(Co-hosted with the homie @Fayeding_Spray)
Somewhere, in the great distant year of 2008, in a world just a bit different than ours…
The Story
“When the automobile was first created in 1885 by Karl Benz, it’s unlikely he fully grasped the magnitude of what he’d just done. While most saw it as a method to get from point a to point b, there were a select few born with the gift to see a car for what it is: a canvas, ready for the taking.”
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“From the banked curves of Indianapolis to the undulating loops of Fuji, the WRL has always sought to provide the greatest spectacle of racing on the planet.”
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“With generational talents like Ben Burns and recent phenoms like Rex Racer, the sport has always been seen as the precipice, the absolute peak, of the world of motorsports.”
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“And in our latest story: The much speculated upon Stunt Car regulations for the upcoming WRL have just been announced! With the emphasis being on bigger, faster, and more wings than ever, it’s sure to make this next generation of stunt car bigger and badder than ever before!”
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Feed to the TV projector was cut, as the conference room packed tight with figures in suits in varying levels of nervousness and intrigue were gradually blanketed in a warm light, where there had previously been little more than the harsh glare of the projector they all sat facing. A middle aged gentlemen, stood at the front of the room, his every feature proper and composed, as he surveyed the emotions of the crowd of investors laid out before him. Some were visibly ready to commit to the cause. Others, though, found it hard to fully commit.
“I don’t buy it. It’s just hype. People will get used to it, and we’ll be back in the shit like we were when we started this whole mess. You’re on thin ice, you know, the last time you had some great idea to draw in fans, you got Rex Racer killed. Years of investment on my end, down the drain in just 3 laps! Pull another stunt like that, and we’ll all be out of a job before you know it.”
A particularly haughty investor, and a long tenured one at that, spoke up. It had been 5 years since the WRL took on one of the most dangerous races in the world, the dreaded Casa Cristo 5000, and it had been 5 years since Rex Racer perished in a cloud of smoke and treachery. With Rex having been the posterboy for some of the more illicit backers of the WRL, the loss took a toll for many both on and off the track, and many doubted the series could handle another tragedy. He voiced the sentiment of many of the older voices in the room when he expressed worry for the future of Stunt Car racing as they all knew it.
The presenter, standing at the front of the room, faced the board, eyeing members at each end, and took a deep breath before addressing the room. “I understand your concerns, but I assure you they’re not needed.” Re-activating the projector and re-dimming the lights, the screen now showed the inbox that had been set up to receive new entries for the upcoming season. Hidden amongst the bribery offers and returning entries were a smorgasbord of questions, technical blueprints, and fully submitted applications from teams all over the globe. “We’ve already seen a spike in interest from teams both new and old. Naturally, we’ll ensure our sponsors are taken care of, but why not give some hope to the little guys? After all, bigger fields, bigger ratings, right? Maybe we’ll even find our next Rex Racer!”
A quiet murmuring spread amongst the potential investors, with many doubters being quieted amongst the crowd. It seemed that the speechgiver had won over the crowd, with one exception. The man from earlier, who had doubted the long term impact of the new regulations, rose to speak once more. “I only have one worry: Who’s going through all of that crap?”
The Judges
Judge 1: @Fayeding_Spray
Name: Elaina
Age: 25
Backstory: Recent Motorsport Broadcasting graduate, a recent hire at the WRL, since she’s young, and has plenty of free time on her hands, the tedious assignment of going through every single entry has been delegated to her, with promises of a juicy promotion should the season turn out well.
Judge 2: ME!!!
Name: Johan
Age: 34
Backstory: A representative of one of the most powerful backers of the WRL, Johan is here to be the party pooper and make sure the new cars submitted are good for both the WRL and the shady interests that control the racing behind the scenes.
(this post is getting long enough so we’ll keep it brief about our judges here. Expect to see a bit more about them later, though.)
The Challenge
This is a challenge that is based partly on meeting ridiculous performance targets and partly on aesthetics. The winning car will be a sexy, mind-meltingly fast and complex machine that manages to activate the neurons of anybody who happens to catch a glimpse of it before it disappears into the distant horizon. Your breathtakingly awesome car should also come with an equally awesome backstory. Don’t be afraid to go all Space Cowboy or rogue NERV agent on us, as long as it’s a good read.
Enough about that, though, let’s look at what the scored aspects of this challenge will be:
AESTHETICS
The most important part of the challenge is looking the part of an uber-futuristic racecar that could race with, or even beat the cars featured in the Speed Racer film (or similar high tech futuristic racing media). We want an exciting, unique, and downright ridiculous, yet functional, car. Interiors will be also scored, but are not mandatory.
PERFORMANCE
Hit the performance targets in order to gain entry. The targets are as follows:
Model/Trim year must be 2008 for both car and engine
Top Speed: 500 KPH/310 MPH minimum
0-60 MPH/100 KPH: must be 2.5 seconds or below
Minimum weight: 2,200 pounds/998 kg
Minimum wheelbase: 90 inches/2286 mm
Drag: at least 0.2 or higher (refers to the number on the body selection screen, not the actual Drag cd)
Fuel Economy: 20 MPG minimum
Safety: 60 or higher
Reliability: 70 or higher
Nitromethane Fuel Banned
Approximate cost cap of 100,000 enforced
V16 allowed
Invisible fixtures Banned
Name convention - Model: WRL08-forumnamehere Trim: Car name/model
The further you get while adhering to these regulations, the better.
BACKSTORY
Your exciting car should also have an exciting backstory. Are you a skunkworks team of rebels on the run? A soulless entity funded solely by the contributions of your corporate sponsor? We have no idea! But we’d sure like to find out! We’d like to learn about the members of your team, what their motivations are, and what they had to do to get their car built. We’re playing fast and loose as far as “continuity” goes, so you have free reign to make it as wacky or as serious as you’d like.
CREATIVITY
Give us a reason to like your car. Please.
CHEATS!!!
Not required, but I will be giving brownie points for any cheats hidden away on your car, as long as they’re visible on the body and explained in your submission, think of harpoons, oil slicks, anything subtle that can get your team an edge without catching too many eyes.
The Cars
These cars are great reference points for what we’re looking for, with designs varying in ridiculousness. These designs really activated my neurons, and hopefully they activate yours. Remember: WE WANT RIDICULOUS CARS!
Here are some examples of what we’re not looking for, but are good springboards anyway:
honestly this is only here so i have an excuse to mention hitman 2. But yeah these cars are too tame for the most part.
(upload://ymZkZdcj5ROwrhoDCwsVnwoHPVW.jpeg)
These are too far in the opposite direction for the most part. Not to say that they don’t kick ass, but we have to be at least a little grounded.
The Tracks
This section is mainly dedicated to the kinds of tracks that the WRL will be racing on, to guide your imagination a bit. Credit to George Hull for the artwork.
Entries for this challenge will officially open on the 12th. The deadline to submit will be 4 weeks from today, August 8th, at 12 AM EST. Since I’m pretty lenient, I’ll be accepting late submissions (with a significant penalty) until the end of that day. no entries will be accepted from August 9th, 12 AM EST forwards. You can resubmit as many times as necessary until then, and resubmissions before the 9th will not receive a penalty.
thanks for sharing broski, I probably wouldn’t have stumbled upon it if you didn’t
