves would allow for increased exhaust outflow, at the cost of increased noise. A disclaimer was printed and adhered to the driver’s side sun-visor, warning the driver that the valves existed, and that if used irresponsibly, the amount of noise would rather quickly attract unwanted attention.
With a pricetag of $42,560, the Gunslinger maintained the inexpensive price needed to move quickly.
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2003
A Truly Global Car
Wanting to capitalize on the success of the Adventure going Global, Storm Automotive moved to create their first true Global Car. The Adventure was eventually sold everywhere in the world except the US, where it was feared the I3 would cripple the car’s chances. However, as many Americans looking at rising gas prices kept shouting for an efficient, safe, and comfortable small car, it was decided that the Storm Breeze would have to have a split trim. Why? Because Luke understood the average American doesn’t know how to drive a manual anymore, and they’d want a little more up-market trim to go with their small car, compared to the rest of the world.
So while Japan, Europe, Australia, and Britain faced the World Trim of the Breeze…
…The United States faced down the US Trim.
People in the US concerned about gas mileage flocked to the I3 powered Breeze, with 37 MPG on tap from the ShiftTronic 6 speed and 137 horsepower at their command.
Outside the US, the 38 MPG from the same 137 horsepower powerplant was delivered through a 6 speed manual transmission.
With gas prices on the rise, the Breeze sold faster than expected. It was hard for Storm Automotive to keep up with the demand, which brought up a good question: Where would Storm Automotive’s new Global Manufacturing Facility be located?
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Feeling overly creative, so here’s a little promotional teaser of what I’m working on.
Edit: One more for good measure, I think. Ought to spark interest in what I’m up to. Kinda lightly spoils things a bit, but… At this point, I don’t mind.
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Wow nice. Why not use alaska…just be different
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2004
With plans to build their new Global Production Facility up in Alaska, Storm Automotive decided they had to offset their less-than-efficient lineup with something golden. Luke had been paying attention to various car news, and realized that while he couldn’t exactly beat the Toyota Prius to market, he could compete with it on a practical basis. Luke set a simple goal: Equal city/highway mileage.
Two engine choices were brought in, the trusty AluStar II inline 3, and the new AluStar V inline 4. Both were tuned for highway economy, getting low-friction cast pistons and a fuel-sipping VVL tune.
But that only got highway economy. So Luke brought in a 60 horsepower AC induction motor, then aimed to have a 288 volt NiMH battery pack assembled into the floor-pan of the car, minimizing cabin intrusion and at the same time minimizing the loss of trunk capacity. Upon finding out that the Prius was designed to be front-wheel-drive only, Luke aimed to keep to the Storm Automotive Primary Design, that the car should be all-wheel-drive. It was also designed to be able to accept being charged externally, by just plugging in the included charging cord to any wall socket capable of providing 110 to 240 volts.
The ShiftTronic 6-speed transmission, typically used in sporty cars, was again modified to provide a more fuel-efficient shifting strategy and to also accept dual-inputs. Either power source could turn the transmission on its own, but at the same time, could both be coupled to the transmission to provide extra assistance or to allow the motor to act as a generator.
Because it was the first Hybrid made by Storm Automotive, it was heavily advertised in advance, more than their usual for cars. Both commercials kept the car highly shadowed, offering little of the car to be seen.
The first had the car sitting still, a quiet click of the ignition, and the lights coming on, with “The future of driving arrives mid year 2004” showing up at the bottom of the screen.
The second had the car in a little less shadow, driving from right to left, stopping in the middle of the screen with no engine noise to be heard. “46 MPG. And that’s just the engine. Go the Distance with the Storm Surge Hybrid Sedan.” would fade in as the car started to drive off screen, offering little of the usual view of the car, other than the dark silhouette of the Surge.
One final bit of promotional material was made, right before the car’s release, just a simple print ad in all the major car magazines.
With six different versions, it was hoped that people would be willing to accept some Hybrid power in a car that looked relatively normal. Only one car was made to run on Regular fuel, though it was accepted as reasonable given the fuel efficiency of the Surge.
Plans were drawn up for 2005, to keep the best selling versions of the Surge as well as to add in two new versions, one gas-only and one Electric only version. There was also talk and rumor of a potential AluStar V6 version of the Surge.
Some of Storm Automotive’s employees were wondering whether it was worth it, to take all of 2004 and use it to build hybrids. Luke thinks it was a great idea, but… I have a better idea…
Which Surge would you buy?
- Storm Surge 4 LE
- Storm Surge 4 PR
- Storm Surge 4 XR
- Storm Surge 3 PR
- Storm Surge 3 LE
- Storm Surge 3 XR
0 voters
Edit: I suppose I’d probably get more accurate votes if I did this, now that I think about it.
Madrias - Storm Surge.zip (88.6 KB)
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