Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 118: Bubble

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 118: Bubble

Having already described my entry for QFC9, I am now going to showcase my entry for the preceding QFC, in which the design brief called for a 4-door, 5-seater executive car. With this in mind, I made the KMA K50 3.0 - a large sedan with a proper luxury interior and a sound system to match.

The KMA K50: proof that even in the luxury car market, the simplest solutions may be the best ones.

Built on sound underpinnings (a galvanized steel monocoque with some alloy panels and double wishbone suspension at each corner), the K50 is powered by a normally aspirated 200-bhp 3.0-liter straight-six driving the rear wheels via an electronically controlled 4-speed automatic transmission. Brakes are vented discs all around with ABS as standard, while a driver's airbag was also fitted.

The lavishly appointed interior of the K50 is packed to the gills with all the advanced technology anyone could expect from a car of this type and era.

I designed the K50 to be simple, and it shows: by eschewing the advanced adaptive dampers and hydropneumatic or air springs of some of its rivals, and tuning the suspension mainly for comfort, I ended up with a $35,000 car (in 1988 AMU) that managed to finish a very honorable third place overall. In short, the K50 is great value for money, and does well enough to satisfy the head as much as the heart.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 117: CEL Challenge Revisited

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 117: CEL Challenge Revisited

Earlier in this series, I discussed the set of spinner wheels used for the CEL (Class, Era, Location) Challenge and how they work. Now, after several weeks, I have decided to return to it, because there is one new entry on the Class spinner: Concept Cars. I take this to mean one of two things:

• any car that is not a production car, but will influence future production cars in some way; or
• a bespoke one-off or low-volume build for a specific customer or set of customers.

Above: An example of a CEL combination with the revised Class spinner, in which Concept Cars was the chosen class.

All the rules stated in the previous post about the CEL Challenge still apply. However, I would like to suggest a new, optional house rule in which any Lucky and/or Unlucky options incompatible with (or at least highly out of place for) the selected era must be ignored, i.e. the requirement to follow them is waived under such circumstances. Obviously, this rule does not apply if the Luck spinner (second from the left in the bottom row) lands on Neither. As an amendment to this rule, if the Luck spinner lands on Both, ignore the Lucky and Unlucky options if they are incompatible with each other. The effect of this is to avoid having to generate a new CEL combination if any of the above situations arise.

Above: Under the new optional house rule, you may choose to ignore any Lucky and/or Unlucky options that are incompatible with the selected era. In the example shown above, "Everything" refers to all Lucky options, including AWD - something that does not exist in the Oil Crisis era. As such, instead of generating a new CEL combination, you may use the current one, but with the Lucky option completely ignored if the house rule is in effect.

Every other spinner remains unchanged, so there is no need to discuss them further as yet.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 116: Able Archer

 Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 116: Able Archer

Today is the 1st of September, which marks the unofficial start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere (or spring in the Southern Hemisphere). To mark the occasion, I have chosen to show another recent build of mine: the AMS Archer R. This mid-engined supercar (or hypercar depending on your view) was originally created as my entry into the ninth Quick Fire Challenge, and holds a special place in my heart for being the first mid-engined supercar for which I have ever created a detailed interior.

Above, from top: Various angles of the AMS Archer R, a mid-engined supercar of the mid-2000s with the heart of a savage beast.

The Archer R is powered by a 6.0-liter naturally aspirated V12 delivering 660 horsepower to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. Such immense power yields a top speed of 230 miles per hour and a 0-60 mph time of just 3.2 seconds. To harness this much thrust, the Archer R uses pushrod-actuated suspension at all four corners, tuned for exhilarating performance on any road or track. Huge vented disc brakes at each corner are essential for keeping this much grunt in check; as such, the Archer R comes equipped with them as standard. In addition, its racing-inspired aerodynamics (including an active rear wing) provide unparalleled stability at any speed, while its full carbon-fiber monocoque structure keeps the weight down to under 1.3 metric tons. Finally, the occupants are treated to a truly luxurious interior, which uses only the finest genuine materials and includes a top-end sound system with satellite navigation.

Above, from top: An overview of the interior of the AMS Archer R.

I had a lot of fun making this build - stay tuned for more build showcases on this blog in the coming weeks.