J.S.C S.p.A - exclusive sports cars ['91 Predator updated]

[TurboJ]

In year 1958 new winds are blowing at JSC S.p.A, a young but renowned, Turin-based automotive engine manufaturer.
For the past two decades JSC had been designing and building racing engines for clients world wide, ranging from
humble one-marque series to highest level single-seater and endurance racing.

The endeavour has been succesfull and with the global economy now blooming, the time has finally come to pursue
the company founder Jean Seli's long-time ambition: that of building a bespoke supercar under his own brand!

(click here for a view on JSC's early history: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7310&p=100011#p100011)

A recent foray into endurance racing series Interserie as an engine supplier has left JSC something like this sitting in the storage:



The AB8V42 is a quad-cam all-aluminum V8 with four twin-choke Weber carburettors. Time to put this beast in JSC's own use!

Enter the 1959 Predator 3500 GT!



The Predator embodies all the cutting edge technology currently available. It's quad-cam V8 is very light and uses forged internals for high rpm capacity.
The car has power disc brakes all round; experimental halogen headlights, galvanized steel chassis and 4-speed fully synchronized manual gearbox courtesy of Graziano.
The trend-setting bodywork is hand built at Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, using high grade aluminum only. The double wishbone suspension also utilizes
100% alloy components and fitted onto the hand-built Borrani light-alloy wheels are Pirelli's brand new radial performance tyres.

After an intensive two years of development, the Predator 3500 GT hits the public roads in August 1959.









This is no ordinary car. JSC is responding to ever growing interest in high-performance sports cars, and in many racing events, customers racing JSC's engines, have been making wishes like "if only there was a road car with THAT engine...." Now there is. Direct competitors of the Predators will come from the stables of Ferrari, Aston Martin and Maserati, and as future will show, also the likes of Jaguar and Lamborghini. However, the Predator is more exclusive than any of these cars, as production numbers are extremely limited - around 40-50 units a year. According to JSC officials, it will be made sure that the Predator will always stay at the top of the food chain - however not by resorting to any sort of excess, but to cutting edge technologies, highly experienced craftsmanship and careful optimization of the whole car. With these principles, it has been possible to allow the Predator to compete succesfully in both Grand Tourer and Sports Car categories. All this is reflected in the price, of course - the 3500 GT with an average equipment level, costs nearly twice the price of an equivalent Ferrari. But customers are forming a cue outside the main (and only) dealership in Turin....

The Predator 3500 GT's 3.5-liter V8 develops 250 hp at 5800 rpm, and 315 Nm of torque at 5600 rpm running 10.6:1 compression ratio. The car has a top speed of 235 km/h, and can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 7.3 seconds. 1/4 mile is reached in 15.4 seconds at 161 km/h. Standing 1 km is even more impressive at 27.6 seconds / 191 km/h. The Predator can even decelerate from 100 km/h to zero in 44.6 meters.

Still, the light weight of 1100 kilograms and 50/50 weight distribution (with driver) make the Predator agile around the corners. But being an exotic sports car with a race-derived engine fuel economy is not a strong point: Average consumption is 19 liters per 100 km (12 UKMPG).

One of the key things of success is the flexibility of the AB8V42 engine. It develops class-leading maximum power out of a relatively modest cubic
capacity, but is still able to provide a minimum of 225 Nm of torque (more than the maximum torque of most competitors) all the way from 2200 rpm
to redline. Still, the engine only weighs 200 kilograms, helping the predator achieve a near perfect weight distribution.



Aimed at the very highest level of sports car performance, JSC has consulted its own racing clientele to co-develop a suspension system that's
equally impressive to the engine: Dual wishbone setup with gas-filled shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar in both ends performs as you would
expect with race-derived fine tuning. Yet the spings and absorbers are kept supple enough to allow relaxed cruising - in this guise, the Predator
isn't expected to win races, remember - it will be quite enough to comprehensively beat all the street-driven competitors!

In the future, we will be discussing the history of JSC-built street cars in more detail, and particularly the various later incarnations of the Predator.
Stay tuned!

[DoctorNarfy]

image.jpg (55.22 KiB) Viewed 8973 times

[VosNox]

Great car, but I feel like the vents on the sides and trunk are unnecessary. Keep it up.

[TurboJ]

Thanks! Those vents are fake, decorative only, to give the car a little more personality

[Nolli]

Woah! Love it. So much detail! That´s just great. I really love the design of the car. Even with the unneccesaryvents. It has a very cool and realistic look. Also i like the story (one of the few in the forum i like) and the background to the engine. And the engine is also very good. Realistic output and well designed.

Would be great, to have a little more key data like driveability, reliability of the car or economy, responsiveness, smoothness of the engine, etc. .

[TurboJ]

Woah! Love it. So much detail! That´s just great. I really love the design of the car. Even with the unneccesaryvents. It has a very cool and realistic look. Also i like the story (one of the few in the forum i like) and the background to the engine. And the engine is also very good. Realistic output and well designed.

Would be great, to have a little more key data like driveability, reliability of the car or economy, responsiveness, smoothness of the engine, etc. .

Thank you for your kind words
I'll see what screenshots of those values I have available - I can't take any new ones unfortunately as the model is currently broken and I am unable to open the design file anymore (lua error and crash).. .
But at least I can include that information with the Predator's successor, which was introduced in 1966. Thanks for the feedback, guys!

[AlternateSteve90]

Hey there! Nice car concept you got here, TurboJ. Were you inspired by Maserati, by any chance? Reminds me of a 5000GT or a Mexico from the late '50s/early '60s.

Woah! Love it. So much detail! That´s just great. I really love the design of the car. Even with the unneccesaryvents. It has a very cool and realistic look. Also i like the story (one of the few in the forum i like) and the background to the engine. And the engine is also very good. Realistic output and well designed.

Would be great, to have a little more key data like driveability, reliability of the car or economy, responsiveness, smoothness of the engine, etc. .

Seconding Nolli, who's made some interesting cars himself.....

[TurboJ]

The styling is indeed inspired by the '50s designs of many Italian coachbuilders - yes, I've looked at Maseratis, Ferraris and such, by Zagato, Touring and Pininfarina etc. Also, from another side of the world, the Studebaker Commander was an inspiration for the front end

[TurboJ]

After a while, we will now be delving deeper into the history of JSC S.p.A and its creations.

This story line will not be chronological - I will post new models from various points of time on a simple "feel like it" principle.

As we begun the story from the very first road-going JSC S.p.A automobile, it is only fitting we now present the very latest: The 2015 JSC Blade One3.
Being a renowned sports cars manufacturer, it was no surprise to the automotive crowd to see yet another sports model being introduced by JSC; however the design itself was unorthodox to say the least.

Following JSC's foray into more mainstream vehicles (more on this later...) a humdrum engine with surprising performance potential was chosen for a new line of "premium ecosports" automobiles.

The EcoSport4 1349-cc engine:




Indeed, a 1.3 -litre "four banger" was an unusual prospect for a thoroughbred mid-engined sports car. Since the Blade was set to compete with the likes of Porsche Boxster and Jaguar F-Type, there were certainly
a few eyebrows rised when the Blade was unveiled at the 2015 Paris Motor Show.

However, this was not your regular shopping trolley engine. Magnesium block casing, forged lightweight internals, variable valve lift and timing on both of its twin camshafts, individual throttle-bodies on its
direct fuel injection; high pressure turbocharging with a water-to-air intercooler, and a bespoke, in-house engine management system that had been developed on JSC's LeMans racers.

What the designer team did was basically produce an ultra-heavy-duty version of JCS's economy engine. The goal was to equal the performance of other entry-level sports cars
while comprehensively beating them on economy and practicality. Interestinlgy, the "shopping trolley" engine donated its 16-valve cylinder head without any modifications as it had been found to possess
air flow capacity well in excess of what was needed for the Blade project. With custom camshafts, the head was otherwise just like the one found on the JSC Zotti economy car.

In basic tune the EcoSport4 was a solid performer having a wide register of useable power and torque:



95% of its maximum torque was available between 3000 and 6000 rpm, and reaching for top end, you had 95% of the maximum power from 6000 all the way until the 8500 rpm redline.
Yet the engine was developed to be as economical as possible while rivalling, or even bettering regular family cars in service costs.

The punchline of the Blade One3 was "smart downsizing". In the press release they boldy stated that "now for the first time, you really get more for less!".
The design focus was to provide a full-on sports car experience with no compromise, yet providing it with efficiency and practicality of a previously unseen level.
The JSC engineers also wanted to prove that you didn't need heavy and expensive hybrid-electric technology in order to have truly remarkable fuel efficiency
on a sports car.

The 2015 JSC Blade One3 in Bronzo Carapace as presented at the Paris Motor Show :











The Blade One3 (Pronounced One-three, for its engine displacement) weighed in at 994 kg. Now the modest power figure started to make sense to the audience.

Glued aluminum tub, 100% polymer composite body panels, extra thin reinforced glass, magnesium alloy wheels and suspension arms, composite sandwhich seat frames, 100% LED lighting and rubber fuel tanks were just some of the technologies used to achieve class-leading weight reduction. For practical and economical reasons, carbon panels and brakes were not utilized; this was estimated to lower the final sales price of the Blade by 32% and service costs by as much as 60%.

The Blade was built to be both practical and safe. Consequently, the potential for extreme light weight was used to allow a little more sound deadening material and creature comforts than was the norm on a lightweight sports car. Glued aluminium frame work allowed comprehensive crash protection while keeping total mass "under the ton" as the goal was. Following JSC's long-standing philosophy, the Blade was equipped to function also as a grand tourer if so desired. Light weight allowed softer suspension setup (double wishbones all round with active dampers and anti-roll bars) to be used without compromising ultimate road holding and handling finesse. Light weight, especially at the front end, also enabled the Blade do without power steering, although full electronic driver aids were otherwise fitted as standard.

The Blade was also very compact; only 4.00 meters long with a wheelbase of 236 cm - it would be very practical also in an urban environment. Special care was taken to mold the chassis tub so that entry to the cabin was as easy as possible - the whole point of the Blade was that it could fulfill the role of the only car for a young couple. There were three luggage compartments: One in the front, one between the seats and the transverse power unit; and yet one more behind the engine. Total luggage space was bigger than on the average premium saloon. Active aerodynamics were utilized on the cooling system to optimize top speed capability; no spoilers as such were used as the Blade had a full downforce-underbody that was designed to eliminate all aerodynamic lift at speed.

One thing you had to acclimatize to when driving the Blade, was its engine. The little pepper pot was made as smooth as possible; but you had to learn that unlike on a more traditional engine, the power band wasn't between 2000 and 5000 rpm, but between 3000 and 8500 rpm. Using the right gears, the Blade would perform with the best of them. Of course, if you liked, you could just let the electronic brain choose the right gear for you - the Blade had a 7-speed sequential semi-automatic gearbox with full automatic override mode as well as electric differential lock as standard.

The tradeoff with some "acclimatization" being required to drive the Blade smoothly, was that certainly no other sports car would cruise on the open road using roughly 4 liters of regular 95-octane fuel per 100 kilometers (70 UK MPG). And this was always 100% repeatable - not any of that theoretical hybrid car stuff.

Performance table of the JSC Blade One3:

Top speed: 257 km/h (160 mph)
0-100 km/h: 4.7 seconds
1/4 mile: 13.1 seconds @ 172 km/h
Standing 1 kilometer: 24.1 seconds @ 216 km/h
80-120 km/h: 3.3 seconds
Cornering 20.00 meter skidpad: 1.25g @ 57 km/h
Braking 100-0 km/h: 33.2 m
Fuel consumption on combined cycle: 5.3 l / 100 km (53 UK MPG)

Automation metrics for the Blade One3:

[TurboJ]

We will now share a little story about why a 1.3 -litre engine ended up on a high-end sportscar. JSC wants to think out of the box so to say, and in the "noughties" the world was changing. Instead of luxury cars with 6-liter engines and vast acres of steel and chrome, even Hollywood celebrities were suddenly driving Toyota Priuses and Minis. It was suddenly "hip" to be small and economical, and not least of all, ecological. Some of JSC's oldest customers were even giving up on the brand replacing their old supercars with hybrids! As they say, something had to be done....

In 2009 plans were laid out for a completely new model lineup, for the first time in JSC's history, its main focus point was economy. Of course they didn't jump right into building Smart cars or anything, but you get the picture.
It was of utmost importance for the company that the new model still be prestigious, still have spirited performance, and still maintain JSC's high standards of build quality and finish - and above all, product desirability.

The revolutionary project "Zotti" (For JSC's illustrious stylist Giancarlo Zotti who penned some of the most famous concept cars of the 90's and 00's) was launched immediately, with the following requirements:

-Average fuel consumption of no more than 4 liters per 100 km
-Top speed of no less than 200 km/h and acceleration of under 9 seconds to 100 km/h
-Ample room for 5 people to travel in luxury
-Total body length of no more than 4.0 meters
-Pure gasoline engine technology - no added weight and complexity of hybrid technology
-Final sales price not exceeding that of a Mercedes C-Class or BMW 3-series

After a long and difficult development process, the automotive press received this leaflet in early 2012:



Exactly what to make of it, press did not know, but the idea of a compact, economical JSC certainly met a lot of interest.

One year later, the JSC Zotti E was launched to the public, and it was in many ways, little short of revolutionary for the company.

For one, the Zotti was front-wheel drive - a first for JSC, and the basic suspension layout was very simple - McPhersons up front, torsion beam in the back. But this was, of course, not done for cost reasons, but low weight!
The car even had light alloy drum brakes at the rear because they weighed less than discs! What blasphemy, many would think. But as always with JSC, it was all done in the name of extreme optimization, and achieving
the primary goals ended up being anything but easy. To allow for the expected level of performance and comfort, fully active springs and shock absorbers were used despite the few kilos they added to the total.



The Zotti was build on an aluminum spaceframe chassis, and the body panels were made of ultra-light polymer composite. All in all a total weight of 1035 kg was achieved.



The styling of the Zotti was labeled "windswept". The designer team actually invented the massively louvred styling by accident. The door panels, in order to meet the very strict weight limits that had been set, were extremely thin and needed
longitudinal reinforcements stamped into them to make them strong enough. Instead of looking for more expensive material alternatives, the door panels eventually served as a styling basis for the entire body, and the end result definitely
had personality....



The rear end featured a small lip spoiler, which actually wasn't needed to reduce aerodynamic lift; it simply kept the rear screen clean at speed when the weather was bad! Only LED units were used to provide lighting front and back.
Even the "chrome" strips featured on the bodywork were actually polished, ultra-thin films of stainless steel fitted on hollow plastic frames.



Centrally mounted exhaust tip was found to help with optimizing aerodynamics on the Zotti E. Wheels were 16-inch all round, with 185-section tires. Smaller wheels would have provided yet better fuel consumption figures, but the size
was chosen in order to achieve the "sporting essence" in handling characteristics that the clientele was sure to expect of a JSC, however small.

The engine and transmission as a complete unit, was actually quite close to the one that would later be seen on the Blade One3 - a small four-cylinder lightweight 16V accompanied by a 7-speed sequential gearbox.
For the mid engined sports car, the designers simply lifted the power train as it was on the Zotti, and dropped it behind the seats of the Blade. That and some internal differences of course.

On the Zotti, the engine displaced in 1.4 litres as thinner cylinder liners could be used on the less-stressed version of the engine. Single throttle was obviously enough and JSC's regular main stream direct injection system was as well.
What was special about the Zotti E engine though, was that it ran on extremely lean fuel mixture throughout the range - 15:1 to be precise. Low-pressure turbocharging and variable valve control were utilized and there we had it;
an engine that could propel the Zotti E to 200 km/h while only using 3.95 liters per 100 km of fuel on the combined cycle. Effectively you could cruise at 90 km/h using less than 3 liters per every 100 kilometers. Naturally this also
meant there wouldn't be much strain put on the environment - something that would also be backed up by the fact that the Zotti E would never ever rust, and should you want to work on the car yourself, you could do most of the
work with basic tools. The era of designing cars for accessibility and to last a long time never did end at JSC S.p.A.

The EcoSport4 "1400UltraEco" as it was cheekily named:





Not more than 100 horsepower was eventually needed to achieve the set performance goals - that's what light weight and carefully sculpted aerodynamics do. However, the "UltraEco" engine did have
a very wide power register which made it in practice much more powerful than any normally-aspirated competitors could muster. How about torque never dipping below 100 Nm under any driving
conditions whatsoever? By means of a viscous locking differential it was also made sure you could use every ounce of that torque under all weather conditions.

Information tables for the JSC Zotti E:





The Zotti E was an eventual success; while production numbers were kept relatively low for what was still in reality a very expensive automobile for the wide audience. The Zotti showed that JSC could build
an economical and practical passenger car that still had the trademark exclusivity and even a bit of that legendary sporting edge while returning truly exceptional results in the eco categories - whether
that was eco for your wallet or for the environment.

[Microwave]

The styling on that car Is the definition of "meh". It's creative, but it's quite ugly. Reminds me a bit of the Citroen Cactus.

[TurboJ]

(reserved for future)

[TurboJ]

Now you have the chance of aquiring JSC's high performance road car engines for your own car models too! Check out out motor section at viewtopic.php?f=34&t=9311

[rcracer11m]

How did you get the creases on the hood for the 3500 gt?

[thecarlover]

What did you use for the grooves on the hood and trunk of the Predator 3500 GT? All the cars look great, but that one's my favourite.