The Grand Tourer: 1971 (User Voting/Market Results)

[07CobaltGirl]

Rolling a 55 series on 16s!! Pretty advanced for the day, but it's GT Premium!!

Also, they might look like LED lights, but obviously they aren't. It's just a multi-bulb array, assuming you are speaking of the brake lights.

[AirJordan]

yeah well... as I must agree on what wheel size was back in the days, it wasn't in the op so I went for the best GTP score

I must say, some great looking cars

[ArnRno]

I think I'm running 215/65R14 on my short car, and here I thought those were too low of profile... The Daytona ran 215/70R15s, so I might try those after work today, but they sound too tall...

@LordRed - I'll tidy-up and send you in the short car - I don't care if you let it compete or not, but I don't like any of my other cars enough to bin it. To me, none of the other bodies come close to a proper GT car. Use it as a control, a what-if, an also-ran, or just ignore it if you prefer.

With this loony contest, it's going to be pretty much last place anyway, but I think it would have done well in the real world at the time.

[Rollarider10]

Here's the Mercusa Criterion MX.
In terms of power, it's got over 300hp and over 500nm of torque. It's also got a manual, which might have been a mistake in retrospect, but it's so un-sporty that it needed it. Also, I used the muscle car body for reasons I can't explain.

[durk]

My car is running 215/60R15s. Plenty of tire quality.

I spent a lot more than I am used to in this challenge. I actually shot myself in the foot because I shyed away from a hand made interior out of habit and went with luxury, but I only realized I made this mistake a few moments ago XD. I figured I had picked the best options by the time I came around to polishing the design, which was mostly finding out where to best spend quality points in order to bump the GTP competitiveness up while adhering to the budget. I realize now I should've checked my design choices a little more carefully. There may have been some other areas I skimped on out of habit that I really shouldn't have. My very first draft for this challenge featured body on frame and a coil axle in the rear, lol. Didn't realize just how much I had to spend to get the car up to par until I looked at how low my GTP score was and how far under budget I was. Still not entirely sure I kept my budgeting habits on a leash after realizing the interior mistake I made. Fairly certain a hand made interior with fewer quality points would've fared better.

Also, the post above made me realize I forgot automatics would've been worth a shot XD.

[acemaster25]

Also, the post above made me realize I forgot automatics would've been worth a shot XD.

I'm not so sure about automatics, what you gain from comfort and drivability doesn't make up for the sportiness and prestige that you lose. However you do get more engineering time, hmmm.

[ArnRno]

For a GT car in 1971, an automatic would be a rare thing, if a thing at all.
I sure can't think of one at the moment, but I'm sure someone could find an automatic GT car if they really looked hard enough. 4-speed manual would be the "correct" choice.

Yes, I know it's a game, but imagine you were the owner of one of these top-tier machines, chrome everywhere, hand-crafted elegance on every facet of the body, power ranging from "too much" to "waaaay too much," etc., but then you descend into the cockpit, and there's only two pedals?

I can't even imagine the horror.

and @Durk - yeah, I think I was at (+12) on tire quality.

[nialloftara]

automatics were quite common at the time, Aston Martin Vantage v8 had a three speed, mercedes-benz had for speeds and two speeds autos, big ones like the American Thunderbird and other personal luxury cars which one close to GT"S in terms of design we're almost exclusively offered with automatic. even for Ari had 3 speed and four-speed autos at this time.

[strop]

@kristina that looks absolutely amazing. Instant classic.

@acemaster25 looks very similar to my car, and will probably be a direct competitor!

@koolkei not quite 200, and it does take a hit of a few points when bumping up the profit margin to 30%.

I think my tyres were 195/65R15, 225/55R15 or something. Yeah, +11 tech. For the laptimes!

[nialloftara]

In the spirit of sharing here is my design.

[ArnRno]

@NOT - Yeah, automatic transmissions were definitely common in the 70s, but not in the GT segment, and honestly, they still aren't.

- The Vantage was late seventies, and yes, it's an Aston, and it was decidedly upmarket, but the V8 Vantage wasn't out until the late 70s, and really.... really... it was just a bit too "muscle car," albeit a top-tier one. The '71 Vantage (not the later V8 Vantage, a different model) was a straight-six, but I have no clue as to whether or not they had an automatic option.
- Mercedes had plenty of automatics, two-speed and three-speed, yep, but nothing they put out was really a GT car back then (save for the SL, but that was a bit earlier) - they made beautiful cars, but they were luxury cars, or sporty luxury cars, not exactly a GT... Somehow they lacked both the flair, and the simplicity, to be a real GT.
- Okay, the T-Bird... The T-Bird was never a GT... I don't care which motor they used, how appointed the interiors were, they were not even close to a GT car, especially by the 70s.
- Lastly, the first automatic Ferrari road cars weren't out until 1976/7, and that was the 400.... it wasn't a slouch, but it definitely took the hit an automatic brings.

Also, I like your taillights.

[titleguy1]

The 1971 Rennen LaLune Luxury Coupé boasts a 4-Liter V12 with exceptional comfort while providing a supple amount of sportiness to your daily drive. Styled by the best in the business, the LaLune was the halo car for Rennen of the 1970's.



(The "chrome" light fixture that protrudes under the red one is a glitch that occurs for some reason. It's meant to be red.)

[07CobaltGirl]

Nice ass on the Rennen!

[strop]

I agree, voting on this contest is going to be so difficult. This particular contest has inspired some of the best looking cars, I'm not sure mine stands a chance!

Also KLinardo, I totally just tried putting in a 13L V12 into the giant not-Cadillac body to see what would happen. Even running an AFR of 15:1 and getting 1060hp, I still couldn't get the damn thing to the minimum required fuel economy! (The end result, however, did make me lol... still not as good in terms of scoring or track performance as my car, just a much higher top speed...) I am guessing that your entry is right on bumping the fuel economy limit.

[Sebesseg]

I really should let my designs sit for a while before I submit because whenever I return to it I always manage to find ways to squeeze some more points out of it, in this case about 3.5. Sure its not much, but it was there

I'm a little ashamed of my car now because I've placed a big wing on it which is more (modern) racing GT than 70s high society continent tourers, but I'll show and tell too. I went with hide-away/flip lights which are meant to hide a quad light design. I just couldn't get the look I wanted by making them outright visible. I tried to capture what a European design team influenced & backed by Americans might create. Its called the Belmonte. Created by Fabricacion de Automoviles de Sevilla Espana or FASE and named after arguably the best bullfighter ever Juan Belmonte (a native of Seville). the Belmonte was designed to compete with the likes of the Miura. Like its namesake, the Belmonte was meant to be the slayer of bulls.



*shameless plug* For those that might be interested in a muscle car turned GT I posted my runner-up choice over on in my car thread: viewtopic.php?p=90708#p90708