Homologation 1984 Group Automation [Final 5 Review]

[strop]

Ok thanks for that. I must confess I wanted to make an offroading series but as the simulation is now it doesn't look like it'll work out, yet.

Armada's 1978 Feltram was met with mixed success. Lacking the sharp-toothed bite of its predecessor, the Talon, it wasn't a cult hit for the most hardcore of wannabe drivers. And it was rather priced and pitched a bit lower than the class it was aiming for. It also made some questionable engineering choices, like mating a carburetted DOHC turbo i6 (the design of which was carried over from the Talon) to a 3 speed automatic. But it was economical, comfortable enough, inexpensive, and had enough rev and go to keep the Armada faithful happy. Armada would survive for the time being, if barely.

Six years later, and rally is well in its heyday. Rallycross, too, is growing steadily in England and Europe, though it always cultivates a smaller following of fringe enthusiasts. Armada's Feltram is becoming dated and the auto transmission is an increasing regret that management of the small British factory are increasingly keen to leave behind. It's compact sports or bust! And this is where the Feltram's final iteration, the EVO RC came in: the RallyCross edition for those who wanted a car that could drive comfortably, but drive hard be it on and off the road, and look the part.

Car -14.png (286.29 KiB) Viewed 6199 times

However, with barely enough money to engineer anything new, they made the bravest move yet: use a small displacement carburetted V8 for their next powerplant. Inspired by a certain 308's Tipo, this one had a crucial difference, the introduction of DOHC. With an aggressive tune, this powerplant would prove to be the most powerful Armada engine yet, pushing out a whopping 289hp at a stratospheric 7800rpm.

In fact, most of the development and production money went into the engine. The rest of it went into the transmission, an improved 5 speed stick shift... with a manual locking diff. For wannabe rallycross drivers, the Armada's drivetrain proved to have potential, but was an absolute beast to tap into, requiring the driver to fully anticipate the precise moment of need to lock the diff so as not to blow the housing or warp the driveshaft. For those that could, this was a car that provided ludicrous speed for a family car both on the road and in light applications on unsealed surfaces. And it came with a nice 8 track with radio and spiffing safety to boot. It was no coincidence that the EVO RC was released around the same time as the Audi Quattro hit Group B Rally, and, importantly, the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, though the Quattro boasted the newfangled AWD. What would a competition version of the EVO RC bring?

[Carmain]

In the early 80's, Avalon had fully recovered from their near-bankruptcy in 1977. Production was at its highest for a decade, and profits were rising like never before. To take advantage of thier new found world-wide popularity, a Motorsport competition or two was 'required', and CEO Andrew Mason requested that by the end of 1984, the company would be involved in the WRC, in Group A and B. Both challengers would be based off of the newish Silica MKIII (1981-1989) chassis, and the first to be designed would be the Group A challenger. Due to the requirement of a 4-Door car, the challenger was based off of the slightly less popular Silica GT, a sedan based on the Silica. 200 models would be needed for homolagtion, so a new sporty Silica GT-RA was built.





The chassis was kept the same as stock, but new suspension was added for a more sporty setup. Lips were added front and back, and lights, inset into the grille, were added to show the rallying direction. The back was kept the same, bar a slightly suspicious TURBO badge on the boot. This pertained to a new variant of the Buzzard Gen II engine, with the 4 cylinder ecobox being boosted by Avalon's first ever turbo, a small, moderately boosted setup, giving an output of 188hp. The engine was built out of Cast Iron, unlike the normal Buzzard line, so the weight limit could be reached more easily.



The interior was a premium affair, and safety was advanced for the time. The car was sporty, distancing itself from the more comfortable car it was based on. With this subtle change, it represented a new direction for Avalon, and all in all 8000 of them were sold over a year period, with the final one rolling off on the 17th March 1985. There remains a cult following of the car, with people praising its lightness and simplicity even today, 30 years on. It also invigorated the GT, and sales for the variant took off, though it would be discontinued in 1989 with the new model.

Name: Avalon Silica MKIII GT-RA
Price: £6900 in 1984 (about £20,000 in 2014)
Sold: 1984 - 1985, 8000 units produced

Oh god strop, why do you have to be so good at this game. WHY!!!!

[Lordred]

Great fluff from most of you so far, I personally like the extra mile Vic, Strop, and Carmain went to. It really helps me get a feel for what the manufacture was trying to achieve.

I await Strops entry with baited breath.

[strop]

Oh. I wondered what you meant by that, and then realise I've forgotten to send the entry!

Oops

I'm not in town until Sunday, is it ok if I send it to you then?

[Lordred]

Oh. I wondered what you meant by that, and then realise I've forgotten to send the entry!

Oops

I'm not in town until Sunday, is it ok if I send it to you then?

Perfectly fine, I will place you on the list as pending initial inspection.

[Rossriders]

I'm going to assume that when you mean by the limit of points of quality sliders on all tabs, that isn't just engine, but body and trim levels as well?

I ask cause, well...all of that has gone into the engine, it's not to say I've skimped on everything else, but just wondering if that is the case.

Once I know that...I think I'll just start to finalize my car and submit it.

That and seeing some of the other entries, I'm split by making a 'cheap' car with low matience costs (while still have performance to speak of)...or try (and fail) to be at performance levels comparable to Strop among others and go all out with at least the engine power while making everything else at a bare minimum.

[Lordred]

I'm going to assume that when you mean by the limit of points of quality sliders on all tabs, that isn't just engine, but body and trim levels as well?

I ask cause, well...all of that has gone into the engine, it's not to say I've skimped on everything else, but just wondering if that is the case.

Once I know that...I think I'll just start to finalize my car and submit it.

That and seeing some of the other entries, I'm split by making a 'cheap' car with low matience costs (while still have performance to speak of)...or try (and fail) to be at performance levels comparable to Strop among others and go all out with at least the engine power while making everything else at a bare minimum.

Yes the rules for the quality sliders are across ALL tabs, you may have a combined 15 points.

Do not let the super high horses scare you. Submit what you think is a good car that your company would build. I'm not going to say that everyone will win in this competition, but aside from the golden throne that is the top 5, there are a handfull of runner-up rewards.

[BeforeLifer]

All I know is I have 2/3rds the HP of Strop's Behomoth lol.
Lets hope that you have so much wheelspin it evens out with mine XD

[strop]

And in case you didn't know already, I tend to make my cars with at least 50% more HP than period equivalents, and usually 50% less of everything not essential to driving like a mad banshee

So when it comes to HP figures, for better or for worse, its usually not a good idea to use me as anything other than a Max power benchmark, because I generally don't play to win at anything other than going fast.

[Lordred]

For example, the Benchmark car has only 123hp

[VicVictory]

"Strop" and "drivability" also usually don't go in the same sentence. Just bear that in mind.

[Carmain]

Well that may give me...I mean us a chance. Well, one can only hope.

[strop]

Though Vic, that's a perception largely bolstered by my love of Unreasonable Turbo...

...this one's NA drivability is through the roof. It would have struggled on the real pikes peak (carbureted, too), but otherwise, it's a mean dirt monstering sideways machine! (Off-road tyres not standard...)

[Lordred]

I dunno if people are interested in this, but here is the benchmark car (Non competing just a fluff piece)

With the grueling death of the muscle car in the mid 70's so too did LHEs first sports car die. Coasting on sales of its original Com Star X4c from the late 60's and its less than well received update in 1974, the X4d, LHE had to turn to other avenues, ceasing production of its X8-M V8 series engines and focusing purely on the X4-M Inlines. With two subsequent flops in a row things were looking bleak, so rolling out a second refresh of the Com Star had little chance of propping them back up on their feet. With the growing interest in Group Automation, LHE decided to take a chance on getting into racing. By taking their old sport chassis and using the leftover stock of X4-M80 turbocharged engines from the failed Famsed line, the new sports car was assembled for considerably less then expected. By saving considerable time on design for the chassis and power-plant, they were left with plenty of time to dial in the ride.

Though one had to question why LHE would bring a knife to a gun fight. The venerable X4-M 1.7L OHV Four was showing its age, having not yet developed an OHC variant yet, some time was spent modernizing what they already had. By hand porting each head for the production units, relying on their high performance valve springs designed in the 60's, and going as far as to purchase a limited license from Bosch to use their mechanical fuel injection system. To compound issues while well under the maximum displacement for turbocharged engines, with the rules placed on the class having such a small bore engine limited them to a rather small turbo compressor, the upside to this was that the regulation 1 Bar was achieved very early in the rev range giving the little engine an incredibly manageable torque curve.

As an extra effort to boost sales, an all leather interior was used as well as an advanced SRS system making the car very comfortable, and rather safe. For everyday driving the sports car gave a quite acceptable return on fuel economy, and had just enough power to reward those who wanted to drive a little more spiritedly. Most importantly though, if you decided to get off the road, so long as you remembered to engage the manual locker, it was as agile off the road, as it is on.

The 1984 LHE Orbital X4Re, equipped with LHE's X4-M84IE producing 123hp @ 5700rpm

[strop]

Tell you what, that LOOKS good!