Confession of an Automationeer, Part 184: Descendant of the Gods

Confession of an Automationeer, Part 184: Descendant of the Gods

My latest fully detailed build is a collaborative entry - the LVC LS860. This is the modern-day successor to the LVC LS60 of the '90s, and like its forebear, it utilizes a high-revving normally-aspirated V12 for propulsion. However, with the Ellisbury update introducing a nerf to sports tires (which this car has), I have decided to install an advanced AWD system for maximum drivability, grip, and sportiness - it takes just 2.2 seconds for it to reach 60 mph from a standstill. This isn't too surprising given that its engine develops 860 horsepower, although to be fair, the LS860 weighs 400kg more. Much of this is due to having a high-quality hand-made interior (complete with luxury HUD-based infotainment), with exact specifications dependent on customers' requests. Finally, its active wing provides significantly more downforce - more than enough to harness its immense thrust.

Above: The LVC LS860 (left) may be a more aggressive design compared to the LS60 (right) of 25 years earlier, but it's still a true head-turner.

Unlike the LS60, I did end up entering it in a forum competition - one about high-end supercars set in the present day. As part of the collaboration, I delegated the exterior design (and part of the interior) to a fellow Automationeer, while I handled the engineering aspect. Eventually, I received the finished file and polished it off by adding some interior details that were originally missing from the build.

Above: Organic curves, accentuated by dual round taillights and sweeping air intakes and vents, are among the features that stylistically link the LS860 to the LS60 of 25 years earlier. Even the rear wing resembles a smooth ducktail when retracted.

There is room for further development of this build - a one-off commission based on it (designed by another Automationeer, but different from the one with whom I developed the original), along with a lightweight, track-focused version with a more spartan interior, a lighter exhaust and wheels, and retuned suspension and gearbox are in the pipeline. I could make a pure RWD version of it if I want to, if only to see how far I can push the limits of the platform with just one pair of driven wheels.

In short, the LS860 may be a far more complex and aggressively styled machine than the LS60 that inspired it, but it is still a thing of beauty by the standards of our time - or any other, for that matter - and a far more capable and comfortable machine to boot.