Thread for Posting My Random Automation Cars

[Sir_Night282nd]

Since I feel like I had lost my motivation on making my IkaMagic car thread, I feel like making a thread for the cars that I am recently am making right into here. I have been making cars along the wayside here and there, and I would like to learn and develop even more by posting them here and hearing about what you guys think. Therefore this means consctructive criticism is certainly welcome.

It’s been at least 2-4 years since I have been making cars, and only in 2018 I have been starting to make cars a lot frequently and I slowly am noticing the improvements that are coming along. Although mostly sticking to using premade headlights and tail-lights, I still am trying to make them look unique to the car that they’re on. I have also started to become more ambitious with my fixture placements too while learning how to make cars more appropriate for the era.

I would also like to thank @Aruna for offering me help and starting to help me make better engines for my cars too. He’s been a big influence to me and my willingness to continue making Automation cars and he always is there to offer me a hand.

So anyway, to getting the topic started with one of my latest cars:

The 1985 Moteur Devoir Espadon (De La Ville):

When making this, I really wanted a car that had European styling in the veins of a luxury car, with a little Japanese twist thrown in for good measure. What resulted was one of my passion projects that became the car I took the most time in designing and making while listening to advice that was offered by Aruna. He taught me new things that I didn’t even know about before which certainly helped bring this car out to levels that I didn’t know that I would be able to achieve.

The both of us had drafted and designed this car with it putting ambitious and new approaches that I had barely done before in a car and it certainly had been worked on with many fixtures to make it look as realistic as possible for a 1985 European budget Grand Tourer. Overall this car was very fun to make, although there were some frustrating bits about it (especially putting on the patchwork to clear up the tail-light gaps) but eventually it all pieced together like the final pieces of a brick set while making sure that the car looks as chronologically correct as it can possibly be.

Modifying the engine had certainly been a journey in itself as I learnt about min-maxing and offering solid low-level performance too. It had been so much fun learning tips with who essentially became my mentor. He also designed his own version of the car using his knowledge of custom headlights too!

What eventually became of the car regarding its performance was the fact that this car is a grand tourer with the atmosphere of the Sierra Sapphire Cosworth regarding its practicality and its performance (7 seconds 0-60 and 140mph isn’t that bad for what is essentially a $33k base model family sedan masquerading as a sporty GT). I can imagine this as being a car used in the movies for the bad guys.
Dunno why I think of the Nissan Gloria when I look at it too, despite it not looking anything near like it.

[abg7]

Being a mid-80s sports sedan means that it would not be out of place in Miami Vice, Knight Rider or Magnum P.I. Besides, it would make a decent base for a Group A touring car - the category had come into being three years earlier, and it would have been quite popular among manufacturers at the time.

[Sir_Night282nd]

That sounds like a good idea for me to make a Group A touring car out of this!
I’d probably make a homologation model to start things off with that aspect too.

[DrPepper2002]

Excuse me but would you be ok with sending me the .car file for this rather handsome sporty sedan. i Would like to take a look at the car and see if i can do something interesting with it. if you wish you may do the same with one of my saloon cars

[Sir_Night282nd]

The 1985 Moteur Devoir Espadon (Sportif X):

Serving as a basis for the Group A Touring Car chassis, this car was made to be as fun to drive and while having its sporty characteristics still stand out from the rest. It would most likely be described as a car hiding most of its power in a body that can be described as something out of the ordinary.

While it shares most of the same features of the ordinary Espadon De La Ville, the Sportif X has the same noticeable premium feel while the inner mechanisms of the car were tuned and replaced to support the extra oomph that the car’s trim model already had.

Most importantly the running gear and power plant in this had been beefed up to accommodate the uptunes made to the engine so that some form of sense can be restored into this car. Even with these changes to the suspension, test drives had shown that the car has a tendency to oversteer as soon as full throttle is added to the car while it’s steering. This often proves this car as having a steep learning curve, which may have resulted in some first-time owners writing off the car not even a year into ownership. Such inexperienced drivers called it a ‘deathtrap’.

Compared to the stock 230HP engine in the DLV trim of the Espadon, the Sportif X has 250 and an increased capability in the track when handled by a proper driver. Although the top speed is the same, the acceleration in the Sportif X has been considerably improved to match the looks. The changes to aero at the roof and the front bumper have been accounted for to reduce drag and increase cooling flow.

But most of all, this has been my attempt to make a sportier version of an already seemingly competent car regarding driving and making it more prone to oversteer while adding subtle changes that cater it more to the performance driver. But regarding visuals, it feels like a tiny chinlift compared to the regular DLV.

[Sir_Night282nd]

The 1975 Sovereign Coaches Yorktown Executive:

I remember making an American style sedan before and I wanted to try and making another one but for an earlier time. So this time I decided to go for a mid-1970s sedan that would feel right at home in Chicago, or New York City or somewhere like that. My goal was to try and combine a lot of the features that some of the cars had while also making it look stylish in its own right by looking at various contemporaries and implementing some of their features while adding my own flavour to it.

The car shares a rather ordinary setup for the time with double wishbone suspension at the front and coils at the back. However, what is unusual for this car is the fact that I wanted to give it an air of elegance within what would seem to be a very simple car. I went for hydropneumatic suspension since that offers the premium feel that I wanted to give this car, and with its other luxurious features, it feels more like a personal chauffeur car than something made to kick its tail on a car park.

However, it’s still pretty fast for a car of its size and stature with a top speed of 140mph, although packing a lot less power than engines on the similar scale of it (that being a 451cui (7400cc) engine). It only has about 244HP, which isn’t a lot considering that other engines of its size had done at least 300. However, the power isn’t needed when you’re usually going at motorway speeds. Although for some reason removing the two rear seats makes it a desirable sports and muscle car despite the car having low sportiness to begin with.

Despite its luxury features, decent safety and a comfortable feeling suspension, it’s surprising to see it only cost about $26000. This certainly makes it a tonne more affordable than one of the more expensive sedans that I made in the game (a late 1980s restyling of one of my contest cars that I might wanna get around to posting here).

And yes, this does drive as much as it looks like.
As usual, assistance from this car was given by the ever-wise @Aruna.
I’d also like to see what you guys think of this land-yacht too so perhaps I could figure out what I could do to make it even more accurate to a 1970s barge.

[Sir_Night282nd]

[Oh man, the hiatus period has hit me more hard than I liked it to.]

The 1974 Span Motors Consort GL:

I wanted to make a small little car but I felt like I might be too narrowing myself down to the 1980s specialisation if I kept doing cars from the 1980s. So I decided to tackle making more cars with the latest open beta. In that case, I wanted to make a small car that had similar features to something like a MkII Ford Escort, so I decided to have a go at tackling at making something like that.

I intended the Consort to be a lot more of a budget-oriented car (or as much budget-oriented as I can get) with the contemporary features of a car like it. In hindsight, I think I was too inspired on the Escort in places and it mlooks more like a rip-off of an Escort in places.

But other than that, the car is basically a bog-standard British-styled budget oriented saloon from the mid-1970s with pretty much basic needs met. It has the usual double wishbone setup for a car to make it feel more sporty and comfortable than it really might be. The design is very much simplistic in its design while wanting to be more fancy than it really might be. The car may not be ecological, but it surely is economical for the time.

The 1200cc engine is measly and would fit closer to the kinds of engines that contemporaries would have, but mostly fitting slight between the 1100-1300cc engines. Since it is naturally aspirated and not too focusing on a higher RPM power band like the over-square IkaMagic engines, but it tries to be a lot more sensible. After all, this is not a sports car. Or at least Span doesn’t want you to believe it is.

It’s rather drivable since it is an FWD car with a relatively low-powered engine, but it will not beat more modern cars since its wheels are a lot more slimmer to accommodate for costs. The car has approximate costs of $12700, which I find to be one of the cheapest cars that I had made. Perhaps because it is so docile and less feature-packed than other cars, but it would not promise a lot of features in the first place.

Due to its cheapness, I would imagine it to be abundant and a car that would attract thieves or other people who would want to joyride. It is rather light-weight, which means that I would imagine this also being picked up by youths over the course of the 80s and 90s who would want a car that they could call as a tearaway vehicle. The low top speed of 96mph would make it seem less attractive compared to other cars at the time but what it lacked in speed and acceleration, it had made up for it with plenty of nimbleness.

So odd for me to transition from a barge to something a bit like a dinghy or a tiny speedboat, but I definnitely enjoyed myself making a boy racer’s car during the 80s. I might make more versions of it down the line hopefully?

[abg7]

You should make more powerful versions of the Consort in the future - it really needs a more powerful engine to take advantage of its agile chassis. And since it is a FWD car, is its engine transversely or longitudinally mounted? In the latter case it could even be converted to RWD, AWD or 4x4 for certain variants.

At any rate, it looks decent, and would probably the result of a mash-up between a Mk2 Escort and a Capri of the same vintage.

[Sir_Night282nd]

The engine is transverse to accompany its engine size better. If I was to make it longitudinal, then I’d have to undersquare it even further. But yeah, I’d love to make more powerful variants of the Consort. Maybe something akin to the RS2000 models, and maybe a rally-spec one.

[DrPepper2002]

Could you Send me a .car file for one of the Consort Models… Im intrested in Potentially Re-Engining it and seeing what i can do with this rather nice looking saloon

[Sir_Night282nd]

The 1974 Consort’s other trim models:

The Consort SL:

The next two trims are rather similar to the GL, but I have decided to give them a larger engine. This is especially since I intended these trim models to be more upmarket and perhaps ushering in the beginning of the Consort having a little cult following to itself compared to the more base-model Consort. They have 1600cc versions of the Wiltshire series engine designed by Span, offering a bit more pep compared to the 1200cc engine that was found in the GL. The SL is a lot more than just a GL with a 1600cc engine swap, since it has added accoutrements that were not found in the GL series. This includes a reworked suspension and the addition of an 8-track player and radio instead of only an AM radio.

The engine of the SL putters around at about 71hp for a push rod carburetted engine. It still is as reliable as its 1200cc cousin only with a tiny margin less. This has been updated with chrome bumpers as well to make it more distinguishable and more ‘premium-feeling’ compared to the GL. The most noticeable difference with a GL and an SL is the square headlights that have larger indicators in case if the ones below the bumper don’t cut it. This car is relatively scaled with price as well, being less affordable than a GL but offering much more bang for the buck regarding relative comforts. The seats may still be the same but the ride would be that little bit smoother.

I’d also imagine this to be abundant due to it being in a similar affordable end of the spectrum like the GL would be regarding if it was marketed as a car for the family. The approximate costs for this thing are $13600, making it seem more of a bargain when it offers more reinforced suspension, a more peppy engine and also a bit more creature comforts for those in a road trip. Still feels like a dinghy, although a slightly heavier dinghy compared to the GL.

The Consort XL:

The Consort XL was the more ‘luxurious’ trim of the Consorts, coming with even more comforts and also a more ‘modernised’ engine that helps it keep up with contemporaries. Only a tiny bit more reliable than a GL yet definitely packing a little more punch than the SL would. The car would also come with an optional vinyl roof for those who would fancy such additions. Much of the car looks similar with the SL, however it has added overriders to the front bumper and the rear also has been slightly changed to make it feel more distinguishable to an SL if the vinyl roof was not added.

I think of it as the Consort that would be more competitive with other cars similar to it, the engine having mechanical fuel injection and a fraction less noise than the other Consorts. But what definitely is the difference with the XL is how more responsive the engine feels to the throttle than the other Consorts of its time period. In general, the car was more economical and a tad more reliable. The engine produces 80hp and offers a lot more miles to the gallon due to the mechanical fuel injection being a benefactor to such gains in these stats.

The suspension is the same from the SL, yet the interior is more different with higher quality seats installed, thus attempting to create a balance of comfort inside and out for the budget that it has. Perhaps a car like this can give a Dolly a run for its money. The car felt noticeably safer as well, offering more advanced safety from the later 60s so that the car can withstand impacts better. Coming at $15800 of approximate costs, it certainly is the most expensive consort of that year, yet the benefits throughout may make this more desirable (especially for those who may want to acquire such a car through more nefarious means).

After these two trim levels of the Consort, they had noticed a slight difference in the kinds of people that had bought it eventually. They had noticed younger people are more interested in buying the Consort, thus hatching a plan from one of their engineers to make the ultimate Consorts for this kind of market…

[Sir_Night282nd]

[I’d like to thank @Human89845524 for the next pair of cars, specifically with the reference designs and engines for these little things. They looked great on the outside and I wanted to give them lots of TLC to make them that bit more complete. Due to version differences, some of it may look different however, yet rest assured that the engines are completely untouched.]

Trial by Fire: The 1977 Dynamic Duo:

The Consort 2000 Sport:

1977 was surely a busy time for Span as they worked on marketing the sporty duo that their engineers had worked on. They were eager to get a slice of the pie for a nippy and rather light sports car that also was a bit more focused on saving the customer a bit of money yet offering the thrills that such a could offer. The car came with a vinyl roof as standard and they sought special help with engines that help power the new and more exciting generation of Span Consorts.

Span had looked for suitable manufacturers to make engines that were suitable for such a car, and they even had them request drafts on what the new pair of sports cars should look like so they can work on these as a reference point. They had managed to strike a deal with Phoenix-Trident, who had given them the 100B series of DOHC engines to use for these sprightly vehicles (Specifically the second generaion engines). The engines themselves were designed in 1975, yet had innovations that were better than Span’s current Wiltshire series engines. The 120-95 engine powering the 2000 Sport had given it 95hp and a lot more fuel economy compared to the older more budget oriented Consorts of 1974.

The engine itself had resulted to being part of why the car was more expensive than others, normalising mechanical fuel injection for the Sport range. However, it was only slightly more expensive than the XL Consort when new, thus making it seem like it would be great value for a nippier version of the Consort that consumed less fuel per average drive. These cars were made special since they also came with an optional pinstripe of gold paint along with a badge at the side with the motif of a bird to show that these had Phoenix-Trident engines installed. This was true with the other Sport-series Consort.
The suspension was also switched to one that would offer the car more drivability and comfort, yet still trying to make the car sporty through other means. This was still sportier than the earlier Consorts by far, and the price tag made it. It also sat lower and had suspension specifically adapted to offer this nippy feeling around the track. This truly felt like an entry car into racing (albeit on less than legal circumstances for many of the owners). These truly felt like hot wheels for many of their owners, and these put the Consort on the map for Span Motors.

Not only were the Sport series of Consorts treated more as upmarket products with style and appearance, but they also were the safest of the Consorts. This was especially needed because they expect these to be thrown about, their speeds reaching nearly 120mph for this specific model. With $17800 in approximate costs, I think this would be a bargain sports car at the time. Maybe.

The Consort TurboSport:

The TurboSport borrowed much of the same design cues from the 2000 Sport, but it was made to certainly stand out from the crowd and look as imposing as it may be on the roads. This was dubbed as the ultimate Consort, the 2000 Sport’s wilder sibling because of how much power they squeezed into it. The secret answer as to why was simple, because of the turbocharger they had installed into this powerplant. However, it also had needed specifically higher quality fuel to take the engine to such power. This meant that servicing the car was a lot more expensive than the regular 2000 Sport.

The turbocharger had also made the car require more high maintenance than the 2000 Sport, yet Span Motors had took this to account by saying this type of Consort was more catered to more of the car enthusiast, who was much more passionate about cars and who would want to keep them in tip-top condition. These Consorts were a lot more faster than the regular 2000 Sport due to the turbocharger, offering 150hp compared to the 2000 Sport’s 95hp. However, this car was a lot more expensive as it was treated as the range topper of the Consort set, providing more premium quality lightweight seats, a racing steering wheel and premium 8-track system. This balance of sportiness and comfort had made this less of a pure racing car and more of an extremely sporty version of the Consort that caters to many needs at once. This Consort was also the quietest of the range, which was a rather surprising move for many people, and many popular aftermarket mods for it was to delete the mufflers.

Due to their more frightening sense of speed, the TurboSport was treated as even more of a track-car than say the 2000 Sport because of the amount of power they have packed into such a small and nimble body. Despite it, these also are the heaviest of the range because of all the accoutrements to make this car more luxurious than the other Consorts. The logo off to the side had made sure that this was what it claims to be and these things would be seen rocketing off of roads if their owners were living dangerously.

Like the 2000 Sport, it also had sat lower compared to the earlier models and had also offered a similar back appearance to the XL regarding the panel. It had also featured a spoiler to make it fit the part even more. This also has the approximate costs of $21500, making it still rather cheap for a dedicated sports car. I’d almost wanna say this was like the Sierra Cosworth of its time at this rate.

These cars were the most desirable for sure, and probably the rarest bunch of desirable Consorts to find because of their nature as being sports cars that most likely had the most interest about them. I’d imagine seeing them as a poster in someone’s bedroom as a dream car in the 1970s because of the fact that it feels more value for money compared to other sports cars at the time.

I had as much fun writing up for them as much as they had fun designing the cars and the engines. The Consort truly was an interesting detour to my usual cars and it lets me appreciate those sprightly 70s small cars a lot more.