Just a heads-up that today is October 11, currently at a little after 5 AM. This means that there’s 18 hours left to submit your cars. As I’m, for the most part, caught up on the first stage reviews, I might be a little lenient on that deadline, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Work is so heavy this week I doubt that I’m going to make it in time for the deadline 
not to poop on your excellent driveability score, but your car is WAY outclassed here.
I Wouldn’t Say WAY Outclassed, not overall anyway. From What I Gather Drivability & Fuel Efficiency (Economy?) is Both Important, Looking at Screenshots posted so far with Specs, my 78.3 Drivability & 6.05L/100Km (38.87844 US Mile per Gallon (mpg) according to Google) is Best so far of what’s posted for those Categories, Therefore I Think I Have a chance depending on how things are Weighted.
Edit: Also Depends on Entries with Specs not Publicly Posted.
Well, I can’t give anything away, but something I am considering is every design decision made in every tab along the way.
erm, the Mott Aqueos is getting similar mpg with 4x the power your developing, and 146hp for a 200k cost limit is “bold”, and the brief was for a two sided car that was comfy on the streets and hellfire on the track, and i don’t think 146hp and sub 50 comfort cuts it. sorry, thats how it is.
1 Like
Suicide doors, damn! I wish I put them on my Ventnor.
With two hours left to enter cars, I have the following people’s submissions:
lordvader1
CamKerman
DeusExMackia
TheUltimateD00M
AirJordan
HighOctaneLove
Darkshine5
abg7
oppositelock
BobLoblaw
rcracer11m
thecarlover
DracoAutomations
JohnWaldock
koolkei
Rk38
LordLetto
TR8R
titleguy1
DoctorNarfy
phale
nialloftara
If your name isn’t in the list, then I don’t have your car.
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Overheard at the Pearlite office:
“Ok, so you’re looking for something a little more… special? Hmmm, let me think for a bit…
Well actually, there was this car we made for a certain character a few months back. He drove off with the final car and disappeared mysteriously, but we still have the prototype lying around. We can fix it up and make some modifications for you…
I think this will be right up your alley. How does 950hp and 32mpg sound?”
3 Likes
How did you adapt your winning entry from CSR20 for this round?
Also, @JohnWaldock was spot-on about the Letto Alpha having too little power to be competitive.
4 door sedans may or may not be worth it because ECONOMY… i know i’m not gonna win this one now. less power with worse economy…
I know the feeling. I submitted my car only to have Oppositelock submit a car that was better looking, better stats AND better fuel economy… 
Once upon a time I thought I had an actual chance at winning a CSR 
3 Likes
Okay, it’s officially after 11 PM on 10/11, so submissions are closed.
Reviews will be coming in pieces, and I give a fair word of warning, some of what Luke says can be harsh. Try not to take it personally.
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11PM?..
that’s 12 hours difference…
You meant 11:00 pm in the time zone in which you live, which equates to 11:00 am the next day where @koolkei lives, so it makes sense. However, seeing as @phale simply adapted his winning entry from CSR20 for the current round, I expect it to be the favorite again this time around due to its insane prestige and comfort.
Note: these reviews were done in the order of the cars received, and are by no means unbiased.
This is the first part of many, the all-important First Impressions.
=======================================================================
Luke walked from his office to the elevator, taking a ride down from the 37th floor. As he stepped into the parking garage where everyone had been told to leave their cars, he knew if he could, he’d be smiling. There were cars everywhere to choose from, and they’d been parked in the order they arrived.
“Probably best to start with the first arrival. Let’s get this show on the road.” Luke said, more to himself than anyone else.
Luke looked over the first car that had arrived, the LVC S.H.L. He took a few notes, sharing them live and online.
“If you squint, it looks a bit like a supercar, doesn’t it?”
“Passes the Hot Wheels test, the wing is taller than the car. Barely, but it is.”
“Decent amount of sidewall. Won’t transfer every bump straight to my frame.”
“Can’t tell if it looks pissed off, or just bored. We’ll find out soon enough.”
“If they painted it green, with that abbreviation, I’d have just called it the turtle. Still, it’s good looking enough. It’s simple, but carries a style all by itself.”
He opened the driver’s door and looked around, still broadcasting snippets of his thoughts live to social media.
“Five seats. One more than I can use, but… A rear bench seat isn’t exactly bad.”
“Good quality leather. It’s like sitting in my $3,000 office chair, except better.”
“Nice, a Heads-Up display. Still got the usual gauges, but everything’s mirrored to the windshield. Good use of technology.”
“I like the rear view cameras. High-res screens are a nice touch. If you can’t spot a car in your blind spot with these, you shouldn’t be driving.”
“Looks like there’s plenty of airbags. And speakers.”
“Controls for active suspension. I like that.”
“Paddles. And they’re titanium, too. Nice. I’ll have to get on the road, put those to use.”
Luke pulled the hood release, then moved to the engine bay.
“Engine’s a little small, but it’s still just a hair over 4.1 liters. DOHC, mag-block, AlSi heads. Specs say it’s using VVL, and with that power curve, I’d believe it.”
“Wearing a pair of snails. That could get interesting.”
“Direct injected, but only dual throttle bodies… Still, it makes 513 horsepower at 7,000 RPM, redlines at maximum power, makes peak torque at maximum power… Makes me wonder if someone was trying to build an engine for a CVT. Not exactly the best practice to have maximum power on the rev limiter.”
Luke walked along the side of the car, using a camera on a stick as his version of an inspection mirror.
“Catalytic converter, so at least it’s legal. Twin reverse flow mufflers, that’ll make it quiet. Four inch exhaust piping. Not a bad way to build an engine.
Luke closed the hood, settled back into the driver’s seat, and brought the car out to the testing track.
“It’s quiet, I’ll give it that. Right up until you lay into the throttle. Then the V12 screams and you’re lost in a loud, roaring engine and screaming turbochargers. But that’s not bad.”
“Test Track in 2:24.26. Not bad for the first car of the day. 0-60 in 4 seconds flat. Says it’ll do 216, and I could believe that.”
“First three gears are short, but then everything lengthens out. Very long gear ratios. I can see how they intend this car to do 30 MPG.”
“Brakes are good. I can’t feel any fade, and we’re looking at carbon-ceramic disks all around, 6 piston fronts and 3 piston rears. Supposed to haul it down from 60 miles per hour in about 34 meters. Definitely doable. Being race-grade parts, it’ll probably do that all day. Which is good, because traffic’s a real bitch with hot brakes.”
Luke pulled the car back into the parking garage and shut the engine off, then got out to bring a desk to the parking garage. Once there, he wrote down a few things about the S.H.L.
“Overall, I find the LVC S.H.L to be comfortable. It manages to be balanced, using good quality parts all around, and sets the bar high to start with. 30 MPG from a car that’ll happily do a 4-second 0-60, and will hit 216 MPH, despite that being in the rev limiter in 7th gear, it’s impressive. That it’d do such a thing with me and four other people in the car is equally impressive. While I’m not exactly a fan of the styling, with the wing above the roofline, the S.H.L is bold and aggressive, combining luxury with super-car styling. The F-AWD platform gives it a reasonable handling nature, ending in predictable, controllable understeer when pushed too hard. At $123,800, it’s certainly a bargain. It’s comfortable, safe, prestigious, sporty, and economical. Somehow it remains practical, too, as well as being very reliable. Suspension on the S.H.L is unusual, but I suppose that’s the shocking part of the whole car, riding on double-wishbone front suspension, but semi-trailing arm rear suspension. An odd combination, but it works. Made of all carbon fiber, using a double-clutch 7 speed sequential gearbox, an electric limited-slip differential, and packing 513 horsepower, the S.H.L is definitely one to consider. If nothing else, it set the bar high to start with.”
(Note: I’m not sure what mod the door-handles were from, but they didn’t show up on the car for me. However, as the rest of the stats matched what was posted in the thread, and the car had more than sufficient cooling, I accepted it as it was.)
With the first car reviewed, Luke took a look at the car in Parking Spot #2, the Vanguard Malachite Carmillia.
Again, he started selectively broadcasting his thoughts to social media, starting with the walk around the car.
“Pleasant shade of dark blue. Good use of chrome trim on the front and rear, a touch of chrome on the side. Not too much chrome, but just enough to help guide you from one line to another.”
“Not really a fan of the rims, but… On this car they don’t look too bad. I could get used to those.”
“Good mix of aggressive and corporate with the front end. Not so aggressive that it shouts ‘ricer’ but not so bland that you’d lose the Malachite in a crowd.”
“Back end’s a little plain, but not bad. Keeping it simple.”
“Holy mother of sky, that’s a big sunroof.”
He grabbed the keys carefully, unlocked the door, and slowly settled into the interior, looking around, though initially mostly up.
“Definitely a big sunroof. I somewhat actually like it. Mildly distracting, but nice.”
“Seat’s about on par with my office chair. Good quality leather. Looks like they went with heads-up as well. Little less information on the windshield, though still more than enough to drive by.”
“Looks like another paddle-shift sequential with electric limited slip. This could be fun.”
“Heated mirror defrosters. Nice. Glad to see I won’t be rolling the window down in the winter anymore to clear the mirrors if I choose this car.”
“Lots of airbags. Shows they care about safety. Good number of speakers dotted around in here, too.”
“Oh, good, there’s launch control. I get the feeling I’m going to find that useful in here, too.”
“Four seats. I like the way they carried the center console from the front to the rear. Cupholders for the rear seat passengers. And storage. I like that.”
Luke pulled the hood release, then stepped out of the car, lifting the hood and taking a look at the engine.
“Interesting choice of engine. 3.5 liter displacement, V8, twin snails. Engine designation FB5-35T-DFI3-ITB. They say that’s a mouthful. I’ve made more complex designations, but, I see what they were going for.”
“DOHC, all AlSi construction. 5 valves per cylinder, so no VVL.”
“Bold shade of orange. Won’t miss this one when the hood’s open. And those are some good-sized snails hanging off of the block.”
“Throttle-per-Cylinder, direct injected. Can’t go wrong with that.”
“Interesting. Redline at 7,000 RPM, peak power of 428 horsepower at 6,500 RPM, peak torque of 407 foot-pounds at 4,400 RPM. Smooth punch from the turbochargers means it should be more gradual power gain.”
Luke grabbed his camera on a stick and made a walk down the side of the car, looking underneath.
“Dual exhaust, 2.75 inch diameter pipes… A little small, but if you’re making 400 horsepower, they’re fine. Catalytic converter, dual reverse-flow mufflers. About what I’d expect.”
Luke then closed the hood and got into the Malachite, starting up the engine.
“It’s quiet, but interesting. Sounds like a flatplane V8, not crossplane. Sounds good to me.”
“And only quiet until you jump on the throttle and the bypass valves open up. There’s that good old flatplane scream.”
Driving to the test track, Luke decided to whack the throttle hard at a stop light, giving a light chuckle as the rear wheels let loose and spun.
“She’ll do a burnout. #RWD”
“Active suspension. Though I can feel it ever so slightly kissing the bump stops if I hit a good bump. That’s just a little rough.”
“And here we are at Automation Speedway. Let’s see what we can do. #RWD #V8”
“2:15.99! It’s quick! 4.7 seconds to 60, but it’s fast. Nicely spaced gears. Handles well. Says it’ll do 185 MPH, I could see it getting there.”
“Not as good on gas as the S.H.L. Still, not awful. 17.6 MPG.”
“Brakes are great on this car. Carbon Ceramic race-stoppers up front with 6 piston calipers, vented rear disks with 4 piston calipers. 29.9 meters to 0 from 60. No fade. Could probably keep that up all day long, too.”
Luke drove back to the parking garage, parked the Malachite in the stall, and headed to his makeshift office corner.
“All things considered, the Vanguard Malachite Carmillia is a good car. Fast, somewhat sporty, comfortable. It’s a good luxury car. It’s a good supercar. I’ll admit, I like the looks of the Malachite a lot more than the S.H.L, though that’s mostly due to the fact that no part of the car exceeds the roofline. Surprisingly, the Malachite is faster around the track than the car from LVC. Suspension is Double-wishbone front and rear, the chassis is glued aluminum, skinned with carbon fiber. The F-RWD platform is nice, allowing for an excessive amount of fun on demand, as the turbocharged flatplane V8 has more than enough power to light up the tires, the 7-speed double-clutch sequential lets you have fun, and the electric limited slip differential doesn’t get in the way. On price… Well, is the Malachite a $200,000 car? Maybe. Is it my $200,000 car? We’ll have to see.”
Luke looked at the third car in the lineup, the Erin Tauga X 3.3, and gave a chuckle. Walking toward the front of the car, he mentally marked a starting point, then walked to the rear of the car.
“4.25 meters. A little smaller than I expected, but… We’ll see what it has to offer.”
Again, Luke started up the broadcasting of his thoughts, making a walk around the car.
“Very aggressive front end. Sporty, or trying too hard, I’m not sure yet. Chrome seems thrown around, a strip here, a strip there, and yet… I don’t mind it. I think it’s more to break up the line of the car, to actually create spots you look at and spots you don’t.”
“Nice shade of blue. First impressions are looking good.”
“Back of the car looks nice. Very sporty.”
Luke grabbed the keys and opened the door, then settled into the seat.
“Not as comfortable as expected, but… I get the feeling this is more sports-car than luxury car. These seats are designed to hold you in place, as are the four-point safety harnesses.”
“No heads-up-display this time, but, that’s one big screen in the middle. Also, plenty of speakers. And a good amount of air bags.”
“I get the feeling this is another 7-speed double-clutch. Though again, nice move with the titanium paddles.”
“That’s a nice place for the launch control switch. I can reach that without taking my hands off the wheel. Sneaky.”
Luke pulled the hood release and got out, lifting the hood and looking at the engine.
“Well, if you can’t see the red engine in the blue car, your optics are damaged.”
“V6, all AlSi construction. DOHC, 24 valves. 4 valves per cylinder means it has VVL.”
“Ah, the first car in the group to go natural. Beautiful chrome headers.”
“Direct injected, throttle per cylinder, but also the first car so far to go with performance intakes. A little noisier, but this car’s not aiming to be a luxury car, either.”
“408 horsepower at 8600 RPM, redline at 9200, peak torque 268 ft-lb at 7100. This is going to be fun.”
Luke grabbed his inspection camera and had a look under the car.
“Catalytic converter, straight-through and reverse flow, dual exhaust, 2.25 inch diameter, and what looked to be some not-quite-so-hidden bypass valves.”
He closed the hood, then settled back into the car, starting the engine.
“Definitely audible, though still very quiet considering what it could be.”
“And opening the throttle produces exactly what you’d expect. And that’s a wicked redline.”
“I think the only way the throttle response is going to get any better is if you wired the throttle servo directly to my right foot command signal. And then it’d make stopping a pain in the disk.”
On the way to the test track, Luke stomped on the gas and broke the rear wheels loose, then flicked the Tauga around a corner in a cloud of tire smoke.
“RWD is a lot of fun. #DriftCar”
“Active suspension, but that’s more than just kissing the bump-stops. If that were any worse, I’d fear potholes in this car.”
“Very crisp shifting response. I could count the milliseconds, but I’m not going to.”
“Haven’t had this much fun in a V6 car in a long time. Who needs a hot hatch when you could have this?”
“2:11.86! Amazingly fast for a V6, beaten both the V12 Turbo and the V8 Turbo that came before it. Naturally Aspirated seems to have done the trick.”
“4.3 seconds from naught to 60. Gimme a straight section of interstate, take away the traffic and the cops, and I’ll try for that 190 MPH. Handles nicely.”
“And hauled down in 28.38 meters. How is it that 2 piston calipers up front, singles out back, and vented discs can do so much? And no fade! Feels like the front brake pads might be a more aggressive compound. I like that.”
Luke drove back into the parking garage, though before getting out of the car, he broadcast one final thought about the Erin Tauga.
“If I could smile, I’d have the stupidest grin on my face right now. It may not be the most comfortable, but it’s a lot of fun.”
He then got out of the car and headed to his desk to do the final writeup for the Erin Tauga.
“Okay, so we know I’m looking for the car that does it all. I’ve sat in two luxury cars so far, and both are good. But while both were good, this, the Erin Tauga X 3.3, is the first car to make me wish I could smile, just so that the world could see the stupid grin I’d have from driving this car. Seven speed double-clutch sequential, RWD, punchy naturally-aspirated V6. Sure, it gets 24 MPG, but it’s faster around the test track than the two cars that went before it. It uses a steel chassis with aluminum body panels, that V6 screams like a demon when you floor it on the highway merge ramp in second gear, and I’m guaranteed, if nothing else, to owe Erin a new set of 285’s for the rear of the car. The Tauga is fun in a straight line, sure, but it’s also incredibly good at going sideways. So I’ll admit, I turned half of Chicago into my drift park in a rare not-quite-so-busy moment, and so, Erin Motor Company, if you’re reading this, yeah, that’s why the tires on your car are bald. Sure, the car rides a little rough, but it’s not built to be a luxury car. It’s fun, easily managed by anyone willing to throw the car around a little and learn how it handles. And at $55,560, even if it may not be the car to best all other cars, I may consider buying one anyway, for those days I don’t want to be in the lap of luxury, or for those days I want to go to a drift event and just thrash on something I know won’t break. It’s not what I’m looking for, exactly, but if I’d have found this 2.5 months ago, it would have been an instant sale when I was looking for fun sports compacts. And as mentioned, I’m considering one anyway just because it’s that much fun.”
Luke looked at the menacing black car in the fourth parking space, the Straton, and decided to take a day between reviewing the Tauga and reviewing the larger car. It just wouldn’t have been fair to follow the sports compact with what looked to definitely be another high-class luxury car. That, and he had a lot of work to catch up with, so it just made sense to take another day.
The next day, Luke headed down the elevator and went straight to the Straton, deciding to walk around it and do his little ‘broadcast to social media’ event.
“If the paint were any darker, it would be like a black hole, absorbing all light. Definitely menacing, a strong contrast to the cars I’ve seen so far. White, dark blue, light blue, and now stealth-fighter black.”
“Lots of reflectors in those headlights. Looks like driving lights, turn signals, low beams, and high beams. They’ll throw off plenty of light. This car’s gonna need it.”
“Very plain looking, but it doesn’t have to be wild. Still, wouldn’t necessarily say it’s luxury from the outside.”
“Almost can’t see the door handles in the side of the car. Only thing giving the window-line away is the tiny bit of chrome trim wrapped around the window borders.”
“Similar theme with the tail lights as the headlights. Simple and clean.”
“Holy mother of cannons, those are big, big exhaust tips. I’d expect to see one of those on a rice rocket.”
He moved around to the driver’s door, then opened it and settled in.
“Wow. This is nice. I thought the S.H.L had a nice interior, but this… Wow. These seats will hold you still in the corners, but at the same time, it’s like sitting in a real nice leather recliner. There’s heat, air conditioning, and massage functions in the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat, and apparently the rear bench has heat and air conditioning.”
“Steering wheel’s been leather wrapped, and I can tell this wasn’t done by a machine. Tiny imperfections in stitching. Someone did this by hand.”
“I know it sounds stupid, but there’s three shades of black in here. Well, maybe shades is the wrong word. Intensity, maybe. The seats, steering wheel, forward/reverse gear selector, basically anything you’re supposed to touch, it’s in the ‘lightest’ intensity. Carpet, headliner, seat belts, they’re the medium intensity. Then the dashboard is the heaviest intensity. If I want to see anything on the leather-covered dashboard, I have to hit it with my infrared spotlights to get enough light on it.”
“Heads up display, but, well, that’s really nice. I can change the color of the display. Red, Green, and Blue sliders on the built-in touchscreen, between 0 and 255. All the way to 0 shuts off the HUD for ‘power saving’. It’s a nice touch.”
“Launch control, paddle shifters, again, nice touch using the titanium, but this time, it’s anodized black. That’s nice.”
“Electric differential controls, fairly typical so far. Everyone seems to use the E-Diff, just makes sense, to be honest.”
“Lots of speakers, lots of airbags. I guess when you mention safety as a prime concern, everyone decides to hang onto that one. Still, you can’t make a car too safe.”
Luke looked for the hood release, but couldn’t find it under the dash. A flip through the owner’s manual indicated that the release was inside a small compartment ‘to prevent accidental use’. Luke flipped the compartment open and was presented with a bright red handle reminiscent of what you’d expect an ejector seat handle to look like.
“A little overkill, but someone obviously realized accidents happen with hood latches.”
He pulled the handle, closed the cover, then got out of the car, releasing the hood latch and watching it rise, slowly, on the gas struts.
“Nice attention to detail there.”
Luke looked at the all-black engine under the hood, with “DFI 7.6L” molded into the plastic cover.
“That’s big, and another one for the no-turbos club. And those are some beautiful hand-bent racing headers.”
“Direct injection, throttle per cylinder, big V12 engine, performance intakes, so you’re going to hear this a bit more, DOHC, four valves per cylinder, so it’s part of the VVL club. Nice magnesium engine block, AlSi heads.”
“Ah, another one with a cut powerband due to redline. All at 6400, 708 horsepower, 581 ft-lb of torque, and redline. But, they say it’s reliable and fuel efficient, we’ll see about that.”
Luke closed the hood and went for the inspection camera, looking under the car.
“Dual pipes, catalytic converter, and dual straight-through mufflers. And bypass valves. She’ll be loud, and then get louder. Not necessarily luxurious, but then again, that interior might have done something for it.”
He closed the hood, then got back into the car, starting the big V12.
“Can definitely hear it, though it’s not bad sounding. Also very smooth. I don’t feel any vibration through the pedals at all from the engine. And another one for great throttle response. This is why people go NA, I feel. Instant reaction.”
He drove it out to the test track, though did stomp on the gas once, only yielding the slightest of chirps in first gear.
“That’s the power of AWD. All that brutal power is applied straight to the ground. Which is great when you want to go like hell, but it does keep you from having too much fun. However, this does have one thing unusual, and that’s the 40/60 split with rear bias. Which means that while it’s not much of a drift car, because it’ll pull itself out of going sideways, you can still get the back end out with a little aggressive cornering and use of that throttle response.”
“These stops are heating up the brakes a bit. I can feel the slightest hints of brake fade. Vented discs with a 6 piston/2 piston split. Maybe a cooling vent would have helped them, or possibly going race-grade carbon ceramic. It’s not bad, but I’d be worried if I’m going to track-day this car and run a race for 3 or 4 hours, or more, with this tiny bit of brake fade getting worse, and worse, and worse with every use of the brakes.”
“Nice to see active suspension that isn’t trying to knock my memory modules out of their sockets.”
“3.5 second 0-60, similar gearing strategy to the S.H.L, though not as dramatic.
“2:13.30! It’s definitely quick.”
“It’s geared to hit 219 MPH, I think she’d probably hit it in the top end of seventh, but it’d be in the rev-limiter to do it.”
“60 to 0 in 29.4 meters. The first time. After that, start adding some distance as the brakes heat up.”
Luke brought the Straton back to the garage, parked it, then headed to the desk for his thoughts on the car.
“Overall, the Straton does what I expected to see in this batch of cars. Sure, the engine’s too loud because they used straight-through mufflers instead of reverse-flow. Sure, there’s brake fade, because the brakes are trying to stop 2175 kilograms of luxury car without using race tech. Sure, it’s an all carbon fiber construction, painted in jet-fighter black, sitting on staggered tires with a 40/60 power split, the soul of a hypercar, but it still has class, with hand-stitched leather all over the interior. The unusual blend of double wishbone front suspension with pushrod rear suspension straight out of a hypercar or race car gives the Straton incredible handling for a big beast. The massive V12, 7581cc, 7.6 liters technical, throws 700 horsepower around while barely breaking a sweat, and without turbochargers. Sure, the car gets 24.5 MPG, but it has 700 horsepower and would shame a lot of sports cars getting to 60 in 3.5 seconds. It’s very safe, and if you parked it anywhere, it’d draw a crowd, like an ominous black hole draws in everything near it. The Straton’s interior strives to be comfortable, with seats designed to hold you in place, yet without feeling like racing seats. A racing seat bear-hugs you, making sure you don’t move. The Straton’s seats, they hold you in place like a guardian angel’s embrace. Everything is within reach. And at $191,600, the Straton used the entire budget to do it. Is it the best car? I’m not sure yet, there’s still more cars to review. But I’m surely going to come back to this one for a second round.”
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