The Idol's Ride (One-off challenge)

Looks sweet but one question… Am I seeing things or is this LHD? Maybe it does not matter and I’m obsessed?

2022 Mitsushita Spacedragon

Press Release

(Yokohama) Mitsushita released the Spacedragon special edition “Akai” and “Aoi” on 25 March 2022 through Mitsushita Karna store nationwide.
Since it’s launch in 2011, the 3rd generation Mitsushita Spacedragon has been well received by it’s customer for it’s technology, practicality and dependability. With car like road manners and powerful 2GR series engine. Approximately 311,000 units have been sold in 43 countries since it’s debut.
Due to the upcoming regulation change and extraneous circumstances, the Spacedragon, sadly, will be discontinued later this year. We therefore would like to announced the introduction of 2 special edition exclusively sold by Mitsushita Karna store nationwide.
The special editions, “Akai” and “Aoi” will be available with exclusive interior colors, in addition to exclusive wheels and being fully equipped.

The Spacedragon | Brief History


The nameplate was first introduced in 1978 as a special edition for the venerable Mitsushita van model. With it’s unique styling and generous interior accomodation, the Spacedragon became an icon.
The Spacedragon was made for one year only in 1978. The nameplate was discontinued until 1990 when it was revived for the new mid-size MPV. Since then, 3 generations has been sold with innovations that excites.

Special Edition | Akai/Aoi



The two special editions are identical apart from the wheels and color combination.
The Akai exterior is painted in “Absolute Black”, while the interior trimming has been finished in Red color upholstery.
The Aoi exterior is painted in “Pearl White”, with the interior being blue color upholstery.
They are both fully equipped with technologies such as TFT digital meter with selectable mode, 10.2 inch LCD center screen, 4 LCD screens for entertainment of the passengers, along with a host of safety feature that allows the car to be driven safely by anybody.

Two engines are available. 2.5-liter 4-Cylinder Turbocharged, and 3.5-liter V6 Naturally Aspirated. 6-speed Automatic transmission is standard powering the front wheels.
Both Spacedragon Aoi and Akai are equipped with the usually optional Mitsushita Electronically Modulated Suspension generation 3, which is the latest in adaptive suspension.
The 3.5-litre V6 “2GR-SK” is equipped with direct injection, allowing better combustion of the engine, the compression ratio is 13.4:1 which improves the efficiency while remaining smooth at all rev range. It is also one of the cleanest engine available on the market today.

Mitsushita Spacedragon “Akai” and “Aoi” special edition, on sale now.
$64,900

This is the car I’ll be submitting. The 2022 Mitsushita Spacedragon Akai, Naturally Aspirated V6.

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24 Hours Left!

I have received a submission and forum post from:

If your name isn’t here, please let me know. For those still making their cars, hurry up and make sure your entries don’t break any rules!

Countdown Timer

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2020 THETA Sontu

-Distinctive chrome exterior trim
-Exclusive two-tone colors available
-Luxury air ride
-Supple luxury interior finishings
-THETASound Dolby Atmos full surround sound system
-Full infotainment system for each row of seats
-THETA’s zero-point comfort seat system with accupressure massage on every seat
-290HP 2.4L Twin Turbo Inline 6, specifically built for a buttery-smooth feel and ample performance.
-AWD for the best traction and safety in all conditions.




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SUBMISSIONS CLOSED!

I have received additional submissions and forum posts from:

Thank you for your participation and I will release the results soon™.

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Judgement Day

Miller Gourmand

@Ch_Flash

Binned for not following naming convention, having the wrong seating arrangement, and the wrong fuel type. It may be an instabin but I’ll give it a full review anyways since there are only four entries anyway.

Stats wise, the Gourmand has the lowest drivability and comfort. 210hp from a 3l V6 is good, but not enough in 2020. Though I understand that NA engines have gotten nerfed in recent updates, there’s always the option to switch to a turbocharged 4-cylinder that would be both faster and more economical without incurring any realism penalties.

Exterior design is alright. I like the somewhat American approach to the design which reminds me of the old Chrysler minivans minus the fake wood but otherwise, there’s nothing to write home about. Longer headlights that wrap around the front corners of the body could help improve the design.

Interior design is nothing special, either. However, it feels cramped due to the large seats. Access to the rear is hampered by the transmission tunnel, which isn’t there in most mainstream minivans.


Mitsushita Spacedragon Akai NA

@conan

In stark contrast to the Gourmand, the Spacedragon has the highest drivability and comfort scores, thanks to its use of active suspension, the Spacedragon’s price is right below the budget limit. The engine again isn’t very powerful for its size and could’ve been replaced by a turbocharged engine.

The Spacedragon was first released in 2011 (although the Automation model year is 2020) and its design has begun to show its age. The front end of the car could have been revised with a larger grille and/or larger lights among other things to keep it looking fresh in 2020.

The Spacedragon’s interior is undoubtedly the most sporty of the bunch thanks to its combination of red and black upholstery. The dashboard continues with the sporting theme, though it looks rather plain. As with the Gourmand, the large seats make the interior feel less spacious than it really is. The transmission tunnel also hampers rear access and negates any space saving benefits that the dash-mounted shifter provides. The use of door mirror switches as door handles is smart however, so props for that.


SYN-Senko 84

@FidleDo

Despite being equipped with active suspension, the Senko is not as comfortable as its rivals. In addition, the engine’s 167hp output is is too low for today’s standards, especially when it has 5 valves per cylinder which isn’t exactly something you’d find in modern engines. The tyre diamater is also too large, making the 18 inch wheels look smaller than it really is.

The exterior is daft and poorly proportioned. The headlights look too large and placed too close together, and the arrangement of the grille/headlights/etc. don’t form a cohesive design. The rear overhang is also disproportionately long, and the exhaust looks weird sticking out the rear end.

As with previous cars, the oversized seats cramp interior space, and so does the transmission tunnel. The colours suit each other well, by the sheen on the brown leather makes it look like cheap plastic. The door cards are also placed in reverse, which look weird. On the bright side, however, the front and middle row seats feature leg rests which are a nice touch. The full-screen dashboard and infotainment screens are impressive, but not enough to save the rest of the car.


THETA Sontu

@Lanson

The Sontu is by far the most powerful entry, powered by a turbocharged 2.4l engine that produces a healthy 290hp. While the transverse inline 6 isn’t the most realistic choice, it is most certainly welcome. However, the hydropneumatic suspension is too mix-maxxy in my opinion.

The exterior design is mostly alright but like the Senko, the headlights could have been moved further apart and/or rearranged to make the design look less awkward. The two-tone paint is a good idea, but the colours don’t work very well. The rear reflectors stand out like a sore thumb.

Out of all the cars, the Sontu has the best interior. The cabin isn’t stuffed with comically large seats, although the third row seats could be pushed back a little further to improve passenger room. The design is simple yet elegant with a premium feel as expected in this segment. As with the other three vans however, there is a transmission tunnel that should have been hidden underneath the floor.


After giving it a lot of thought and consideration, Open Corp management decided to purchase the Spacedragon for transporting company personnel, helping to grow Open Corp even further by emptying more and more wallets as their talents continue to bait their viewers into a relationship that does not exist.

Rankings:

  1. @conan - Mitsushita Spacedragon Akai NA
  2. @Lanson - THETA Sontu
  3. @FidleDo SYN-Senko 84

Thank you for participating. This round didn’t go as well as I had hoped, but I am still happy to see some enthusiasm for it regardless.


4 Likes

Woo!
I absolutely hate designing interior with every fiber of my body but I tried my best. I didn’t even know those are mirror switch lmao. I couldn’t find the door handle so I just picked whatever that appears close enough. I reckon I understand interior design way more than before this challenge so that’s a big plus but obviously there’s a lot of room for improvement still.
I couldn’t do turbocharging, the pun wouldn’t work otherwise.
Anyway, thank you for hosting.

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Thanks, 2nd is good enough for me probably should have lored it up more but the THETA brand all ride on air ride or active suspension, due to the brand philosophy.

As for the color, I built a Ford Flex show car with exactly the same color theme so I wanted to bring it to life here, IMO I don’t see any fault in the scheme especially compared with the inspiration vehicles. Those are pretty garish and outlandish vans, except for a couple.

Volvo puts a T6 in the XC, which is grandfather to the Flex chassis, so I figured it was a fitting choice since the Flex is a similar vehicle to these mpvs.

Fun, extremely difficult competition, took over 80 hours with constant updates.

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