Ventura Motor Cars (VMC)
1961- Present
Origin- Scranton PA
Ventura was founded shortly after the Knox mine disaster, all but killing the once booming coal industry in the Electric city. The need for jobs in the city fueled a nearly Detroit level boom. What made Ventura different from the old American greats was they took notice to one thing the others didn’t; the newly flourishing Japanese car empire. Ventura’s first model, the Aegis, was constructed in an abandoned plant, which 5 years previous had been building mining machinery. The oil crisis didn’t hurt Ventura as greatly as they were prepared, mostly churning out peppy 4 and 6 cylinder engines that sipped fuel in comparison.
The 80s turned Ventura from a favorite in the Northeast to a national favorite among buyers who were unhappy with Fords and Chryslers, but still wanted to buy American. Ventura Embraced turbocharging tech as a means to the future. The 90s put Ventura on the world stage, when Ventura began to beat Honda and Toyota at their own game.
In 1991, VMC launched their V-Sport division, a skunkworks team of engineers that liked going fast. The first V-Sport factory was in an abandoned air hanger in the Avoca Airport. V-Sport would go on to give Godzilla a run for its money, taking a close second in the JTCC.
2000 brought more expansion and growth to Ventura, in particular the establishment of a Hybrid and Electric division, bringing the Electric City back to its former glory.
Today Ventura has vehicles in nearly every segment, from small economy runabouts, to extreme luxury works of art.
1991 Ventura Andromeda Group C
The Ventura Andromeda was built to go Endurance racing in the second half of Group C. It began competing at the 24 hours of Daytona in 1989, and was canceled at the demise of the racing class in 1993. It was replaced by the Zeus GT1 which went on to win the 1994 24 Hours of LeMans. The Andromeda was powered by a 3.5L TwinTurbocharged V8, which was the predecessor to the engine found in the Zeus. Ventura fielded 2 Andromedas in the 1989 24 Hours of LeMans, but failed to finish as the transaxles had a habit of exploding. Vetura revised the system for 1990, adding a 6th gear along the way. The two Andromedas were lightning quick around the circuit in 1990, but reliability issues caused a DNF from 1 car and a 4th place finish from the other. Reliability was worked on and the 1991 endurance season started out with a 1-2 Finish in Daytona. The newly created Ventura-Sport division oversaw the victory at Daytona, which went on to allow the greenlight for the Zeus project from Ventura higher ups. Spirits were high for LeMans as practice sessions showed that the Andromeda was fast, but was it reliable? The 1991 24 hours of Lemans started out with a near perfect lap from the #37. The cars were fast, and now reliable, which led to a #1 finish at LeMans in 1991. This little skunkworks team from Scranton PA had done it. Ventura became the second American team to win the 24 Hours, and have left a lasting legacy on the race. Unfortunately, the Andromeda never put up numbers like 1991 at LeMans again. As focus was shifted onto the Zeus, the Andromeda was a leftover relic of 80s technology. Its final podium came with a #3 at Daytona. Both Andromeda race cars reside at the Ventura corporate office in Scranton PA.
To commemorate the victory in 1991, Ventura produced 37 Andromeda street cars, costing a cool 1 million each. These cars had some of the Aero and cooling stripped, as well as a detuned engine, but they were street legal race cars. 36 Andromeda streets are in private collections, with the 001 being next to the race cars in the corporate office
Andromeda Group C Calhav #37:
Engine type: DOHC 60 degree V8
size:3473 cc
aspiration: Twin Turbo
Fuel consumption:14.3 MPG
weight:2384 Lbs
Automation cost: $99100
Engine design:
Horsepower: 749.5.
Torque: 645.3lb-ft
Tire selection:
Compound: Semi-slicks.
Front tire width: 280mm
Rear tire width: 395mm
Handling:
Top speed:210 mph
0-100kmh: 3.10 sec
It could make for a convincing GT1 car with some changes as a stopgap measure until the Zeus arrived.
The Zeus came out in 93, right when Group C was phased out. V-Sport was well aware the Andromeda was aging by 91 when it won LeMans and them winning convinced the top brass at Ventura to let them build the Zeus. Pictured is the road car version
The Zeus looks every inch the early/mid-90s supercar that it is - and was unsurprisingly a great base for a race car.
The Zeus would go on to win LeMans in 94. Pictured here is the #16 Calhav that was piloted and worked on by a lot of the same people that propelled the #37 Andromeda to the winner’s circle.
Ventura Thanatos Undertaker
The year is 1964. Ventura had been developing an all new sports coupe to slot in above the Aegis. Then the Mustang was announced. Over-night, America was crazed with these new pony cars, and Ventura wanted in. So, Ventura engineers took the existing drivetrain they had been developing and turned it into a pony car. This is the very reason the Thanatos is quite different compared to other pony cars of the time. The Thanatos released in 1966, selling quite maddingly. Those who owned one, loved its European characteristics, but it was a tough sell to a lot of freedom blooded Americans. A facelift released in 1969, bumping displacement to 4L (from 3.6) and hp to 312 (from 280). This facelift model was debuted in the new “Undertaker” trim, which featured racing stripes, a factory hood scoop and duckbill spoiler. The Undertaker trim was actually planned to have a 3.5L turbo V6, but the engine was delayed well into the 70s.
The Undertaker sold better than the original Thanatos, but failed to be a universal hit in many markets. It did, however, sell well into the gas crisis, as its high efficiency engine was able to flourish in a sea of gas guzzlers.
Steel monocoque chassis with steel panels
Mac strut front, semi trailing rear
Weight:2675
4043cc 90 deg DOHC 4V full Alu V8
312hp @ 6300RPM
270.1 lb-ft @ 5800RPM
per cylinder fuel injection
4sp manual
4.25 final gear
Top speed: 136.1 mph
0-62: 5.82s
clutched LSD
190mm square
14" wheels
2 piston disc/1 piston disc
2+2
standard interior
standard AM
Manual rack and pinion
Advanced 60s safety
Progressive gas mono-tube
$11500
It looks like it was built on one of the Mobula body sets - I’m assuming the mid-sized one (2.52m wheelbase). An all-alloy DOHC 4v V8 is quite unrealistic for a 60s pony car, however, and would have been much more appropriate for something introduced in the 1990s or later.
You are correct on the body. Wanted to have fun with it which is why it doesn’t have traditional pony car features. The engine is actually essentially 2 4 cylinders from a 1964 car I built glued together. Double cams were a thing, just not well loved in America.