Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 193: Capstone of a Legacy

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 193: Capstone of a Legacy

For my third and final submission in A Legendary Legacy, I decided to give the AMS Antares of the 2000s a once-over, using the same tech pool budget ($75m in total). This time, I spared no expense in making it perform as intended. With a billet block for its engine, plus a glued and extruded aluminum alloy chassis clad in aluminum bodywork, this was definitely a more expensive offering than its predecessor, especially when fitted with the optional carbon-ceramic brakes and 20-inch forged alloy wheels (as shown below).

Above, from top: The 2005 AMS Antares took its predecessors design cues and evolved them for the 21st century, but had all-new underpinnings beneath its muscular skin.

To justify the extra price, semi-active dampers were offered for the first time ever, and satellite navigation was part of the standard equipment list. However, it retained the Antares line's hallmarks of a naturally aspirated V8 driving the rear wheels, and a raised center section on the hood flanked by two functional vents, with one more on each front fender. And with 500 horsepower using the same displacement, thanks to variable valve timing and lift, the Antares' performance was even closer to true supercar status, if it wasn't already.

Semi-slick tires (not fitted to this example) were also part of the extensive option list, although they wouldn't be as suitable to wet-weather driving as the standard high-performance rubber. And as before, customers enjoyed a wide variety of interior and exterior color and trim options - they could even specify bespoke finishes at extra cost if they desired.

In short, this generation of Antares was a fitting exclamation point for this challenge trilogy to end on, with more than enough speed and handling to match the segment leaders, all wrapped up in a sensuous exterior that makes it an object of desire, even to this day.

Hotshot Tales, Part 12: Royal Roadway Rumble

Hotshot Tales, Part 12: Royal Roadway Rumble

Royal Roadway (the third configuration of the Jungle track set in Hotshot Racing) has an infamous reputation for producing chaotic races (especially in Barrel Barrage and Drive or Explode), due to having two major bottlenecks (one immediately after the first turn, and another before the final chicane series) within its layout. A recent Drive or Explode race over 7 laps on Expert difficulty against the AI bore this out, and ended up being one of the craziest races I've ever had. So here's how it all went down.

As usual, I chose Marcus' Carbon for its unrivaled speed and surprisingly good handling, but since Drive or Explode uses a rolling start, there was no need to worry about a perfect launch, as I would in Arcade Mode and Barrel Barrage. This time, I opted for a more aggressive approach than usual - a brave move considering how difficult it is to negotiate the bottlenecks after completing the fourth lap. It all started when I hit Viktor's Rennen multiple times on the first lap, and a simple tap on the right rear bumper was enough for me to finish him off, as he spun out into the inner wall and got stuck just long enough to be eliminated. But he was only the first casualty of this crazy race for survival.

Above and below: Viktor was the first victim of my rampage in this chaotic Drive or Explode event on Royal Roadway - I spun him out of control and into the inner wall, the first of many early exits for my opposition.

Inevitably, things got feistier later on, and at one point, Xing (in a Fastback) tried to knock me out of the race on the second turn. Fortunately, I had at least one boost in reserve, and used it to quickly catch up to the pack, barely managing to avoid elimination as I completed each sector within the time limit after the leader had done so. The pressure on the opposition eventually became too much for them to bear. Xing spun out on the second bottleneck a few laps later, and I hit him head-on, leaving him with no chance of recovery; shortly afterwards, a tap from Keiko's Eight Rock took him out for good.

Above, from top: Xing may have tried to take me out early on, but ultimately paid the ultimate price for his aggression - he got stuck on the second bottleneck, and I slammed into him, knocking him into the path of Keiko's Eight Rock, finishing him off.

From there, the opposition dropped like flies, and it wasn't long before I found myself as the sole survivor - but my work wasn't done yet. I just had to survive to the very end, and I did just that. I was relieved to do so, if only because I had faced elimination before the halfway mark. Had I not made it to the end, all of my "kills" in this event would've been rendered moot.

Above, from top: As I pulled away from what little was left of the pack, the opposition began to melt away - Alexa and Aston couldn't keep up, and with Mike and Keiko long gone by then, Toshiro was the only real threat - until he too ran out of time and fell by the wayside.

In short, this was one of the craziest events I've ever had in Hotshot Racing, and serves as a reminder that anything can happen, no matter what car/track/event combination you choose.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 192: Evolution over Revolution

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 192: Evolution over Revolution

I was recently handed a chance to host the next round (the 34th one) of the Automation RestoMod Challenge (ARM) on the Discord forums, and didn't hesitate to took it. But before we get to it, I'll explain exactly how and why I ended up in this situation. For the first time in a long time, and possibly ever, I won a Discourse challenge purely on merit - and that challenge turned out to be the previous ARM. So without further ado, here's how it went.

The premise of the 33rd iteration of ARM was to rebuild an early 80s exotic to modern (2020 model year onwards) standards. This was important, considering how it was quite fast for its time, even with just over 200 horsepower, but it was very sluggish by today's standards. So the refurbished final product had to be much more exciting to drive, and not just in a straight line. It also had to be more livable (mainly in terms of drivability, comfort, and reliability), but performance/sportiness was still the top priority, along with authenticity (in the sense of how faithful it was to its original mechanical configuration of a transverse mid-mounted V8).

After some deliberation, I decided to make my ARM33 entry a subtle evolution of the donor car. The resulting 328 Revo had a rebuilt engine with an aluminum/silicon block and heads, a higher displacement (3.2 liters, up from 3.0), and crucially, 4-valve dual overhead-cam-per-bank heads fed by modern multi-port injection, a high-flow intake, and long-tube headers with a high-flow catalytic converter. Power output had almost doubled to 400 horsepower, which I felt was more than adequate for the finished product.

Speaking of which, the 328 Revo was built on a galvanized steel chassis with aluminum bodywork, for better environmental resistance and minimized weight gain. In addition, uprated brakes, tires, and suspension (plus larger forged wheels filling out more of the wheel arches) came as standard, along with a subtle aero kit incorporating a front lip, a small ducktail rear spoiler, and a rear diffuser. And with an additional cog in its gearbox, plus a helical limited-slip differential in place of the stock clutched unit, its acceleration, handling, braking, and speed were on par with modern standards.

The exterior boasted an LED-based recreation of the stock lighting arrangement, which worked well enough. More significantly, though, the interior was refurbished with new seats, lightweight fabrics, and a modern infotainment system. On top of that, the chassis was stiffened up for extra rigidity, while additional safety kit was installed, along with ABS and traction control - although the unassisted steering remained untouched. All-up, the Revo had a sticker price of $45,000 AMU - right on the limit, but that's after factoring in the extra cost of the engine swap/rebuild ($2000), body kit ($1500), chassis refurbishment ($2000), and panel replacement ($1500).

Above, from top: The 328 Revo (my submission for Automation Restomod Challenge 33) was subtly altered from the donor car on the outside, but a bit more comprehensively re-engineered on the inside to help it keep up with modern performance car standards.

Surprisingly, despite not leading the small but high-quality field in any category other than safety, the Revo still scored highly enough everywhere else to take top honors. This was, without a doubt, the best moment of my nearly 10-year career as an Automationeer: I had done well enough to place highly in many Discourse forum challenges before this one, but never actually won any - until now. I felt justifiably proud of my achievements, and felt sufficiently emboldened by the win to take the reins for ARM34 - after having built a suitable donor car for it.