Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 181: Lightweight David and Goliath Redux

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 181: Lightweight David and Goliath Redux

I recently took some time to revise not only the KMA K310 (my CSR163 entry), but also the LVC LS60 that I had made earlier. In both cases, I went to the trouble of cloning the model and the engine, but for the former, I shifted the model and engine family years forward by a full 10 years (from 2005 to 2015), with the trim and variant years being adjusted accordingly. This was purely a styling exercise, which meant that the exterior design remained virtually unchanged (at least for now), but it's still worth taking a look at the changes I made to this build.

Above, from top: The 2015 KMA K315T is now powered by a turbocharged engine, one that doesn't rev as high (or freely) as before, but to compensate for this, it's now slightly less spartan on the inside than before, and more reliable to boot.

This time, I opted for a turbocharged engine instead of a naturally aspirated one, to see if it would adversley affect the driving experience sufficiently to not be worth installing, considering that the cloned car was a full decade newer. Surprisingly, it did not - although I also made a different trim of this car with a naturally aspirated version of the same engine, and was suitably impressed by the result (especially its 600kg kerb weight), I realized that the turbo version was easier to drive daily (if it were ever possible in something as specialized as this) and, when geared correctly, even more efficient, without losing any reliability or safety. It was also only 15kg heavier compared to the original test mule on which it was based (a 2.5% increase), but the extra weight meant that I didn't have to mount the engine as far aft as before, which improved its dynamics somewhat.

As for the LVC LS60, I decided to give it a minor styling update, with a the front air extractor duct being split in two (thanks to a recolored grille accent fixture), and the single round taillights on each side being replaced by smaller dual units, to bring it into line with the rest of the contemporary model range. The interior has also been slightly reworked to have a smaller center stack (which is more in keeping with the car's lightweight ethos). Finally, a lighter exhaust system (incorporating dual straight-through mufflers in place of the original reverse-flow items) cuts the weight down to just 1030kg, especially with the rear wing fixture now a regular passive one (instead of a more complex active type), with the suspension being retuned accordingly.

Above, from top: With dual circular taillights on each side replacing the single units found in earlier versions, the LVC LS60 now has a more obvious family relationship to its lesser brethren, while on the inside, its smaller, simpler center stack is more harmonious than the bulkier design used previously.

In short, while both of these cars have had significant design and/or engineering changes compared to their previous iterations, they still show that light weight and razor-sharp dynamics can go a long way to erasing a power and/or torque deficit compared to their rivals.