Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 152: God's Own Chariot

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 152: God's Own Chariot

In my spare time, I decided to revisit the idea of a hand-built flagship luxury car with an immensely powerful engine, but this time with a greater focus on performance. The result was the 1992 WM Deus 720R - an ultra-high-performance version of the standard Deus, which debuted in 1990. This full-size four-door luxury sedan was blessed with a 525-horsepower 7.2-liter V12 engine driving the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual or 5-speed automatic gearbox - with the latter, the Deus 720R could reach 207 mph and blast to 60 mph from a standstill in just 4.5 seconds.

The WM Deus 720R - a monstrous four-door luxury sedan with the heart of a supercar.

Thanks to specially tuned fully independent active suspension, large ABS-assisted vented disc brakes, and 18-inch forged magnesium alloy wheels wrapped in wide low-profile high-performance tires, the Deus 720R had the handling and braking to challenge even the best supercars of its day.

This is the view most people would see of the Deus 720R on the road.

The Deus' highly refined feel was enhanced by a bespoke hand-built interior crafted using only the finest materials; a top-shelf audio system that included a CD player was standard.

The interior of the WM Deus 720R - surely the fastest ground-bound mobile office in the world of its time?

Even crazier still was the Deus 720X, whose uprated engine (boasting tubular headers and individual throttle bodies) developed a staggering 575 horsepower. The only transmission for this trim was a 6-speed manual gearbox - the result was a mind-boggling top speed of 217 mph and a 0-60 mph time of exactly 4 seconds.

The Deus 720X is a leaner, meaner version of the already formidable 720R.

Visually, the only differences between the 720X and its lesser sibling are smoked headlight and taillight lenses, larger dual exhaust pipes in place of the standard smaller quad units, and bigger front and rear spoilers.

Nothing on four wheels with four (or more) doors and four (or more) seats can match the menacing air of the Deus 720X.

To harness its extra power, the 720X has a retuned suspension with a lower ride height, providing an even more responsive feel than before.

A third pedal and a stick shift come as standard in the 720X.

In short, this is the craziest four-door car I have ever made in Automation - and in fact, I would have entered it in QFC23 had I not submitted a heavily revised version of the slower, but more luxurious, Ventnor V12 in its place.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 151: Ute Reboot

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 151: Ute Reboot

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a round of the Crowd Sourcing Competition on the Automation forums. This time, the premise was as follows: to design a coupe utility (usually abbreviated to "ute") for the fictional car company Helron. After a few hours, I came up with the Helron Yokie SP Ute, powered by a big naturally aspirated V8 (6.3 liters) driving the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and a geared limited-slip differential.

It may be a simple design, but the Helron Yokie SP Ute easily gets its point across.

Much to my surprise and delight, my design proposal went on to win the round - it was a simpler design than what most of the other entrants had come up with, but it had more than enough presence to get the nod from the host. This also marked the first time I had won a forum challenge since my overall Car of the Year prize in the 1974 Letaran Auto Convention, and with this latest CSC wrapped up, I set about hosting the next CSC - but that's a story for another time and post.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 150: Ventnor Revisited

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 150: Ventnor Revisited

After a strong finish (fourth overall) in QFC22 with my sports-focused wagon/estate, I was left anticipating what the next QFC would bring. To my surprise, it was themed around flagship luxury cars with a high price cap ($80,000 AMU), and I was relieved to find something that I could rework for this latest challenge. That car was the Ventnor V12, which I had made earlier in my spare time. Given the brief, however, I decided to rework the exterior and interior to make them even more opulent than before, in addition to upgrading the mechanicals and trim options. The result was the AMS Ventnor V12 6.0 Ultimate - an even more lavish version of the most luxurious car I have ever made since Automation switched to the latest LCV 4.2 build. In a nutshell, I took the existing trim and made it even more detailed (and technologically advanced) than ever before.

Above and below: A thorough exterior rework of the Ventnor V12 makes it look and feel even more opulent and ostentatious than it once was - in a good way.

In keeping with the more liberal rule set of QFC23, I added a few tech pool and quality points in every area (except forced induction), and exploited this to incorporate a whole host of advanced technologies such as sat-nav and an electronic LSD, as well as retuning the engine for slightly more horsepower and torque, along with improved efficiency. This bumped up the Ventnor's price to $70,000 AMU, but this was justified by the car's stats (especially key criteria such as drivability, comfort and prestige) having been commensurately improved across the board. 

A heavily revised interior makes the Ventnor V12 even more pleasant to sit in than it once was.

Overall, the revised Ventnor is unquestionably a much better-looking (and more thoughtfully engineered) car than it once was, but considering that I was expecting most of the other entrants in QFC23 to also come up with visual masterpieces, it needed to be. At any rate, I was quite satisfied with how well this build turned out, and am justifiably even more proud of it than I was before - especially after it secured a top-5 finish in the final rankings.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 149: The Entrant That Wasn't

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 149: The Entrant That Wasn't

Although I entered the SVM Savant in CSR 154 recently, it wasn't my first attempt at an entry for that particular challenge. My first attempt at a build for that purpose was a RWD sedan of similar size (and in its initial form, with a smaller wheelbase) with a longitudinally mounted straight-six, in contrast to the Savant's FWD layout and V6 engine. However, the straight-six in question was not an overhead-valve unit, but a single-overhead-cam engine (albeit with only two valves per cylinder). The result was cheaper than the Savant (by $1500 AMU), but lagged behind in drivability and reliability - both of which were key judging criteria for CSR 154, which prompted me to opt for the Savant instead as my submission. However, after committing to the Savant, I realized that the unused idea it replaced was too good to waste, and adapted it for a stand-alone build - the 1984 KMA K4.

For this build, I set the model, trim, family, and variant years to 1984, since I realized that the body set it was based on may be a bit too futuristic for 1980. Also, the engine was a dual-overhead-cam unit with four valves per cylinder - a setup that was becoming more common as the decade progressed. This was a more expensive option compared to the original SOHC unit (hence the car's higher price of $19,500 AMU as shown in the markets tab), but yielded a more powerful (180bhp) and efficient engine (23.8 US mpg combined, as shown on the trim statistics table). The rest of the car remained mostly unchanged, except for a slightly revised front end.

This is the 1984 KMA K4 in its current form, powered by a 3.0L twin-cam 24-valve straight six. Originally it was intended for CSR154, but that plan was axed on reliability grounds.

In its current state, the K4 platform has plenty of potential; a higher-spec trim, possibly a high-performance one, could utilize a larger, more highly tuned straight-six, or even a V8. Lesser trims, on the other hand, could use a smaller, less highly strung version of the six-cylinder engine. This could open the door to the K4 line being extended to encompass a whole range of mid-size executive cars, catering to a wider variety of buyers and budgets.

Overall, I enjoyed adapting this build for a stand-alone car after regrettably rejecting it for CSR154, before salvaging and improving it as I saw fit. Also, since tomorrow is Easter Sunday, I have two words on which to end this post: Happy Easter!

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 148: Coupe Troop

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 148: Coupe Troop

After the soft, boxy brick that was the 1980 SVM Savant, my next build showcase is about something from the opposite end of the decade - and far sportier to boot. The car in question is the 1989 AMS Albatross - a small, light, and affordable sports coupe.

The 1989 AMS Albatross range, from left to right: 2.0 (base model), 2.0 Sport, 2.0 Turbo, 2.0 Turbo Premium, and 2.0 Turbo R.

The five trim levels of the AMS Albatross are as follows:

• 2.0: Base model with 14-inch steel wheels and basic stereo/cassette tape player. Powered by a 140-bhp 2.0L DOHC 16v I4, this is a cheap and relatively economical FWD coupe.
• 2.0 Sport: A sportier mid-range trim level that adds 15-inch alloy wheels, standard sound system, a viscous LSD, and a functional aero kit that includes a rear wing.
• 2.0 Turbo: The high-end trim level, with AWD, sportier suspension, bigger brakes, a mechanical limited-slip differential, and a turbocharged version of the 2.0L engine developing 200 bhp.
• 2.0 Turbo Premium: As above, but with premium interior and stereo, plus a CD player - a great choice for customers who want (and can afford) more creature comforts.
• 2.0 Turbo R: A lighter, harder-edged version of the Turbo, aimed at hardcore enthusiasts, and fitted with forged wheels, sports interior, and an even firmer suspension set-up as standard.

A 4-speed automatic transmission is available on the naturally aspirated FWD 2.0 (with or without the Sport package), but not on any of the turbocharged trim levels. In addition, only the Turbo (with or without either option package) can be ordered with a contrasting black roof, pillars, and side mirrors, but only with some exterior colors. All versions have 4-wheel independent suspension (strut front/multi-link rear) and 4-wheel vented disc brakes, with ABS available across the range either as standard or as an option. Finally, the Premium and R trims are mutually exclusive - you can have one or the other, but not both.

In short, there's an Albatross for every buyer and budget, with plenty of options to suit your tastes.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 147: Brick Blaster

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 147: Brick Blaster

As promised in the previous post, I have chosen to show off another recent build for a forum challenge. This time, however, instead of a sports car or even a supercar, it's something much slower - and cheaper. To that end, here is the 1980 SVM Savant, shown here in 3.0 trim.

The SVM Savant is a slow but comfortable and reliable land barge, albeit a downsized one.

For this build, I settled on a transversely mounted, all-iron, overhead-valve, 90-degree V6 engine with multipoint electronic fuel injection, sending 115 horsepower to the front wheels via a 3-speed automatic transmission. Suspension is fully independent at all four wheels (struts up front and semi-trailing arms at the back). Brakes are solid discs up front and drums at the rear. As for the interior, it's a premium-grade unit with a premium stereo and cassette tape player. All told, the Savant had an estimated price of $16,500 AMU (as shown in the markets section of the in-game overview tab).

Who cares about a lack of power when you're isolated from all the troubles of the outside world?

I did not make a detailed interior for this build, but the rules of CSR 154 didn't require me to do so.  However, I could still give it a 3D interior if I wanted to. In addition to the 3.0 trim shown above, I also made a decontented version of the Savant, powered by a 2.5L straight-four developing 90 horsepower, and with the interior and entertainment downgraded to standard spec, with narrower steel wheels in place of the original's alloy items. The resulting trim is cheaper, at just $13,000 AMU, but I felt it was too bare-bones for the requirements of the challenge.

All in all, in contrast to the two mid-engined supercars shown in the previous post in this series, the SVM Savant makes for a nice contrast - and a fitting change of pace that's focused purely on comfort and drivability over sportiness and performance.