Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 270: A Matter of Proportions

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 270: A Matter of Proportions

With the Loryx Lynx's design and engineering finalized, I decided to compare it with my only other fully detailed 3D roof fixture build, the Trieste GT from an aesthetic standpoint - specifically, their proportions.

Above, from top: A side-by-side comparison of the Loryx Lynx and Trieste GT from three angles (side, front, and rear, respectively).

Glancing at both designs from the side, their short-tailed, long-nosed profiles (which resemble fastback coupes from the side, although they are still notchback coupes in-game, rather than liftbacks) are exactly what big, powerful front-engined, rear-drive sports cars and grand tourers need. However, the Lynx is 8cm shorter than the Trieste (4.45m vs. 4.53m), mainly due to the former having its front and rear overhang morphing zones at their shortest settings (as far inward as possible), with both the upper and lower front bumper morphing zones at 50% of their respective maximum lengths. The Trieste GT, on the other hand, has a wheelbase that is 16cm longer, and front and rear overhangs at their longest settings (as far outward as possible), but is considerably wider (around 10-12cm), due to its body width morphing zone being given the widest possible setting.

A closer inspection at their underlying body sets reveals that while the '96 Kompact (which underpins the Trieste GT) has a wider track (thus allowing for the fitment of wider tires at both axles) and shorter overhangs (yielding less weight and more drivability), the '92 Evade (on which the Loryx Lynx is based) has a wider engine bay. This gives the Kompact a squarer footprint compared to a similarly sized Evade. Also, the latter has fewer body types than the former, but I've been perfectly content with those, whereas the plethora of body styles on the Kompact can be confusing at first. Finally, the Evade, unlike the Kompact, has additional variants besides 2-door sports cars in various sizes; it has sedan, wagon, and even minivan variants in a multitude of wheelbases (none of which are shared with the sports car variants).

To conclude this post, here's what the original Lynx looks like compared to a long-tailed, wide-bodied version of itself:

Above, from top: A long-tailed Loryx Lynx wouldn't just have been longer, but also wider (if its front and rear fender morphing zones were at their widest settings), and would've lost its pert, fastback profile in favor of a longer-nosed notchback one that, in some ways, would've been even more graceful and aerodynamically efficient - but at the expense of being heavier, with a larger footprint and higher polar moment of inertia, although it would've also allowed for more storage space at the rear.

In short, with or without lengthened overhangs and/or widened fenders, the Lynx represents a refinement of my skills in combining fully detailed interiors with 3D roof fixtures - it took me dozens of attempts to get right, but it was even more rewarding than with the Trieste GT that represented my first foray into this Automation design technique. In fact, the short- and long-tailed proposals for it have left me with a dilemma as to which one(s) I should canonize - one possibility is to make the long-tailed version the base model and have the short-tailed one form the basis of a coachbuilt special, or vice versa. Either option would be preferable to keeping only one design while rejecting the other.