Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 256: An Agile Albatross

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 256: An Agile Albatross

Migrating to Al-Rilma for the latest stable build of Automation created a few problems, to say the least. In particular, many of my Ellisbury-era builds were either unviable or needed major revision. The 1962 AMS Albatross was a clear example of the latter, being largely based on my earlier KMA KS20 aesthetically, but with a fiberglass body and a smaller engine to cater to the requirements of a Discourse challenge. Its 1989 namesake, meanwhile, is now called the EMR ECT4, and has also been revised accordingly.

As for the 1962 Albatross, its lighter weight helps it more easily leverage what little power its smaller engine develops - and vastly improves the driving experience. Being quicker off the mark and through the corners was an inevitability, but in the context of the challenge in which it was submitted, where it was one of a few cars with at least 100 horsepower, it was enough to justify its $18,000 AMU price (the highest allowed) with ease. Key to its performance is the fitment of tubular headers and dual DCOE carburetors, yielding a 110-horsepower output harnessed using radial tires (again, to meet challenge requirements) and a 4-speed manual gearbox (to save weight, and also because a fifth gear would've been overkill given the era in which the car was launched).

Above, from top: Reimagining the AMS Albatross as a 1960s sports car with a fiberglass body made perfect sense, since it more closely aligned with its avian name.

On the other hand, the EMR ECT4 was more faithful to its progenitor, retaining the steel/aluminum body it once had, along with a turbocharged iron-block/alloy-head 16-valve straight-four driving all four wheels via a helical center differential.

Above, from top: The first car that bore the Albatross nameplate is now called the EMR ECT4, with extensive mechanical revisions to make it suitable for Al-Rilma.

In short, both of these cars may have come from different eras and aimed at two distinct market segments, but they are united in their quest to put smiles on drivers' faces at reasonable prices.