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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
Wow nice. Why not use alaska…just be different
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?
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)
2005
Power Surge
Looking at the sales records of the Surge through 2004, Luke was able to tell exactly which cars sold best, and which didn’t. It was decided that the best four continued onward, while the two that sold the least would be dropped in favor of some new cars in the lineup. Making the cut as the most popular trim was the Surge 3 XR, unsurprising given the incredibly insane mileage despite sipping on Premium. Next best seller was the Surge 4 LE, the base-model inline 4 with a tank of good ol’ regular fuel and 46 MPG. Again, unsurprisingly, the 4 XR made the cut with brutal efficiency despite premium gas requirements, and tailing the pack of winners was the 4 PR, squeaking by just because the 4 cylinder sold one more car.
So it was decided that, despite the small popularity of the base level I3, it would be dropped, as would the dismal failure of the Surge Lineup, the 3 PR, which sold only about a dozen cars overall, making it almost a commercial failure. The good news, if there was any, is that the abundance of unwanted Surge 3 Premium Edition cars flooded the rental car market once they were marked down as a write-off.
But, we dropped two to add three. Throwing caution to the wind, it was decided to unveil two new V6 Surges, both sacrificing the 46 MPG creed set by the 2004 models in favor of power.
The 6 LE, following the other Limited Edition cars, would serve as the base model, but we listened to the public and made sure that this LE base model would drink Regular Unleaded fuel. Nearly 40 MPG was achieved, and the electric drive unit again matched the city economy to the highway, mostly let down by the heavy engine in the front. The AluStar VI was the true successor to the original AluStar, forming the same almost-three liter displacement, but switching from all aluminum to AlSi for weight and cost savings.
With a mighty 225 horsepower, the 6 LE was capable of 7.5 seconds from 0 to 60, and if given enough road and a sufficient lack of law, capable of hitting 144.6 miles per hour. Again sporting the trusty ShiftTronic sequential transmission, the 2005 Surges packed one feature not present on the 2004 models: The 2005 model-year refresh cars all came standard with the formerly-optional $500 shift paddles installed, allowing the use of manual gear changes in ‘sport’ mode. They also had an upgraded ‘eco’ mode that would attempt to make the most of the electric motor’s torque at low speeds, further boosting city economy.
Unsurprisingly, the heavier and more thirsty engine proved to make the Extended Range trim nearly pointless, but… It was decided that we had to try. Especially because this one was paired with a completely different Electric Drive Unit, swapping the measly 50 horsepower unit for our newest drive unit, packing a whopping (almost) 100 horsepower. With ‘eco’ mode enabled, the EDU would kick in and haul the Surge 6 XR up to speeds of 70 miles per hour for a range of nearly 40 miles in pure electric mode.
Like all other Extended Range trims, the 6 XR requires Premium Unleaded to squeeze the most out of the 238 horsepower V6. It also sheds unnecessary weight by dropping a seat for fuel economy, although the V6, as mentioned, is thirsty.
But, what if you wanted a car for a more civilized age? Something that breaks the reliance on that pesky fuel we all call “Gasoline.” Well, the same Electric Drive Unit used in the 6 XR found a home in the last Surge on the list, but without a companion.
Boasting a mighty 108 mile maximum range, the Surge Electric does away with any onboard engines in favor of an improved power controller designed for constant drive output without overheating, and double the battery capacity. With a battery in the floor pan, and a battery where the gas tank used to be, the Surge Electric gets more than double the electric range of the Surge 6 XR because without the weight of the V6 up front, the whole car weighs slightly less.
Sporting the same 288 volt system, and the very same 6-speed ShiftTronic transmission hooked to the big electric can as every other Surge, the Electric manages to be a little surprising. Maintaining optimal motor RPM is achieved through careful monitoring of all the available sensor data.
Zero to sixty takes 11.5 seconds, and the speed is limited to 120 MPH on the nose, but… Electric cars don’t have to run fast, do they? Plus, for an additional $7500, a “Traveler’s Package” could be installed, sacrificing a little trunk space and motor-bay space in favor of again doubling battery capacity for a maximum of 180 miles of range. Not bad for an affordable electric car, now is it?
Capable of charging on 120 or 240 volt systems, the Surge Electric can top up while you’re parked at work, or parked in your home garage. We’re working on improving relations with businesses like your local mall in an attempt to get some charging stations set up, but… That could take a while. Until then, we recommend charging on 240 volts when possible, but if 120’s all you have, it’ll take about 10 hours for the battery to charge from empty to 80%, and about another 4 hours to reach 100%. But it’s completely fine to drive around on 80% charge if you don’t need the 108 mile range.
So, which of these three would you drive?
0 voters
Hey you can’t vote on your own poll 
Also, because for some reason, I can’t seem to add a poll after finalizing the previous one…
Which 2005 Surge would you pick overall?
0 voters
I did on the last one. I picked as I would have done. But, I won’t skew the true one with my vote, the overall for 2005.
