Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 210: Another Four-Door Cruiser for Keen Drivers

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 210: Another Four-Door Cruiser for Keen Drivers

The AAA Centurion 6.0 SS wasn't the only fully detailed four-door build I recently made with a Discourse challenge in mind. A few weeks before that, I started work on a more luxury-focused design, the 1992 HPG HL6 4.0 Sport, which you can find more about here - and unlike the AMS Ventnor I made a few years ago, I chose the '89 Ice Cream body set as the starting point. My choice was justified: the Ventnor, being built on the '88 Indicator body set, was too small and light for the brief, and the only other alternative, the '87 Boat body set, wasn't available in the size I wanted to use. With the base body set locked in, I commenced design and engineering work, making sure to work within the limits of the challenge, the rules of which can be found in this post.

Built on a unitary AHS steel chassis with treated steel bodywork (for better rust protection), the HL6 is an outlier among luxury sedans, thanks to its curvaceous, forward-thinking design (at a time when some real-life equivalents were far more angular by comparison) and lighter build (under 1.7 tons in some trims). The Sport package leverages this even further with slightly lower, stiffer suspension (which still retains most of the comfort found in the standard setup) and a viscous limited-slip differential. Powered by a 275-bhp 4.0-liter naturally aspirated 32-valve quad-cam V8, driving the rear wheels via a five-speed advanced automatic gearbox, the HL6 has the thrust to match its looks - and with A-arm front suspension and a multi-link rear end, it delivers a supple ride/handling balance on any road surface.

Above, from top: With its sleek, sporty ambiance, the 1992 HPG HL6 was a breath of fresh air in a segment whose offerings generally had a more stoic look and feel by comparison.

Higher-end trims came with optional air suspension (and even satellite navigation in later years), but even without them, the HL6 was an alluring alternative to the more conservative choices found in the segment. To justify this, it had a luxurious, high-quality interior and CD/cassette stereo sound system, with advanced safety features such as ABS-assisted vented disc brakes at each corner, along with traction control and variable-assist power steering.

Above: The interior of the HPG HL6 was packed with lots of standard equipment, as befitting a full-size luxury car - and offered in a wide range of color/material combinations on customer request, just like the exterior.

In short, the HL6 4.0 Sport is best described as a surprise package within its class: unexpectedly sporty to look at and drive (but in a good way), while still retaining top-tier levels of luxury, safety, technology, and convenience with minimal compromise, even in its most basic form.