Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 223: An Inevitable Evolution

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 223: An Inevitable Evolution

With the base trims of the Mantle Torpedo now complete, I decided to see how a tuned version would look and feel like. The resulting car, the 1992 Mantle Torpedo Evo, is shown below.

Above, from top: The 1992 Mantle Torpedo Evo, a tuning package for the base model, turns the fun factor up to 11 with an extra 76 horsepower, a lightweight sport interior, wider tires/wheels (the latter of which are forged items), a more aggressive aero kit, and uprated brakes and suspension for even better handling and braking than before - all on pump gas (95 RON premium unleaded this time) and regular higher-performance tires to retain much of the stock trim's daily usability.

The extra power comes from an increase in boost (to 1.0bar), and I improved the car's other components accordingly. The front lip was replaced with a more aggressive spoiler fixture, and a rear lip (resembling a diffuser) was added. Enlarged brake discs (with 4-piston calipers up front and 2-piston calipers at the rear) removed any possibility of brake fade, while 20mm wider tires front and rear yielded even more grip, with the suspension tuned to compensate for this. A lighter sports interior and high-flow 3-way catalytic converter exhaling through dual straight-through mufflers completes the package.

All told, for an extra $2,000 AMU over the base model, you would've had something that could reach 60 mph from a standstill in just 4.28 seconds and top out at 167 mph - serious supercar stuff back in the day, and enough to make it even more of a giant-killer. It may not be a car for the faint of heart, but it's immensely rewarding for anyone who can tame this lighter (1215kg) and fiercer pocket-sized beast.