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Paul
So stat me up stuff that's not out there. Or provide a link to your clever web site that has a vehicle or twenty!

To start us off here is alink to someone else's Site that has some good inspirational materials!
Paul
Dodge 2074 Challenger

Available in the sportier 2 door model or 4 door model the 2074 Dodge Challenger is everything you'd expect from a modern muscle car-sleek styling, enhanced performance and rugged street ready construction. Featuring Dodge's patented High Performance handling package, and now available in both V6 and V8 models you can feel the road submitting to your driving desires!

Game Information:

Handling:+2
Accel: 25/50
Speed: 200
Pilot: 3
Body: 12
Armor: 8
Sensor: 1
Cost: 50,00¥ (Base Model)

Standard on every model is: Racing Tires; AntiTheft System; Passenger Protection System rating 2 and Pimped Ride Rating 1 (Stereo System, custom paint job and custom rims.)
Method
QUOTE (Paul @ Nov 12 2011, 03:34 PM) *
...someone else's Site...


Ha! That dude stole his background .gif from a website I designed years ago. I recycled it here for a SR Meetup page. Can't say I blame him tho: I think I stole the original image from FASA's official SR site and just altered the color (it was blue). Ah memories... biggrin.gif

Anyway, I have a few SR3 vehicles (mostly drones) laying around somewhere, I'll try to stat them up and post em.
3278
Rover Defender 2800
SUV

CODE
Handling   Accel   Speed   Pilot   Body   Armor   Sensor   Avail   Cost
0          15/30   90      1       11     10      1        -       14,000

GEARHEAD! brief:
A departure for the lately-conservative brand, the Defender 2800 is a throwback - in all but size; the government wogs are serious about metatype accessibility - to the Defenders of yore. How far a throw back? Keep going. No, a little further than that. Right about there: the Defender's standard equipment list doesn't include the word "carpeting." But then, neither does it include a metal roof: you have to ask for that. When was the last time you had to ask your dealer for a roof you couldn't tear open with your hands?

In fact, other than a fuel cell, a capacious vat of hydrogen, and a healthy supply of solar panels to enhance its go-anywhere-ability, the 2800 doesn't include much more than 2 seats, a sort of bench-like-object in the back on which I suppose someone might sit if they'd a mind to, and four fairly large wheels. Those wheels, by the way, are driven by a single electric motor: that's right, the four wheel drive system uses differentials. Yes, keep backing up, as far as you can. Rover say this is for simplicity's sake, but we think it probably has more to do with the large stock of drive shafts they still had left lying on the floor after the 2068 redesign of the Range Rover.

Whatever their motives, the Defender 2800 is a seriously capable machine. Without all that modern, you know, car weighing it down, it can get on with the business of driving over whatever you'd choose. Hand on heart, I've never driven anything that could climb like this that didn't come with smart tires. The standard swaybox that keeps all your wheels square with the body of your car can be completely detached here - yes, you guessed it, with a cable pull, and not an electric solenoid; you have to give them points for consistency - so that the wheels can articulate fully. [The Tata Hotspur and even the Range Rover can work like this, as well, but they both have different - modern, in the case of the Range Rover; insane, in the case of the Hotspur - solutions to the same basic challenge.]

There are touches of the modern: Gridlink is standard, almost surprisingly, and the onboard electronics are mostly cribbed from the big brother Range Rover 2068, but Rover has characteristically sealed them in hydrophobic epoxy to weatherproof them, so if it rains while you've got the roof off, it'll still know how to get you home from wherever you've managed to drive it. The autonav has an absolutely astonishing supply of maps, and does a pretty brilliant job of caching the maps for wherever it thinks you might be going, if it thinks you might be going off the grid somewhere. This all happens on Rover's servers, though - the AI isn't the sort of thing you'd do locally - so if you're already off the grid before it releases there's a network interruption, all you'll get is the base maps, which are still, to be honest, perfectly respectable.

Rover could have released another me-too 3-door SUV, an urban runabout for the young and the wannabe young, but instead they built something serious, something respectable, something real. Sure, it's mostly still going to be used by wannabes, by people who have never been diving but have commlinks envirosealed to 1200 meters, but that doesn't change what the Defender itself is: it's a proper, old-school off-roader, with just enough modernity to be usable every day.
Std. Ugrades: Additional Fuel Tank, Off-Road Suspension, Searchlight, Suncell
Common Options: Ram Plate, Rigger Adaptation, Satellite Communication, Winch (Standard)

> So, if the Range Rover got redesigned in 2068, what'd, this get it in 2800? Because that's the future. And I'm pretty sure this thing came from the other end of history.
> Knucklehead

> Nice. No, that's the wheelbase: they used to be in inches, now they're in mm, because the people at Rover have exactly no respect for tradition. Why, I bet they drink beer in liters.
> Leech
3278
Rover Defender 3500
SUV

CODE
Handling   Accel   Speed   Pilot   Body   Armor   Sensor   Avail   Cost
+1         15/30   110     2       13     10      2        -       20,000

GEARHEAD! brief:
The five-door big brother of the 2800 dispenses with some of the minimalism of its fraternal look-alike, kissing more toward its cousin, the upscale Range Rover. Well, the 3500 has carpets, anyway, and the hard top is standard, so that's a step in the posh direction, right?

While it gives up nothing on performance compared to its 3-door stablemate, it gains little-to-nothing, either: despite a more powerful [again, single] drive motor, the end result is virtually the same stop-to-100, and its barely pushes the needle further on the dial with its top speed, either. There's an available SV model with a superconductive drivetrain, but that package comes with a whole lot more than just a new motor, and costs nearly twice the base model. [Look forward to that review later on GEARHEAD!]

The Defender 3500 walks a fine line, between the stripped-out two-seater primitivism of the 2800, and the cossetted pandering luxury of the Range Rover 2068, but it walks it well: five seats, five doors, goes anywhere in style and comfort. Active urban style-conscious middle-agers? Your car has arrived.
Std. Ugrades: Additional Fuel Tank, Off-Road Suspension, Ram Plate, Satellite Communication, Searchlight, Suncell, Winch (Standard)
Common Options: Rigger Adaptation

> These things are selling like mercurial right now. I guess the craze is looking like you can drive up a mountain, even if you just drive 2 blocks from arcoblock to hyperclub. They're not that practical, though, and not that comfortable if you're wide. [Read: trollesque.] But it means you can drive something that'll fit in from rainforest to runway, and in our business, that's worth a score of grands.
> Drexel

> They're huge on the inside. Part of that is the design choice of shoving half the accessories on the roof rack - it's got real off-road tires, so no runflats, which means a spare - but even so, they did a nice job of, whatever, making the most of a big 'ol box, which is all this really is. Anyway, if you absolutely positively have to get somewhere, and you don't need the luxury of the Range or the madness of the 'Spur, this is the expeditionary ride of choice.
> Cüper

> Rover's turning these out by the thousand for third-world armies that need something capable but cheap-ish. They strip 'em down like 2800s and then up-armor them and turret-to-order and whatever else. The Rover military factory is completely modular, so if El Presidente wants 400 rigs in gold with no carpet and ring turrets, and 200 with anti-air launchers and mini-fridges, you just feed the order into the factory, and it comes out the far end. Exactly as entered. [Lime green, soft top, mini-fridge, hidden turret, thanks y'all!]
> War Horse
Paul
Dodge 2074 Challenger

Available in the sportier 2 door model or 4 door model the 2074 Dodge Challenger is everything you'd expect from a modern muscle car-sleek styling, enhanced performance and rugged street ready construction. Featuring Dodge's patented High Performance handling package, and now available in both V6 and V8 models you can feel the road submitting to your driving desires!

Game Information:

CODE
Handling   Accel   Speed   Pilot   Body   Armor   Sensor   Avail   Cost
+2          25/50    200      3       10       8       1    -      50,000




Standard on every model is: Racing Tires; AntiTheft System; Passenger Protection System rating 2 and Pimped Ride Rating 1 (Stereo System, custom paint job and custom rims.)
Edit

Crap. Thought I was editing my previous post to bring it in line with this format, which I like. Sorry for the double postage.
3278
Entertainment Systems Acinonyx
Performance PMV

CODE
Handling   Accel   Speed   Pilot   Body   Armor   Sensor   Avail   Cost
+4         25/50   150     3       7      4       2        6       27,000

GEARHEAD! brief:
When you've been nursing an addiction to cars as long as we have, you build up a tolerance to impressive automobiles. Jackrabbits won't even keep the jitters away; if I don't drive a Westwind at least once a day, I'll vomit uncontrollably and have to be immediately rushed to a race track. So you can bet it's got to be something pretty special to get me high. And something truly extraordinary to get me out of bed early.

Oh. Will you look at that: it's 4am, and I'm at a filling station. On purpose. And I'm here because of that: the all-new Entertainment Systems Acinonyx.

It's not that the Acinonyx is fast: at the top end, it's really no faster than any other modern sedan. It's how it gets to that top end that's incredible: in some circumstances, it's actually quicker than that Westwind I need daily injections of. Keep that comparison in mind: we'll be back to it. The truly amazing thing, though, is how it changes direction: hand on heart, it's the best-handling thing I've ever driven on four wheels. The smart tires are optimized for grip, and there's so much of it that Entertainment Systems - I hate saying that entire thing out loud, but they're a sponsor, so when they say jump, I leap off a bridge - has had to mount the entire passenger cell on gimbals: as you corner, your chair and controls pivot, so that you take the G forces into the bottom of the seat, rather than out the side of it. It's the strangest sensation legally allowable in this jurisdiction...about which more, later.

It's achingly beautiful. That design - four independent wheel motors - means no differentials, no driveshafts, no engine to design a passenger cell around. Basically, it's just a question of where to jam the fuel cell, and that's pretty flexible, so Entertainment Systems was able to sculpt this entirely around the passenger and the wind, so it's all curves, teardrops and points, like a voluptuous woman in flames. Hmm. Surely there's a better metaphor. In any case, while it's perhaps a bit busy for some classicists - it's like some AI couldn't stop applying the bezier tool - certainly it's one of the most beautiful automobiles on the market right now.

And it does it - remember that Westwind? That 85,000 nuyen Westwind? - for three large under 30,000. I am so wasted right now.

How does the Acinonyx manage this feat? Well, to start with, it's not a car at all: it's a PMV. That means seating for one. There's a sort of parcel shelf in the back that in theory you could put, say, a child in, or someone you didn't like very much, but Entertainment Systems absolutely forbids it, although I'm not certain how they'd stop you. If you do bring someone along for the ride, they'd better not have anything with them: that parcel shelf is the only storage you'll find in the car. That's it: no trunk, no boot in the front. You wear this car more than ride in it: comparisons to motorcycles are not unwarranted. Not much room for accessories, either: Entertainment Systems was careful to point out a few waterproof chambers intended for electronic upgrades like lighting and audio and so on, but beyond that, there's not much room if you're intending to mount superconducting coils on its wheel motors or something.

That size means legal problems, as well: Entertainment Systems - seriously, that's really, distractingly awkward to say out loud - won't be able to sell the Acinonyx in jurisdictions with metahuman accessibility requirements: if you cut out the seat and ride back on the parcel shelf, you might get an orc in this thing, but you're more likely to find "it in a troll" than you are to find "a troll in it."

It doesn't matter: I couldn't possibly care less. I'd sell everything I own just so that I wouldn't have to worry about carrying anything, and move wherever they make it legal, if that's what it took to drive this every day. I'll get rid of my children, and my wife - how would they fit in my car? - my dog, whatever it took. I am absolutely, catastrophically, shockingly hooked.

Std. Ugrades: Smart Tires
Common Options: Engine Customization, Rigger Adaptation, Rigger Cocoon, SunCell
The Acinonyx has 8 fewer modification slots for a slot maximum of 2.

> Some of the kids on my block have taken to tuning their smart tires for silence instead of grip: you lose the performance benefits, but the tires'll do everything they can do grab the surface as evenly as possible, with as low a collision speed as possible. These guys have new firmware every week, but they'll get it perfected, and then expect to see it stolen and slapped on next year's Hyundai.
> Drex

> This is the best city car you can get: it's smaller than a subcompact, but as quick as a sports car, for the cost of a sedan, and it handles better than a motorbike. Why doesn't every wage slave drive this thing instead of a 400GT?
> Moondog

> Some wage slaves have kids. Or friends. Or groceries.
> RingMaBell

> Or guns.
> Maxine Roomhead

> Or guns.
> RingMaBell
3278
Ares AWO-Bravo "Wegener"
Large LTA Drone

CODE
Handling   Accel   Speed   Pilot   Body   Armor   Sensor   Avail   Cost
-3         5/10    20      4       4      2       4        10      23,500

GEARHEAD! brief:
I know what you're thinking. No, wait! It's okay: they haven't figured out how to send Mind Probes through the Matrix. I just mean I can predict your reaction: why is GEARHEAD! covering a weather balloon? I have to be honest, when the assignments got handed out this week, my reaction was pretty similar. But the more I learned, the more interested I became, and I'm betting you feel the same way, or else you're not a GEARHEAD! like us.

See, it's not just cars that we love, although we loves us some cars: it's machines in general, whether it's the Duke 36 racing boat, or the Commerce lunar mining rover. Machines that do a job, not just well, but exceptionally, sometimes without fanfare or attention, accolate or frenzy. Some heroes remain unsung. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we raise our voices in chorus for the Wegener.

Do you ever go outside? I don't mean outside the building in your arcology, I mean outside. Of course you do. Every once in a while, we all like to go outside, and when we do, we like to know what's about to happen. Most of us live pretty controlled lives: it's the same temperature in this studio that it's going to be in my car on the way home, and my house will be exactly the same humidity as my neighbor's. It's so common now we don't think about the fact that just a few decades ago, some houses - yes, Virginia, even regular people lived in houses back then - didn't even have climate control. But us? We need it.

So when I go outdoors, I want my closet to pick exactly the right combination of clothes to keep me as warm and dry or cool and damp as I expect to be. But how does my closet know how to do that? How does it know what temperature it's going to be, not just outside my house, but all the way from here to Denver? Well, in my case, it knows because Ares pays a trio of very smart AIs to tell it what the weather will be like, but how do they know?

They know because they're watching every inch of the country. Not in a scary way, but in a good way. A safe way. They watch so that we can be comfortable. And they watch through these Ares AWO-Bravos. Nicknamed the "Wegener" after a famous balloonist and meteorologist who was far ahead of his time, the AWO-Bravo is the second in a line of lighter-than-air weather observation drones. Solar powered, and with incredible power reserves, Wegeners float autonomously, about five kilometers up, and about 5 kilometers from each other, 24 hours a day, coming in only for service or maintenance. The Wegener network covers nearly the entire country, or at least the parts we need to know about, with real-time weather at a level of detail that couldn't be managed with satellites.

Some 80,000 Wegeners have been produced over the years, and while that's not impressive by Jackrabbit standards, but weather observation platform standards, it's an unbelievable number. Bulk sales haven't cut costs, though: the Wegener still isn't inexpensive, but that's the inevitable side-effect of their incredible durability, longevity, and autonomy. These guys can see everything, things you didn't even know were there to be seen, and they're up there, all the time, making sure you're never caught unprepared for the weather. So when the door reminds you to take an umbrella today, cast a glance skyward: somewhere up there, a hero is keeping you dry.

Std. Ugrades: Clearsight Autosoft 4, Improved Sensor Array [Camera (Flare Compensation, Thermographic Vision, Vision Enhancement 3, Vision Magnification), Atmospheric Sensor 3, Barometric Sensor, Radar 5], Extreme Environment (High Altitude), Improved Economy, Signal Upgrade 5, Suncell
Common Options: None

> Well, of course Gearhead picked the Ares AWO-Bravo over the SK WBM-6.
> Dragon Watcher

> Oi! That's GEARHEAD!, dontcha know? Respect the trademark! *evil grin* Seriously, though, the Wegener is a lot more common over here; I know the SK gets used a lot more in the EU, but I can't blame the boys for playing for the home team. Still, you look at some of his math - 80,000 Wegeners, covering the whole country, 25 square kilometers each? - and you wonder if maybe they should try playing a little more fair.
> Pistons

> These guys should have gotten out of the business years ago. Shameless corporate pandering, is all it is now. Why's this even on Dumpshock? IT'S A WEATHER BALLOON.
> Kills-With-Guns

> It's always been shameless corporate pandering: where have you been? Anyway, it's on Dumpshock because...dude, seriously, do you not get why this would be here? IT'S A FLOATING WIRELESS CAMERA IN THE SKY.
> machinehead
SoyKaf Adict
Posted by: Samhain


Chrysler-Nissan Traveler-series "Revolution"
Multi-national travel Sub-compact

CODE
Handling    Accel.    Speed  Pilot   Body  Armor  Sensor Avail. Cost
     +1     10/20       90     3       8      7      2    10    25,000


>Okay, I know this is kind of an honorable mention, considering Shrysler-Nissan still has a long way to go before it can compete with the big boys for competitive edge. This toy is something every man, woman-- or combination thereof-- will need for that wanderlust bubbling up inside them. Did that come off too hokey?
>Samhain

>With or without the fanboy-gasm?
>Rigger X

Vroom! Magazine Promo Article:
Look out Triple-A's! Here's something that'll sneak up on you faster than a hungry devil rat on novacoke. It's the first in the Traveler-series Chrysler-Nissan is rolling out with in Quarter 2, 2073. Straight out of the Tokyo comes the "Revolution!"

Reader A: "Wow, I was all geared up for something that sounded trendy, and tree-saving." Well, I guess you'll just have to deal with the name, dear reader! For those of you thinking that it'll have an extra gun rack for the CAS enthusiast, or that it's packaged with a post-apocalyptic set of forward-facing miniguns-- You'd be wrong. What really makes this baby tick is the performance and the nifty gadgets. Gadgets make everything better, even your wife! I bet you'll even ask yourself, "how is this better than the Honda Spirit that still goes strong today?" Good question, especially when there's a 15,000 nuyen difference, *phew*.

This thing is your favorite duffle bag & a fat man rolled into a nice neat package. It'll fold into most overhead storage bins, and it'll eat anything you shove in it.* Yes, this little wonder actually is built to disassemble into four separate pieces when you're travelling from home to destinations slightly-unknown. And since you never know exactly where you're going, it comes equipped with the patented 'Eco-Salve' multifuel 4-cyl. engine. If you haven't heard of this revolutionary cutting edge device in the works at Chrysler-Nissan, then you're about to get a wake-up call. Even though you're probably reading this at work like every other upstanding corporation employee. I'm not here to judge.

>Who's ready to play the Chrysler-Nissan drinking game?
>Pistons

>You ever notice that they put the 'Eco-' prefix into anything they want people to believe actually is environmentally friendly? Is that just me?
>Ecotope

>Maybe it is, I could get used to calling you 'Tope.
>Soykaf Adict

>No one? Fine, never needed an excuse to drink by myself anyway.
>Pistons

The 'Eco-Salve' 4-cylinder engine isn't top-notch because it's powerful, it's not great because it can get you zero to passed out in five seconds. It's worth mention because the fuel pumps and the injection housing have been totally reworked with economy in mind. while most engines have a computer in them that gauges a specific amount of gasoline-- or in this case, any combustible fuel-- to be sprayed into the combustion chamber. The Eco-Salve's chip is the wireless Matrix to the old plug-in version by comparison to other competitors.

>Ouch.
>Slamm-O!

>Let it go, omae, let it go.
>Winterhawk

More flash, more zing... More Vroom! Well, the vroom will last longer in any case. The injectors have a smart uplink that ties into the pilot program, when you're riding around manually like most of us 1.5 kid white-collar workers, it uses the idle programming power to gauge where your driving, what your driving on, and how you're doing it. Combine that, with a little hybrid power cell usage and you have a Revolution waiting to happen. No worries if you switch this baby up to autopilot, it compensates by using your GPS, or commlink, to download information on how to run wherever you might be, whenever you're there.

As they haven't been released past the prototype stage, you won't have to worry about keeping up with the Jones' just yet. From all reports, there aren't any hitches or snares just yet, so save up your sick days and ready your most convincing cough for the summer of 2073. Also, make sure you check with the airport security, they might get jealous of this carry-on. From Seattle's stop-and-go streets to Australia's Outback; it's okay if you have to get stuck in traffic, all the better to show off your wild side, and if you find yourself in the wilds this will ensure you won't have to walkabout.

Std. Upgrades: Pilot Program: 3, Multifuel Engine, Assembly Time Improvement, Improved Economy.

Common Options: Smart Tires, Improved Suspension, Anti-Theft.

-T.J. Caldwell
Senior Journalist

*Combustible fuels, and fuel variants only.

>I might personally extract this guy to write my memoirs, or my epitaph. Seriously, almost got me interested in this thing. We don't even get sick days!
>Pistons

>Shame, I haven't confirmed it yet, but Chrysler-Nissan is rumored to offer a chameleon coating paint job for a little extra on the side. A nice little marketing strategy to sweeten the sales pot. Who's to say it wasn't added in after market?
>Samhain

>WAIT! THERE'S MORE! -insert crazed sales pitch here-
>Slamm-O!
MortVent
Entertainment Systems Traveler Series Starflare RV

CODE
Handling   Accel   Speed   Pilot   Body   Armor   Sensor   Avail   Cost
-2        10/20   80        1       18       10     2       10     80,000


Std features: Additional Battery Pack, Amenities (middle, 6 person), Improved Economy, Satellite Communication, Suncell, Valkyrie Module, Rigger Adaptation, Amphibious Operation 1

Entertainment Systems Traveler Series Mistcatcher Yacht

CODE
Handling   Accel   Speed   Pilot   Body   Armor   Sensor   Avail   Cost
-1        10/20   40        1       18       10    2       10      80,000


Std features: Additional Battery Pack, Amenities (middle, 6 person), Improved Economy, Satellite Communication, Suncell, Valkyrie Module, Rigger Adaptation, Ducted Waterjets


We at Entertainment Systems are proud to present our Traveler Series family recreation vehicle lines. Current models include the Starflare RV and Mistcatcher Yacht.

We have designed these vehicles to allow for the maximum stress free vacation time for the whole family. With comfortable amenities including a satellite link so the whole family has access to the matrix when the weather outside is frightful. With full rigging options it is even possible for a tour guide to take control so your family can simply enjoy the world around you while he handles the drudgery of driving!

We even took the safety of your family in mind, installing a emergency medical unit! The unit is even designed to link to a health provider's biomonitor and call in for them to provide the medical services you paid for at no extra cost to you. That's right if you have a corporate or personal contract they can not charge you for the remote medical treatment due to our licensing with such companies as CrashCart and DocWagon.

Both vehicles are designed for minimum environment impact. Using suncell technology and high-efficency electric motors for quiet and clean operation. Backed up with a secondary battery pack to allow for long operation times so you never have to sit idle at a recharge station.

The Starfire has been equipped with basic amphibious modifications as well as all terrain suspension. We equipped it's sister vessel the Mistcatcher with quiet waterjet propulsion so there is little disturbance of the local wildlife or the family by the sounds of the propellers.

We at Entertainment Systems hope you enjoy your next vacation in our transports to relaxation!

>Starting to see these RVs a lot in the NAN territories. The environment regulation checkers love these things. Other than filling up the fridge and dumping the drekker out the things are zero cost to operate!
>Pathfinder

>And if it wasn't for the speed, they would make great smuggler vehicles. Which is why none really worry about the yachts too much. Ducted waterjets for the family my foot! Though if it's not time sensitive.
>Deepsix

>And for those thinking of going after a target in one, watch it. Ran into a nasty variant. Had a hacker that owed a favor, he found this on their security catalog.
>Lanefour

Entertainment Systems Traveler Series Thiefcatcher Yacht (security vehicle, adjust node stats appropriately)

CODE
Handling   Accel   Speed   Pilot   Body   Armor   Sensor   Avail   Cost
-1        10/20   60        4       18       20    4       14F     180,000

Std features: Additional Battery Pack, Amenities (middle, 6 person), Improved Economy, Satellite Communication, Suncell, Valkyrie Module, Rigger Adaptation, Ducted Waterjet, Lock-on countermeasures, Std Turret (normal weapon mount; concealed visibility, turret flexibility, remote operation),
2 Small torpedo launchers (normal weapon mount; concealed visibility, fixed flexibility, remote operation, torpedo launcher)[Fore, Aft], Hydrofoil Conversion

Note: limited to only 6 enhancement slots rather than the 18 standard due to the redesign utilizing most of the available modification slots

Recomended weapon load out: LMG w/250rds APDS ammo, 2 Small Torpedo Launchers (4 torpedoes each)

Here at Entertainment Systems understand the need to protect corporate personnel while on vacation and have listened and designed a combat version of the Mistcatcher yacht for security teams assigned to escort groups or individual families on the water without being obvious about it and disturbing the protected individuals. We hope to offer an equivalent model for our Starflare vehicles soon.

You will be happy to know we only sell this vessel to licensed security forces, governments, and mega-corporations.


>I want one of those!
>Kane
3278
Ford F-190 SVT Silhouette
Performance Pickup Truck

CODE
Handling   Accel   Speed   Pilot   Body   Armor   Sensor   Avail   Cost
0          20/45   180     1       14     6       1        8       18,000

GEARHEAD! brief:
Usually when Detroit brings these one-off models to the GEARHEAD! offices, we know exactly what we're going to get: something awesome but impractical, something niche and half-thought-through. They bring them to market quickly and cheaply because they're kludges, not properly prototyped or tested. And the SVT Silhouette very easily could have been just another one of those one-offs, but instead, it's something really rather more interesting: a good idea.

Most pickups have to do double-duty: they have to be off-road cargo vehicles, and they have to be on-road daily drivers. Being good at one too often means compromises in the other. The egghead gearheads over at Ford's Special Vehicle Team thought they could beat the problem by focusing on one area in particular: height. See, in order to work where the road ends, a truck needs to have a high liftover height, the distance between the bottom of the truck and any obstacles. But raising the liftover height usually means raising the whole truck, and that means when it comes to turning corners, the whole thing wants to tip over. SVT wanted to keep the liftover high, while keeping the weight of the truck low.

They did this by re-engineering both the wheel arches and the roofline. The larger arches give the truck an aggressive look, and allow for the use of these monsterous Cepek wheels and tires. Bigger tires are better than more suspension lift, anyway, in a conventional vehicle like this, because it raises the axles and differentials off the ground, as well as raising the body. While portal-gear designs like the Unimog and flexible high-angle axle [FHAA] designs like the Hotspur can provide better overall lift, these systems are either expensive, or provide unacceptable handling compromises on the road. [You guess which one does which, but here's a hint: ever seen anyone power-slide a Unimog and have it not end in tears?]

The rooftline changes are even more exciting. They wanted to bring the top of the truck down, but in order to stick to metahuman-access standards, they needed more passenger room. So they tipped the driving position into something more carlike, and brought the dash closer to the passengers, and lost a little from the bed: it all adds up to a experience that's no more cramped, but makes the passenger compartment a full 20cm shorter than the standard truck. Angling the seating means a more rakish windshield, too, and the effect is striking: it's like someone chopped and channeled an F-190, but put a little sports coupe in there, too. Add in those monster wheels, and you at least have show...but how does it go?

Surprisingly well, actually. It corners like a truck, yes, but it really does pull like a muscle car. You can race between the lights with a Eurocar and not stand a half-bad chance. You do pay a price for this: those big wheels mean that keeping high acceleration requires changing out gear ratios, and that means throwing away economy entirely. But I don't care: it looks sinister, it goes like sixty, it can tow a house or drive over a mountain, and it costs a bit over 18 large, depending on whether you want floor mats and hydrophobic bedliner and whatever else. [There's even a supercharged version, if your life insurance is fully paid up and you don't mind that I might soon be filtering my vodka through your liver.] If you rule the city during the week, and want to conquer the wilderness on weekends, this is the truck for you.

Std. Ugrades: Off Road Tires
Common Options: Turbocharger
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