[UE4] The Great Automation Run 2: Bolivian Affair, Chapter 5 and final results!


27 December 2009. Bottom Gear broadcasts the Bolivia Special, a challenge where Ramón Richards, Jeremiah Clack and James April have to cross the jungle, the Bolivian high plains and the Death Road in order to get to the coast of Chile. All of this was done in three beater offroaders.

12 August 2018. The host of the infamous 1995 race, the Great Automation Run, sends a new challenge to racers: buying or building an offroader, and recreating the same route that was taken in Bottom Gear to see who gets to the coast of Chile first!

And what’s the catch? 3 million dollars for the winner, of course!


Overview of the race.

Click here for an overview of the route.

Stage 1: the jungle. Just as the race begins, your characters will have to get their cars running and open a path for themselves through the dense rainforest. At the end of the day, each team will place a tent at the beginning of stage 2 to rest, repair and treat injuries before the next day.

Stage 2: the Bolivian Death Road. By some considered the world’s most dangerous road, the Death Road has seen countless casualties. The racers will have to be the most careful they’ve ever been in order to not be just another victim to the infamous trail. At the end of the day, if they survive, they’ll stop for the night at La Paz, to get ready for their next adventure…

Stage 3: The “Altiplano” (High plains). The beginning of the stage is a fast highway segment, soon followed by more offroading; as your characters climb the volcanos of the high plains, they (and their engines) will be starved of oxygen, making them more prone to making mistakes. Will they power through or will they be another victim to altitude sickness?

Stage 4: exiting the high plains. The engines regain power and the brains regain sanity as oxygen becomes more abundant. Who will be the king of the downhill segment?

Stage 5: the final stretch. One last highway segment and a few dangerous, steep dunes separate your characters from victory. Will they make it? Or will they fail this close to the finish line?

Each chapter will be a stage, with a total of five chapters. I don’t want this one to drag as much as the original Great Automation Run.


The rules.

RULES CONCERNING THE CHARACTERS:

This is a dangerous, illegal race. This means that you character might get injured or even die. You can opt out of your character being able to die (include it in the PM), but you may not opt out of injuries since these will play a role in the final times. Your crew will be composed of at least two people, up to 4 people.

RP is not mandatory, but I encourage you to develop and write characters and rp posts. I will point out that not RPing (as in not creating characters) doesn’t mean you’re safe from injuries.

CONCERNING THE VEHICLES:

Quality points: no more than 10 quality points in total and per slider in the engine tab, and no more than 10 points in total and per slider in the trim tab.
Aero: maximum one wing and lip. Undertray must be an offroad ready undertray.
Year: the car of choice must be from between the years 1970 and 2000. Engine swaps are allowed, but the higher the difference in model year and engine variant year, the bigger the reliability penalty, with a penalty of a point per year of difference. Drivetrain swaps and engine placement/suspension geometry are allowed, however.

Pricing will be as follows:

Cars from the 70s and 90s will be marked down 10%. Cars from the 80s will be marked down 20%. Cars from 2000 count as 90s.

Body style: may be any body style except two seaters and GT/exotic cars.
Engines: Engines will run on 91 octane fuel.
Chassis and body: Carbon fiber may not be used.
Wheels: may not be bigger than 800mm in diameter. That includes the tyre, which must be offroad compound. Rims may not be bigger than 18 inches.
Offroad stat: you’ll need at least an offroad rating of 30. More than 30 will be benefitial when it comes to the obstacles, making your vehicle more likely to make it through in the first attempt needing less time to get past them.
Interior: You need as many seats as crew members you have.
Safety: the safer your car is, the less likely your crew is to be injured, as safety will factor in the injury rolls (see injury chart for more info). If they find themselves in an accident, they’ll suffer less the higher the safety.
Reliability: Reliability (trim reliability) will also play a factor. Breakdowns will cost your team time to repair, money to buy spares and, if there’s no spares left and you’re far from any cities, you’ll be out of the race. The cost of spare parts will be calculated from your production units and how severe the breakdown is. The more crew members, the quicker repairing the car will be.
Drivability: the easier your car is to control, the easier it will be for your characters to drive…well, relatively quickly, but certainly quicker than with a undrivable car.
Fuel economy: Similarly to reliability, fuel economy will cost your team time to refuel, as well as the possibility of running out of fuel in the middle of nowhere, and being out of the race. Every car will be using a standard 53 liter fuel tank.
Budget: $18000. This includes possible expenses, like fuel, food, medical supplies, and spare parts.

Injury chart.

Note: in the last cell, it’s supposed to read “if the player opted out of death they’ll quit the race by breakdown.”


Entry format

Car name: GAR2-Username.
Trim name: name of the car.
Engine family: GAR2-Username.
Engine variant: engine name.

DEADLINE: Friday 24th August, 23:59 CEST.

You now have a period of a day or two to discuss and/or correct stuff that I might’ve got wrong. Get those entries in!

Entries (player, car and team).

  • Lava_cake - '87 Guirere TF3 - Team Bozo-Cross
  • Mikonp7 - '92 SX-2 Bolivian Special - Team JuiceHouse.
  • Private_Miros - '89 Merkur A10 - Team Quicksilver.
  • Madrias - '00 Travette 2000 - Team Rental Wreckers.
  • Racer13 - '00 Rallye STV - Team ABOPCO.
  • Watermelon3878 - '82 M-Series - …
  • RetroSteve - '81 Outlander 4x4 - Team Old but Gold
  • VicVictory - '85 R3200 S6 - Team Cannon Fodder
  • HighOctaneLove - '00 Alpaca - Team Run N Gun
  • NickingHC - '86 Nash GPE - Aston’s Orc Krew
  • VG33E - '78 GA700 - Team Mud Masters
  • MrChips - '85 Arcturus 100i - …
  • Vri404 - '81 Van Buren - Team Vallhalla
  • LinkLuke - '81 G400L - Team WAC
  • Knugcab - '96 Rexetta V6 - Team Hillbilly Rollers
  • Detsikeulii - '00 Serla - Team HHDWEUIH
  • Ramthecowy - '82 Mitrus - …
  • DoriftoDorito - '00 Bopproader - Team Bibimbap
  • AaronW - '00 Kishita AWD Sport - Team Brazilia!!!
  • BoostAndEthanol - '95 Kaiken II 2000 - Team Lights and Sounds
  • NormanVauxhall and Leonardo9613 - '86 3316 B Spec - Team Baltaznopresk
  • Elizipeazie - '78 Mimas 80 Sleeppakket - Operation BIRD
  • TheEpicRanger6 - '85 DirtRider - Team Two Idiots
  • Xepy - '89 Marax Turbo - Team GGEz
  • DeusExMackia - '98 Estate Roamer - Team Southend or Bust!
  • abg7 - '85 Teton Dirt Warrior - Team Dirt Warriors
  • TheElt - '00 Area Wanderer - …
  • ElMenduko - '89 The Modesty Machine - The Merry Men
  • DerBayer - '75 Paginza 622 - …
  • Rk38 - '90 Cross-4x Turbo - Team [REDACTED]
  • Strop - '98 Rugged - Team Finish or Die Trying
  • LS-Vehicles - '90 Liva GAT - Team Super Special
  • Mytrhin - '00 3027i - Team Bakewell Baltata
  • DukeOfHazards - '90 Land Crusher - Team 11
  • TheTechnoVampire - '89 Ranger 4x4 Raid - Team Wonderbolts
  • EnryGT5 - '89 Grandcab 3.0 - …
  • TheNomade - '90 Nomad Sport - Team 2 Girls 1 Truck
  • CadillacDave - '72 S120 Basic - The Communist Expendables
22 Likes

A privateer team comprised of 2 crew members will be entering this race in a dakar-spec Triton Courier.

Please note: Triton is in no way associated with this team and they do not condone illegal racing. This is not a factory team.

2 Likes

This is going to be absolutely brutal… For me, it brings to mind a longer, unsanctioned and more dangerous version of the Dakar Rally or the Baja 1000!

Anyway, do we have maximum PU/ET values to adhere to?

1 Like

@Mr.Computah

YASS! Illegal

you know who is gonna be there :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like

No sir! Just the maximum quality rule.

Gotta be careful with PU/ET, though. They’ll be used in calculating cost of spares. So if you haven’t left much in your budget for spares…

RIP.

6 Likes

BY THE GREAT BALLS OF FIRE MY FAVORITE FORUM TOURNAMENT GOT A SEQUEL!

Not interested, not going to join.

Jk, expect a car… hopefully before the deadline :stuck_out_tongue:

4 Likes

Maybe people could tell, but I like those kind of competitions. I will do an effort to get a car ready among organising my own.

4 Likes

I will see what I can come up with…

Just not sure what we’ll be driving, nor what team will be behind the wheel… I know an SUV would probably be a good choice, but… Well, that would be the sane option, and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?

4 Likes

@Madrias

I’ll be running a dakar-spec MPV. Going for a rather silly idea.

3 Likes

@SyberRacer

I’m tempted to run an offroad-ified 1999 Sinistra Serenade.

Only because I’m pretty sure I can’t make the Sinistra Sunbolt fit in the rule-set, as fun as a rear-engine sports-car with 5 seats could be.

2 Likes

This is so tricky yet fun!!!
I’m trying to make a good offroader with in “Dakar Raid” in mind but I’ll have to make it suitable enough budget, stuffing decent size V8 will be a bit too gas guzzler which drains the leftover budget.

2 Likes

Team Rental Wreckers


Driver: Jake Storm
Age: 30

Mechanic: Cody Acorne
Age 34


After their misadventures and subsequent rescue from 1952, these two found themselves ‘informed’ of a race and sent to find a car by Luke Light. Why? Because then he’d know “Where and when the hell the two of you are” and because it’d keep these two from messing with his time machine again. Realizing the stakes were high, and the prize higher, the two of them set out to find the ultimate racing machine.

They failed.

Specifically, their attempts to body-drop an old sedan onto a truck frame, then shove a 460-horsepower Sinistra V10 under the hood resulted in an undrivable mess.

After several rounds of beer and vodka, the two found themselves planning ideas and tinkering with a couple likely plans. They drank until they blacked out, and woke up to something they certainly weren’t expecting.


The Car:

This little screaming shit-nugget is a Vheego Travette 2000. Built in 2000, they made excellent cheap rental cars, and this one was no exception. With a 2 liter turbocharged inline 3 under the hood, a 5 speed automatic, and rear-wheel-drive, they made for cheap dependable fun.

So, what did our daring duo do to theirs? They welded together an offroading skidplate, wrapped the factory 15 inch steel rims in offroad tires, and had too much fun adding two more exhaust tips to the back of their little shitbox.

How far will this former rental car go? Who knows, and who cares?! These two are just out to have fun in their silver-blue ex-rental car, at least until something either breaks, or they crash it.


Feel free to skip to the next post below if you don’t want to read the story.


August 2018, 6 days after the Rescue from 1952, Storm Automotive HQ.

“What do you mean ‘We’re volunteered’ for this race?!” Jake said, staring at Luke with a mix of horror, shock, and anger written on his face.

“You knew there would be consequences for messing with my time machine, Jake. I volunteered you and Cody for this race so that I’ll know where and when the hell you’re at, and not be getting angry phone calls from Luke Sinistra regarding my security being shit. So, yes, you’re going on this race, or I’ll find something far more unpleasant for you to do, but I will personally guarantee you won’t have a single second to think about sneaking back down the elevator.” Luke shot back. “So go look for a car and start fixing it up.”

Jake looked at Cody, then snapped at him, “Thanks for backing me up, pal.”

“You got me dragged into this shit, Jake. Be glad he’s got us going on an illegal street race, and not sending us to work for Luke Sinistra as janitors. C’mon, we’re gonna go see Trevor, see if the maniac has anything worth driving we can bodge together.” Cody replied, giving a light grin.

The two of them took a cab to Trevor’s wrecking yard, where they wandered around until inspiration took hold.

“That’s a Sinistra Stampede. Has a V10 under the hood, made about 460 horses back in the 90’s. All-wheel-drive, though front-biased because, well, Sinistra does front-wheel-drive stuff.” Cody said. “And that’s an old Dynamite T-750, cab’s mangled to hell, but the frame’s still good. Take the body of that old Crown Monarch over there, drop it on that frame, shove 6.2 liters of Sinistra V10 under the hood, and, well, it’d go like hell.”

“Let’s do it, then.”


August 14, 2018, A Bar in Chicago.

“Wasted two days on that car.” Jake said, on his third glass of vodka after two bottles of beer. “All it does is spin the tires and then loop around on itself. We’re gonna fuckin’ die if we drive that fuckin’ thing.”

“We’ll think of something. We’re just not drunk enough.” Cody slurred out, a bit more drunk than Jake as he scribbled on a napkin. “See, the junkyard special is… Hold on, I gotta fart.” Cody mumbled, before unleashing a nearly-lethal cloud of gas and proceeding to try to wave it off. “Damn tacos. What was I sayin’ again… Oh, right. The junkyard special’s a good idea, but we don’t have the time for it.”

“I know. We need something fast, and we need it fast.” Jake said. “What’s the fastest car you can think of that we can get now?”

“A rental.” Cody said, before unleashing a belch that rattled glasses on the bar top.

“Be serious, Cody.”

“I am fuckin’ serious. People beat the shit out of rental cars all the fuckin’ time. We just need to get one used that ain’t too fucked up, buy it, and we’ve got a car we don’t have to care too much about.” Cody said.

“Given that the two of you keep mentioning some sort of illegal race, I shouldn’t say this, but my sister, Rachel, she runs this little rental place, Rachel’s Rapid Rentals. She’s got a car or two up for sale, kinda the end-of-life specials. They’re still good, but they’ve had a lot of miles,” the bartender said, before handing Jake one of the business cards.


August 15, 2018, 5:15 AM, Storm Raceworks Division Garage

Jake woke up to his smartphone blaring loud music at him, with the worst headache he’d ever had in his life. He grabbed the phone and shut off the alarm, then laid back down in the bed. 15 minutes later, the phone blared another loud alarm, and he got up, cursing the son-of-a-witch that set fifteen fucking alarms 15 minutes apart from each other. He slid out of bed, went to stand up, then promptly smacked his head on the roof.

Coming to his senses, he slowly realized where he was. Tan interior, belt-buckle in his back all night, the smell of wet dog and grandma’s house, mixed with cheap pine air fresheners and carpet powder.

“Aw fuck.” Jake grumbled, opening the rear passenger door and getting out of their new used rental car.

An hour later, Cody arrived, looking just about as bad as Jake did.

“So, we bought this last night.” Jake said. “Early 2000, a Vheego Travette.”

“Could be worse.” Cody said, looking over their little compact sedan. “Two-liter engine, turbocharged, rear-wheel-drive. Looks like we’ve got an automatic, too. A good one, actually. Park, reverse, neutral, drive, sport, and low. Plus and minus next to sport, so hey, we’ve got their 5 speed!”

“Well, says here we need an offroader.” Jake said, waving his phone at Cody.

“Weld on a skid-plate, fit offroad tires to those rims, and replace the open diff with a manual locker, and we’ll have something loosely like an off-roader.” Cody said, giving a wicked grin.

The two of them started work immediately, fitting an underbelly skid-plate and rock guards, getting offroad tires on their 15 inch steel rims, finding some center caps to cover the lug nuts off of some old hippie bus, and dropping the whole rear axle to fit the new manual locking differential.

Then, it was time for cosmetics. Cody got two more exhaust tips from Trevor’s junkyard and fitted them to their little Travette, and Jake supplied a low-profile rear wing for maximum aggression. They agreed, for their sanity, to leave the catalytic converter and muffler attached to the car, rather than straight-pipe it for maximum loudness.

“We need a team name.” Cody said after a while, as they studied their new car, looking for any ways to improve it.

“What do you mean?” Jake asked.

“Well, we’re not the V6 Vandals because we’re missing 3 cylinders and half the team, and we can’t claim Twin Snail because we don’t have two turbos, and we’re not part of that team. And it’s not a highway run, so Highway Hooligans is also out.”

“Rental Wreckers.” Jake said, grinning. “Let’s face it, we’ve got an old rental car and we’re going to prove that it’s not the power that matters, it’s not caring. Let’s show some of these hot-shots that 100 horsepower is more than enough to go fast.”

“Wow, we’ve only got a hundred horsepower? Thought we’d have at least twice that with the turbo.” Cody said, seeming shocked.

“She redlines at 4500, has pushrods, and an eco-turbo. What’d you expect? Trust me, we’ll be faster than somebody just because we’ll push the car. After all, it’s only a rental.” Jake said, chuckling.

9 Likes

@Madrias

I’d be thoroughly shocked if you don’t win because everyone knows a rental is the fastest car in the world. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

4 Likes

Rental is the answer to everything.

“I don’t know how to parallel park!” Don’t worry, it’s a rental.

“I don’t know how to drive a stick!” Don’t worry, it’s a rental.

“I don’t know how to drive car!” Don’t worry, it’s a rental.

3 Likes

So in case of injury there is a 23% chance of dying.

Those sound like fantastic odds.

I know just the guy for this.

6 Likes

Is this one of those “grandfather paradox” things?

2 Likes

I feel like I need to ask this for moral reasons, but where the hell is an illegal offroading competition getting a $3,000,000 cash prize? I know this is South America and everything, but perhaps there is a package being put in the cars during tech that the officials aren’t telling us?

3 Likes

Don’t question it. Just accept it. If someone is paying you that much you don’t care where the money is from.

3 Likes

They’re definitely stashing some bags of fruit loops under our cars.

3 Likes