Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 171: A Sporting Crisis?

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 171: A Sporting Crisis?

Recently, I had yet another chance to host a competition on the Automation forums. This time, I was given the reins to QFC41, having placed fourth in the previous QFC, only for the top three entrants to decline hosting duties for the next one. This time, I decided to combine the theme of the first QFC (small, light, affordable sports cars) with the time period of the second (mid-1970s). After a few adjustments to the rule set, I started the round on time and on schedule. It did not take me very long to receive entries, and by the time the deadline for submission had passed, I had received a total of 27 entries, although one of them was ineligible for not meeting the minimum fuel economy requirement (which was set to 20 US mpg for this round). That left a total of 26 entries that were eligible for consideration.

During judging, many of them fell short in one way or another, but eventually, I came up with a shortlist of ten cars to examine further. I went through each of those with a fine-tooth comb, and eventually narrowed my choice down to three: the Oran S1600 (a small, red, wedge-shaped coupe), the Phenix Helios (a larger wedge-shaped car, but mid-engined and with a bright yellow exterior), and the Tarske CF408 Coupe (another red front-engined car, but larger and more curvaceous). First to go was the Oran, whose overreliance on high-end and/or advanced technology was antithetical to the mission statement of the round. The Helios (which shared its name with another entrant in this round, although that one did not make it anywhere near the top 10) finished second by virtue of being one of the best-performing cars left, without being too encumbered by excessive standard equipment. However, it lagged behind in drivability, which meant that the Tarske (whose engine had more power and torque than that of any other car in the top 3) took top honors this time around.

Above, from left: The top three entries in QFC41, which I hosted - Phenix Helios (the runner-up), Tarske CF408 Coupe (overall winner), and Oran S1600 (third place).

All in all, hosting QFC41 was one of my most memorable and enjoyable experiences as an Automationeer, with the end result being a worthy winner and plenty of plaudits for the highest-placed entries. I'll see you next time - I'm compiling a spreadsheet of every QFC41 entrant's stats right now.