Tonight, we present to you a brand-new show by Amazon Prime, called Haven’s Rebellion.
It’s a show that’s all about taking down a villainous mastermind supercomputer called “The Controller”, who is behind the corruption in Newhaven City. A team of rebels are ready to strike him down from his digital throne, led the charge by our young protagonist named Max.
Hammond: But to do that, they need a car… a Specialized one! Something that is insanely fast, upwards of 600 km/h, or thereabouts. Could be more, could be less. And it also needs the ability to travel both on land AND in the air at a similar pace. So, we’re looking for sleek, aerodynamic designs equipped with state-of-the-art technology that allows it to avoid detection by the city’s surveillance systems.
James: Several car brands and design houses around the world were given an offer to send in their designs for the car that Max and his team would drive. But only a handful responded with designs that were worth looking into. And we’re eager to tell you, that we’ll be judging and choosing the very vehicle that Max and his gang will drive throughout the show in THIS VERY EPISODE!
Jeremy: We have 4 different cars from different design studios tonight, and all have taken their own twist at designing the car. Which car will come out on top and help us take down The Controller once and for all?
Hammond: That’s for us to find out on Haven’s Rebellion! Get ready for an adrenaline-fueled ride as we join our rebels on a mission to save Newhaven City from the clutches of The Controller. It’s time to rebel!
Cherub Horizon.Rho:
Alright, let’s start off with the Cherub Horizon.Rho, a mid-level consumer car from the year 2080.
It’s pretty clear that Cherub has been keeping up with the times of Newhaven City. The car has ditched traditional tires and treads in favor of oscillating repulson-pad wheels that provide traction without physically touching the surface. These wheels are supposed to provide a practical solution to a long-standing problem among motorists: Punctures and Deflations. You are basically getting the ability to traverse both on land AND air on the same set of wheels without ever worrying about deteriorating or exploding rubber. Very neat!
The forward thrust, when airborne, is provided by atmospheric ionic jets, which are another set of fascinating features that really sets the Horizon.Rho apart from its competitors. The ability to take off vertically and reach the upper fringes of the atmosphere is truly spectacular. However, even with all this pseudoscience liberty, I can’t help but think such jets are extremely advanced, thus harder to maintain, and might have a massive impact on the environment.
The Horizon.Rho immediately reminds me of a car from way back in the past, the Pontiac Trans-Am. Specifically, the third generation Firebird Trans-Am from 1982. While it doesn’t outright copy it, there definitely are some defining features that this car has borrowed from the Trans-Am. The primary headlights and taillights mirror each other vertically, which seems very in your face at first with its boldness. Initially, I was on the fence about whether I like this or not. After a few thoughts, I don’t hate it, but both lights, especially the rear ones, could do with a skinnier housing. Such large housings seem like a thing of the past, considering how even today’s high-tech cars have very skinny and sleek headlights. The rear also features quad atmospheric ionic jets as we mentioned earlier, which can often be mistaken as a part of the taillights due to having a similar shade. It makes the rear look dazzled in red lighting, which we found problematic for dark, cinematic shots.
The exterior is riddled with tons of aerodynamic features. While some of them do seem plausible, unfortunately most of them aren’t really that coherent, regarding design OR science. There are many louvres and vents and pointy bits that go all over the place. When thrown into an air tunnel, some of those control surfaces ended up making the car less aero-efficient than what it would’ve been if it didn’t have them. Also noticed how control surfaces, once again, resemble how the Pontiac Trans-Am from Knight Rider looked like during super-pursuit mode. While it is indeed a nice touch, we can’t help but feel that these surfaces and aero features severely date the car, to the point it becomes more form over function. Now that’s not a bad thing per se, but it sure hampers the functionality of the design, something our protagonists can’t ignore. The bottom control surfaces and vents for generating ground effect, however, are very cool though. Perhaps not all hope is still lost. Or is it?
The interior, however, is what truly dates the concept. This is where it goes full Knight Rider, retro 80s mode and forgets the fact that it is supposed to be from the future, and not a blast-from-the-past-mobile. It’s almost 90% buttons and dials from the 80s, and then some LCD screens thrown in for good measure. As a retro enthusiast, I personally do enjoy this design. But once again, it becomes very form over function.
Speaking of the driving experience, it’s clear that this car is meant for some serious airtime. The control surfaces sprouting from the vehicle keep it nimble both in the air and on the ground, and additional ion thrusters dot the perimeter to guarantee fine directional control at any speed. The dashboard does seem quite intimidating with its complex layout that the driver has to keep track of, but Cherub’s AI implementation does most of the heavy lifting in that regard.
Overall, the Cherub Horizon.Rho is a sleek and fast hero car, discrete and multi-capable, but it does have its quirks. While the exterior may have dated a bit, its overall looks do give it some edge, as it successfully captures the Cassette Futurism aesthetic the show is going for. As for the interior, well, it’s a blast from the past that might be more nostalgia than practicality. But overall, a solid entry. It almost reminds me of a 370z or a previous gen Camaro if thinking of potential buyers. Not the best in their class when it comes to specs, and the looks leave some room to be desired considering the age of the design, but a great starting point for tuners and hooligans.
Ithil MS467:
If you’re a wealthy Enclave citizen and you’re looking for a hypercar that will make a statement on both land and air, then look no further than the Ithil MS467. This vehicle is a true status symbol, and it’s not hard to see why.
The world is changing. Old institutions wither away, and new ones rise.
And speaking of rising, let me tell you about a group of scientists and visionaries within the OMNI company who saw an opportunity in the stars.
After taking over assets both public and private, the Ithil division of OMNI was born. Named after the elvish word for Moon, these guys took control of NASA’s mostly abandoned lunar base and their ice mining operations. And what did they do with it, you ask? Well, they turned it into the most luxurious holiday destination for the Enclave citizens and the wealthiest from the rest of the world. They even helped alleviate the water crisis back on earth with their constant supply of water. And if that wasn’t enough, it became a launchpad for space exploration!
But as with all good things, it didn’t last. The Controller saw the Ithil division as complacent sycophants, and all further space exploration endeavors were brought fully under OMNI and The Controller’s wing. Ouch.
But don’t worry, Ithil still stayed a household name among the wealthy of the Enclave. So much so, that they wanted a taste of it back home. And boy did Ithil deliver with their Hypercar Project. Using their expertise in advanced material synthesis and propulsion systems, they created the MS467, which dominates all performance metrics and satisfies even the most exigent Enclave citizens.
The MS467 is all about performance, with a midship 6.8 litre quad turbocharged V12 producing a staggering 1318 bhp. That kind of power will get you from 0 to 100 km/h in just two seconds, making this one of the fastest accelerating hypercars on the market.
But the MS467 isn’t just about straight-line speed. Its focus lies on cornering and track performance, with a heavy emphasis on aerodynamic and mechanical grip. And if you want to take to the skies, the MS467 has you covered with a set of dual-mode thrusters that offer both hovercraft functionality and high-speed flying. With retractable wings and active aerodynamics, this hypercar is just as comfortable in the air as it is on the ground.
The interior of the MS467 is just as impressive as the exterior. With titanium-reinforced carbon fibre and fully synthetic suede covering every surface, this vehicle is as light and high-tech as they come. And with a multi-screen setup and heads-up display, you’ll always be in control no matter where you are.
Now then, let’s get down to the nitty-gritties of the design, since that’s what most of you would be looking at throughout the show anyway. The first thing that we noticed is that the MS467 is a rather unique piece of automotive sculpture. Everything about it stands out from the current onslaught of samey looking hypercars we see these days, although that ought to be true, since they were indeed supposed to be designed way deep into the future. It’s hard to say whether this design would actually hold up in the year 2077, but in terms of the show’s aesthetics, I’d say Ithil’s design studio is pretty bang on. And on the plus side, they didn’t seem to outright “take inspiration” from any major brands or iconic cars, not blatantly at least!
If the previous entry was riddled with aerodynamic features that mostly didn’t function, then this is quite the opposite of that approach… In the sense that this car is also riddled with aerodynamic features all around it, but they are set up in a way that it looks significantly more convincing. The front of the car features a massive gaping mouth… And when I say massive, I really do mean it. But unlike most cars of today that have a giant fascia or nose, this actually looks right. And that’s mostly because this car is a geometric heaven. It feels like an architect, or a designer obsessed with neat and tidy geometric shapes had a field day with it, and that’s a very good thing. No matter which angles you look at this car from, it looks consistent with its aesthetics. Every line, every shape, every fixture simply… resolves. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
The whole car is also vents galore. There is an opening for air to go in and an exit for air to go out pretty much everywhere. The design studio has utilized every method in the book to come up with ways to reduce aerodynamic drag while also cooling the supposedly high-tech hardware that will probably run hotter than the sun when on full throttle. Venturi tunnels, wide sidepods, vortex generators, vertical stabilizer, winglets and canards, radiant-barrier insulation via reflective materials, phase change materials around the panels, air dams… it is an absolute treat for aero tech nerds. And boy do all of these perform well. A quick test in a wind-tunnel shows that not only do these outrageous aero fixtures look good in form, but they are also highly functional when in terms of aero efficiency.
The minimal moving control surfaces do end up being a viable design choice for a car this big, considering how extremely light it is, and the fact that most of the thrust and vertical movement is taken care of by the dual-mode thrusters mounted on the rims of the wheels and on the rear end of the car. The thrusters themselves are implemented in a very clever manner. The wheel mounted ones look like they belong there, while the rear mounted ones look like an extra set of exhaust system. We also can’t help but mention how cool the hexa-exhaust system looks alongside the entire rear end, which again does not shy away from looking like an architect’s wet dream. In fact, the high-slung nature of the rear end almost reminds me of the Tumbler from Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies.
The interior features 3 seats, like a McLaren. A very practical way of implementing passenger seats in a hypercar, I must say. I mean the car is wide as hell and doesn’t require any gear shifters, might as well use the space to put two more seats down, right? What gets me the most though, is the simplicity of the whole design. It’s all done very elegantly, not too flashy but also not barebones. The centre-console system goes in a straight line and the other end of it meets the steering wheel. The circular part of the steering wheel rotates while the middle hub itself remains in its position. The hub also functions as a touchpad for quick gesture controls. And yes, we can’t stress enough how cool the car looks when the side-opening canopy is released. Not only does it make a statement on its own, but if we completely get rid of the canopy, it turns into something completely different while being the exact same car… Almost like the Aventador and its J cousin. Mark of a good design, I tell you!
So, if you’re looking for a hypercar that can do it all - from land to air and back again - then the Ithil MS467 is the perfect choice for you. With its stunning design, monumental performance, and impressive pseudo-science technology, this vehicle is sure to turn heads wherever you go. Buyers of Aventador Ultimaes and P1s and SF90s in today’s era might be the most suitable comparative measures of who might buy such a car in the future.
AMCW Vyrada:
Next up on the line, we have something a little bit different, and it’s called the AMCW Vyrada.
Now, this car is named after a term that means “violent wind” in the language of its creators. And that’s a fitting name because this thing packs a punch. Instead of wheels, it has eight ground-effect thrusters that generate lift and allow the car to hover and move in any direction effortlessly.
The Vyrada is powered by a quad-turbo V12 engine, and get this, a fission-initiated fusion reactor! That’s right, a fusion reactor! The 1,000-horsepower generated by the V12 is used to drive a fan in the chassis tunnel which forces air through the reactor’s cooling fins, rapidly increasing the temperature. The superheated air is then forced into the four aft turbines which draw in cold, dense air from outside, mixing it with the superheated air. The resulting expansion already produces a tremendous amount of forward thrust, but as a final party favor, it is then possible to use the built-in afterburner to inject motor fuel directly into the hot air stream. This allows the car to travel at upwards of 225mph! Can you believe that?
Now, I know what you’re thinking. How do you control such a thing? Well, that’s where things get even more interesting. Steering is handled by a specialized yoke. Steering conventionally, like driving a car, controls the swivel axis of the gimbal system, allowing for small, precise steering movements. Pulling or pushing on both of the sticks together will raise or lower your altitude. Applying the sticks in opposite directions will cause a stronger yaw motion than can be gained by steering alone, which is more useful for high-speed flight. It’s a proper flying car in the most sensible approach possible. It has gone for the approach of looking like your standard issue road car… but with extra steps of having tech that allows it to fly. And I’d personally say it has got that part nailed just fine.
And if you’re worried about safety, don’t be. The Vyrada has dual controls, so you and your co-pilot can fly in confidence while your rear seat passengers work on hacking into The Controller’s systems, taking it down piece by piece. Plus, with a 10-minute operating time on the fission reactor alone, you have some time to get out of any sticky situations.
The car isn’t, however, without faults though. Despite looking just fine on our photoshoots, the car’s biggest pitfall is… it looks like a car? Don’t get me wrong, the show’s producers did want quite literally an automobile with the ability of flight. And while that is a very vague brief to follow, it is certainly up to a designer to come up with striking ideas that stand out from the rest of the crowd. And unfortunately for the Vyrada, it doesn’t do very well in that department. The very wide headlights, for example, that start from nearly the middle of the fascia and go all the way up to the front wheel wells, look unique and have a charm to them for sure. But the main issue is with them looking not very modernized. Yes, the theme of the round is supposed to look back at the 80s and 90s for aesthetics, but the year is also 2077. Surely LED technology has come a long way by then to just use a bog standard, thick headlight housing with multiple segments instead of being one single, sleek bit?
The whole car’s party feature seems to revolve around the thrusters mounted below it, where the wheels would be, and the gigantic thrusters on the rear. The taillights go around the rear thrusters and while that does create a very unique look, the lights themselves once again date the entire design due to how thick they are. While other designers have gone for a sleeker and pointier look, AMCW has opted for a 90s blobby look. Can’t say we’re entirely in love with this.
The aero features also seem to be lackluster. There are some vents here, some wings there, and that’s about it. The lower bottom fascia looks very, very dull. The interior, other than the cool looking dual yoke and dash design, airplane style gear shifter and minimalist 90s-esque buttons, is nothing to write home about either, in my opinion.
But I will say this, the base design of everything is there. Surely, if more detailing and sculpting effort was put into this car, something truly bold would’ve come out. But as the design stands right now, it is rather civilian looking than something that’d be the flagship automobile icon for a show.
So, there you have it, folks. The AMCW Vyrada, a car that packs a stupid amount of punch under its hood but doesn’t really convey equally in the looks department. The “Strong Wind and Calm Seas” approach perhaps went a bit too hard on the calm seas part. What AMCW has essentially come up with here, is a Ford Taurus SHO. Powerful, but not much in the looks department.
Zephorus P 201:
Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on the Zephorus P 201, a car that seems to have stepped right out of an alternate universe where the 80s collided with the future in a glorious cassette-futurism fueled explosion. It’s a machine that dares to be different, and boy, does it succeed. It’s like Michelangelo and the DeLorean had a love child.
Let’s start with the exterior. The Italians have truly outdone themselves with the styling of this beast. It’s a blend of boldness and stealth, like a ninja dressed in a tailored suit. The sleek glass housing hides the front lights, creating an enigmatic aura that’s impossible to ignore. From a distance, that massive glass housing looks like a grille piece, demanding attention while exuding an air of sophistication. If there is a guidebook on creating striking designs that aren’t very complex, this car follows it perfectly.
Forget about all those needlessly pointy, edgy designs that clutter the online portfolios of wannabe car designers who bloat the forums with styling we’ve already seen a million times. The Zephorus P 201 takes a different approach from all that, opting for simple shapes that beautifully merge the best of both edgy and round. It’s like someone took a really cool looking video-game console from that era and designed a car around it.
And let’s not forget the rear. The taillight design is straight out of a sci-fi movie marathon. Picture the aesthetics of Blade Runner and TRON, and you’re halfway there. The rear wing, reminiscent of the legendary Mercedes 190E Evo 2, is outrageous in size, yet fully functional. It’s the automotive equivalent of flexing your muscles while looking darn good doing it.
But unlike some of the cars we’ve seen in the past that are competing for the star role in the show, the Zephorus P 201 is not just a pretty face—it’s a technological marvel too. The Zephorus Pulsejet Hover System is a stroke of (pseudo)scientific genius. It promises to propel you at mind-boggling speeds on land, make you hover above the ground like a levitating wizard, and provide thrust during proper flight. It also has retractable wings. They’re like a superhero’s cape, deployed during flight for horizontal controls. When the wings are retracted, the car looks almost like a standard land vehicle, and then you deploy the wings and it’s all “Oh, you thought I was just for the ground? Watch this!”.
Step inside, and you’ll be greeted by a perfect balance of old and new. The interior seamlessly blends bleeding-edge technology with a nod to the good ol’ days. It’s like a time machine that allows you to experience the past while enjoying the benefits of modern wizardry. It’s like mixing analog buttons with modern OLED technology… well that’s exactly what it is for the most parts. And let’s not forget the dual gear lever system, a clever engineering workaround for simplifying the land and flight controls. The smaller lever is used for when you’re navigating the earthly terrains, the larger one is for when you’re soaring SKY-HIGH HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH GEDDIT GEDDIT? HAHAHAHAH
The Zephorus P 201 is a true one-off. It defies conventional automotive crafting, confidently striding into the realm of bespoke designs that you see not too often. It’s sleek, advanced, elegant, and bold—all wrapped into one remarkable package. It is a vision of automotive brilliance. It’s a rolling testament to the fusion of cassette futurism and cutting-edge modern design. So, if you were in the market for a car that will turn heads, capture hearts, and transport you to a world where the 80s never ended, look no further than the Zephorus P 201. It’s a true marvel, and you’ll feel like a rockstar every time you slide behind the wheel.
Judgement Time!:
4/ AMCW Vyrada by @Madrias :
If this competition was about worldbuilding and setting up the lore, you’d probably have a waaaay better time here. But unfortunately, you’ve shoved the internals of a Bugatti Divo inside what looks like a Camry that didn’t grow out of the 90s. The base is there, but it needs expansion.
This car will be featured in the show, but will mostly be driven around by civilians who drive relatively powerful cars with very understated styling.
3/ Cherub Horizon.Rho by @VanZandt_Breda :
The effort is definitely admirable. You’ve given it a proper try. It’s a bit messy in some places but definitely salvageable if you wanted to clean it up and give it much more coherent features.
The car will be featured in the show, will be portrayed as the go-to choice for street racing and new trackday enthusiasts for modding the shit out of.
^ Unfortunate for you two because while I appreciate the effort you guys have put in worldbuilding and designing your cars, you were walking among other two giants. Not to undermine the quality of your designs, just expressing how far ahead the other two were.
2/ Ithil MS467 @the-chowi :
Where to even begin. Proper automotive craftsmanship right here. Stupidly complex design, without making it look messy or disorganized. A serious candidate, and would’ve probably been my initial choice if it hadn’t been for the rather menacing look it wears. What I mean is, the only reason this came out second is because the other car matched my vision near perfectly.
This car will be seen being driven by The Controller’s elite agents, and will surely have a profound role in the show.
1/ Zephorus P 201 @Riley :
Italian styling blended with proper cassette-futurism. Reminds us of the bygone era that we didn’t see with our eyes, but feel nostalgic about anyway. Firing up automation and looking at this car made me go through an entire synthwave playlist on Spotify. If that’s not enough of a sign that this IS the chosen one, I don’t know what is.
Congratulations to Zephorus, your car will be Max’s primary vehicle, and will be featured on screen when taking down The Controller.
Thanks to everyone who participated, or read through this.
TMCC27 Ends here
