TV & Movie Car Challenge Round 11 (TMCC11): For the Spirited Driver in All of Us [Finished]

[66mazda]

Previous round (round 10): TV & Movie Car Challenge (Round 10): Low Skill and Fast Cars [Results!]
Premise: TV and Movie Car Challenge

1983 Porsche 928S Vs. Camaro Z28 | Retro Review

@Vena.Sera423 and @66mazda proudly present the following competition to this distinguished community:

Show: Velocity
Episode: The Mainstream Super-Sedan

1988
Lexington, Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

H.T. in“Badlands Rumble”

“For the Spirited Driver in All of Us”

A 1988 BMW M5 (E28) pulls up and both hosts exit the M5 and have a short conversation about the car.

(Vince.423)- “Hello there and welcome to Velocity!”

(66Vincent) - “We all know that the BMW roundel commands prestigious respect among Americans, and it shows when nearly every other car company has tried to compare themselves to BMW’s formidable engineering, with few succeeding. BMW cemented their legacy in the performance renaissance of the 80s when they shoehorned the legendary 3.5L inline 6 that once powered the M1 in the 535i, creating the M5, the world’s first super-sedan. When we first reviewed it, its combination of subtle, stealthy styling, revolutionary performance, and exclusivity led us to call it the “best sports sedan in the world.” 4 years later, few 2 doors, let alone any four doors, can match what the M5 brings to the table. It is the epitome of what BMW stands for, bringing 4 door practicality and sports car performance with pure engineering.”

(Vince.423)- “With a msrp of over $51,000, it should be the best sports sedan in the world. And with more manufacturers taking interest in 4 door performance, we inquired on how close you could come to the supercar beating performance of the M5 with a sports sedan the average enthusiast can aspire to …”

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Yep

It’s a David vs. Golaith match

You will be tasked with providing a suitable car that can go toe to toe with the M5, at around 1/3 the cost.

Velocity is a theoretical performance an motorsports oriented sister publication of Motorweek, using a similar TV format, and sometimes sharing staff, cars, and events together. With topics such as car reviews, modification tutorials, motorsports coverage, competitions, and much more, it is a major name in the car magazine and TV show world.

The typical car review mirrors the motorweek format, with a brief overview of history, comments on styling, comments on wheels and tires, comments on build quality, basic specs of and comments on the engine, acceleration test, 1/4 mile test, comments on the transmission, comments on ride, slalom test, 55 mph evasive maneuver test, braking test, comments on EPA ratings, real-world mixed driving fuel-economy test, comments on interior and build quality, pros, and cons.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Basic rules:

• 1988 trim year
  From past experience, this should be a pretty lore friendly year.

• 4 door sedan or liftback/fastback body style
  Please don’t submit a wagon. VERTICAL TAILGATES/TRUNKS ARE BANNED IF YOU SUBMIT A HATCHBACK. If you submit a hatchback your car will receive additional visual scrutiny.

• At least 4 full seats
  Please…it’s a sedan/liftback/fastback.

• 2.6-2.9 wheelbase
  No boats or flies please. Normal rounding rules apply here.

• Max: 135 et for trim, 140 et for engine

• Trim price soft limit of $35,000, hard limit is $40,000
  Isn’t that the whole point of this comp? lol
  Also, if you go past the soft limit, it sure as hell has to be worth it.

• No race engine parts (excluding race exhaust). No V16.
  Please or I’ll shoot you on sight.

• 86, 90, 93 aki fuel only (91, 95, 98 RON)
  tbh I would have allowed 87, 89, and 91 as the US mostly gets 87, 89, and 93 (some states use 91 in place of 93, and some areas use even lower octane fuels (mostly high altitude and rural areas)) but it allows for too much stats cheesing. Also please note that this is a performance sedan competition.

• Three way catalytic converter or better
  Emissions laws.

• Max engine noise: 40
  Also a law.

• CSR style realism
  You should understand this.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Criteria

Sportiness and general performance stats
Transmission choice
Automation Test Track time
Drivability
Comfort
Design
Functionality of design
Interior design
Realism of engineering
Cost
Not focusing on one specific stat
How the power and torque is made, including dyno curves

Safety
Reliability

Fuel economy
Fuel octane choice
Service costs

________________________________________________________________________________________

Special Rules

• Planned start of submissions
  Saturday, October 3, 2020
  Time zone: PDT

• Planned end of submissions
  Sunday, November 1, 2020
  Time zone: PDT

• Submission messages regulations
  PLEASE SUBMIT TO BOTH ME AND VENA (ADD BOTH OF US AS RECIPIENTS OF THE SAME MESSAGE). ONLY DISCOURSE IS ACCEPTED (NO DISCORD)
  AFTER I CONFIRM THAT I RECEIVED THE SUBMISSION/CHANGES, DO NOT EDIT ANY EXISTING MESSAGES, DO THE FILE SWAP TRICK, OR MAKE MORE THAN ONE SUBMISSION MESSAGE. IF YOU NEED TO MAKE CHANGES, REPLY TO YOUR EXISTING SUBMISSION MESSAGE AND WAIT FOR CONFIRMATION. THIS WILL APPLY TO ALL REGULATIONS BELOW

• Naming convention
  Car model/engine family: TMCC11 - (discourse username)

NOTE: THIS IS SYMBOL SENSITIVE. IF YOUR NAME HAS A SINGLE MISSING DIGIT/SYMBOL, THEN IT WILL BE AN AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION FOR YOU
However, if you submit it before the deadline, and get the name wrong, then I will give you as many attempts as needed for you to meet the naming regulations. This also means that you are allowed to submit as many times as needed before the deadline.
Ask this question: if you copied your username from the .car in game name, and pasted it in discourse with the @ function, would discourse suggest your name and your name only?

Car trim: Your car name
Engine variant: Engine name

• Interior design
  When you submit your car file, you must specify the interior of a period-correct car you wish to emulate.
  IF AN INTERIOR IS NOT SPECIFIED, THEN YOU WILL GET AN AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION
  The interior specifications should be on the same message chain as the .car file submission (eg. you can send the interior as a response to your .car file submission if I confirmed your submission without interior specs, or include interior specs with your .car file message if you plan to send them both at the same time).

• Forum post
  You must post at minimum a picture of your car and the car name. But please note that the lore you put in that post will influence our reviews, so please put them in. Ads and photoshops will be much loved.
  IF THERE IS NO ACCEPTABLE POST IN THIS FORUM FROM THE CREATOR, THEN THEY WILL GET DISQUALIFIED
  You will get a reminder three days before the due date.

• Transmission feel
  Motorweek and Velocity have extensive sections on transmission feel (for cars with manual transmission). To simulate that, we will take into account peak power and torque, and the 3 core stats of drivability, sportiness, and comfort. Yes an equation will be used. Please do not stress much over this, it’s mainly there to add an extra level of realism. So while this stat will matter and can be used to determine who passes and who does not, your other stats will matter much more.

• Other notes
  Everything not specified in this rulebook is fair game. However we reserve the right to change rules at any time.
  Now to be honest, we will remind you. In addition, when submissions start, changes will be minimized.
  I will notify and try to help you to the best of my ability if any rules are broken before the submission due date. Do not hesitate to ask questions. We are here to help you.
  If there is a technical issue right before the deadline, then due date extensions (grace periods) can be negotiated.
  ________________________________________________________________________________________

Performance benchmarks

Cost conscious performance benchmarks

Enjoy and have fun!

[66mazda]

VERIFICATION 1
Requested by: @Boiled_Steak
Question: Do we need an interior (on the car itself)?
Answer: No

Explanation for verification 1

MotorWeek | Retro Review: '86 Mercedes Benz 190E 2.3-16 - YouTube

Potentially helpful articles include:
Why We Love Them: Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 | Bring a Trailer

Just check to see if they have a section on the interior.

ALSO NOTE: please be aware of the trim level of the car you are imitating and check your sources accordingly. Now with that said I am aware that some cars share interior across multiple trims, so that will be taken into account.
In addition you are allowed to change up and specify a few things here and there such as type of switches (for windows, seats, radios, climate control and radio, automatic seatbelts or not, etc…).
Your choice of interior and entertainment along with interior quality will also play a huge role in interior reviews too. Also, if we judge your interior to be unrealistic given your interior choices, then we will work together to choose a more suitable one (this is to prevent minmaxing and stats cheesing).

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VERIFICATION 2
Requested by @donutsnail
Question: What kind of M5 are we benchmarking.
Answer: The USDM version.
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VERIFICATION 3
Requested by @Jaimz
Question: Are hatchbacks allowed.
Answer: Technically yes.

Explanation for verification 3

Here are the recommended side profiles of sedans and hatchbacks. Please don’t give me a vertical tailgate/trunk.

(See above, do not send me something like a Focus hatchback or wagon. I will not hesitate to shoot your proposal down.)

This means no vertical tailgates/trunks.

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VERIFICATION 4
Requested by: @vero94773
Question: Can we combine multiple interiors as long as we send all the needed pictures?
Answer: Yes.

Explanation for verification 4

Such a tactic is permissible as long as you specify what elements of the interiors you are using and submit pictures of all the interiors you plan to use. Both positive and negative aspects from all interiors submitted will be included. Realism rules apply.

[DrPepper2002]

Could you please not be so pedantic and harsh with the naming, interior specifying thing and stuff, if people make a slight mistake on things it should NOT automatically result in a bin. IT just seems unneccesarily harsh and could scare some people off from the challenge due to said unneccesary harshness and strictness. Also saying ‘i will force you to choose a more suitable interior’ is just rude and a tad insulting.

[66mazda]

Absolutely not. This is why I opted to give competitors unlimited submissions, as long as they follow the regulations, so I believe it’s already quite forgiving. In addition if anything goes wrong, then we will work over it to make sure it is done right. These regulations are there to ensure a smooth and organized process.
On the second part, I have changed the wording to make it more accurate.

[abg7]

@66mazda

Not focusing on one specific stat

I take that to mean that “min-maxing is strongly discouraged”.

Anyway, I already have a test car ready; I just need to give it a once-over in case I choose to submit it eventually.

[66mazda]

You are correct, that is the whole point

[Marcus_gt500]

OOOOHHH Boy, time to make that one sports sedan/coupe that everyone asks me everytime I post SL lore! I’ll just have to hope to find a overseas review of a car that was never sold overseas.

[Jaimz]

@66mazda

liftback

Does liftback include hatchbacks?

[66mazda]

Liftbacks are hatchbacks

[Quneitra]

Is it worth trying to aim for a price significantly lower than the soft limit?

[66mazda]

What do I get for the price? Keep this question in mind

[66mazda]

You can just send a picture of the interior

[nialloftara]

Oh good! a chance to update and Soup up the Raider I made for the (still on hiatus) ESC challenge.

[DrPepper2002]

more to the point… what is this challenges stance on turbocharging

[66mazda]

Just don’t give us a stupid torque curve and don’t focus on one stat.

[66mazda]

Also I hope to clarify this, you are allowed to post your “ads” right now. They will fulfill your documentation requirement.
The section on transmission feel should come this weekend. This should not heavily impact your engineering, but it is a good way of adding another level of realism to our reviews. We think we are obligated to share such information to you.
Anyways, I’m considering a Q and A session on discord this weekend too.

[GassTiresandOil]

I was just thinking of this… since catalytic converters are mandatory on our cars, would I be correct in presuming we should be aiming to beat the American version of the BMW M5? Or will you still be using the European version’s performance numbers?

[66mazda]

Please check verification sheet. It’s the USDM version

[AMuteCrypt]

Presenting a preliminary advert for my submission: The Ginan Eucla E25.
Ginan is an upstart car company, looking to move quickly and disrupt the market. They plan to do so by making cars that straddle the gap between the everyday and the extraordinary. Numerous analysts have been dubious about this plan, but it has worked out well so far. The company’s first car, the 1984 E25, was a moderate success. The company doubled down on that success, establishing the Eucla performance division to create an up-tuned version to compete with the likes of the M-Series. They took out bold, full-page adverts in numerous magazines, espousing the benefits of both of their products, Initial reviews of the Eucla team’s first effort are positive, although some doubt that the car will find a good niche.

---

In other words: Graphic design is my passion. Basic advert, but I am not the most artistic. I drew inspiration from the various ads sent out by Porsche around this period, and came up with a slogan to match. The “regular” E25 doesn’t actually exist yet - it’s all lore, for now. A submission and interior will be forthcoming, Funnily enough, the E25 name is a coincidence which I didn’t realise until it was too late - it’s an E-Segment car with a 2.5L engine. The car is honestly pretty standard, and should easily meet all specified rules. It has good appeal to the Fun Premium, Family Sport Premium and Muscle demographics, which seem like the correct ones for this. Design feels somewhat bland for the sides and rear, but that feels accurate to the 80s to me. I might update the car if rules change, but probably won’t need to.

[GassTiresandOil]

The 1988 Armor Valencia H.O.

When Armor Co. introduced the new-for-1985 Armor Valencia (and upscale Durendal Gladius), it was initially only the Gladius that received a 4.4 liter V8, while the Valencia served the masses with a 3.3 liter V6. The V8 proved to be a versatile engine, though, and Durendal decided to build a performance model with a 5-speed manual.

Ultimately, the target audience for Durendal Division weren’t all too interested in shifting gears by themselves, so the Gladius GT was short lived. But by 1988, Armor Division’s audience was aching for some more oomph (emphasis on the MPH).

Armor Division decided to simply take the engineering from the Gladius GT and dress it in the more accessible clothes of the Valencia, and the Valencia H.O was born.

This didn’t turn out to be as simple as they thought, though. The V8 was expensive to build, and it was heavy. Armor revised the head and cam setup to be simpler, cheaper, and lighter than before. Power was still more than adequate, but the engine was now overall more user friendly, and fit the bottom line as well.

Armor wanted the H.O. to be an honest effort at true performance. So, while they did lighten up the engine some, they also worked hard on tuning the suspension properly to compensate for what was still a lopsided weight distribution. The numbers show the tuning to be decidedly American (most stable in a straight line), but in real-world applications the handling can feel quite responsive.

The question is, can it be the budget rocket that de-thrones the almighty M5?