In 1986 Lancia displayed the ECV1 (Experimental Composite Vehicle) at the Bologna Motorshow. It was a composite technology concept car testing the use of carbon kevlar, thermosetting and thermoplastic resins, glassfibre and honeycomb in-car production. It was also considered as Lancia’s prototype Group S rally car (a formula sadly never to exist due in part to Group B rally cars being banned).

Lancia had enjoyed success with the Group B Delta S4, and the new ECV1 shared some of its basic design. For example, the ECV1 used a rear engine layout, AWD, and the 1759cc twin turbo engine, which were all similar to the Group B Delta S4.

However, the ECV1 had a new experimental ‘triflux’ turbo system where the twin turbochargers were used sequentially depending on engine speed; and the ECV1 was considerably lighter (overall weight of 930kg!) due to its extensive carbon fibre construction (from the wheels to the roof).

We chose the ECV1 due to its rarity and its genuinely extreme technological breeding. The Lancia Delta S4 is well known for its rallying pedigree and would have been a worthy SEGA Rally contender, but why have a good quality, medium strength variety car when you can have the full flavour, max-strength, firebreathing beast of a motor. I particularly like it for its quirky appearance, almost van-like in fact, but make no mistake this unlock is insanely fast and quite tricky to tame.

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Very early on in the SEGA Rally project it was decided that we wanted vehicles in the game that were just that little bit more extreme in appearance than the usual saloon based rally car.  The Baja Dune Buggy was a fairly obvious design choice as it is a very popular type of all terrain racing vehicle.

Like the previously mentioned Icelandic Racer I studied a lot reference imagery of off-road racing buggies and trucks, and using these as inspiration I came up with the design you see here.  The beauty of these kinds of unlicensed vehicles is that you have free rein over how they look, so the placement of lights, aerials, the engine and pretty much everything else is completely up to the artist creating it.

Obviously it needs to look realistic so you always try and use shapes and designs that look realistic.  Look at the suspension design for example, I was careful to mimic the external damping chambers and multi spring setups you might see on real off-road racers.  The interior is also built to look like something that could be feasible in the real world with the switches and buttons placed only where you would expect to find them.  The engine design was one of my favourite area’s, I wanted to build an engine type that was familiar yet not going to take me weeks to complete, so I chose an iconic V8 set up which also sounds sweet in the game.

I think we got it just right with the design and layout of this vehicle, its fun and purposeful looking, and out performs many of the less agile cars in the game due to its softer and greater travelling suspension setup.  That V8 motor hanging out the back packs a mighty punch as well!

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Here at
SEGA we have been encouraging people to get down and dirty for the
launch of the ‘King of rally games’ SEGA Rally by urging you to advertise the game
on your own muddy cars. We want you to send in a picture of your dirty
car with a SEGA
Rally inspired slogan written into the dirt for the launch
of the game on September
28th.

We’ll decide on the best ad slogan and
one lucky winner will win the chance to burn up the track with an
extreme rally experience and be able to practise their rallying skills
day-after-day at home on their very own brand new PS3 with a copy of
SEGA Rally.

Visit our SEGA Rally ‘Dirty Car’ Gallery

More about SEGA Rally
SEGA Rally speeds
onto the PS3, Xbox 360, PSP and PC opening up an exciting rally driving
worlds featuring a range of different driving environments, each
inspired by exotic locations from around the world.

Are you ruthless enough to destroy your
opponents in six brutal car battles? Can you conquer tracks that deform
and degrade with every lap?

The king of rally racing games has
returned, armed with the intense gameplay that made it famous and the
latest next gen technology to make it unforgettable.

(Click through to more SEGA Rally info)

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Email your images to: blogs@sega-europe.com

We promise to post the best SEGA Rally ‘Dirty Car’ images both here on our blog and in our SEGA galleries!

I am very excited to announce that the demo for SEGA Rally, our truly thrilling and highly anticipated racing game, is available for download on the Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. 

The demo features two quick race tracks taken from the colourful, steep sided Canyon environment and the gloriously muddy and downright dirty Tropical environment.  Players will also have the choice of literally tearing up the deformable surfaces in either the Mitsubishi Evo IX FQ3 or the Subaru Impreza STi Spec C type RA.

SEGA Rally will be released across Europe for the Xbox
360, the PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment system, the PSP
(PlayStationPortable) system and the PC on September 28th 2007.

Now,
go and try out the unique deformation technology which the SEGA Racing
Studio has worked so hard to implement into SEGA Rally.  For the first
time ever you can not only see the deformation in action, but feel
every bump along the way.

Find out more at www.segarally.com

Lets just skip to the point shall we, how delicious is this car?  VERY, VERY delicious.

When I first saw the photographs of this concept at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show I was stunned Mitsubishi had made such a bold design step away from the current Lancer Evolution models. 

The stance and scale are much the same as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, but the surfaces and overall style are a world apart from the current model, which is another reason why we really wanted it in SEGA Rally.

The full time four wheel drive system, 2.0 litre turbocharged aluminium straight 4 engine and sequential semi-auto six speed paddle shift transmission only increased our interest in this very cool car.

Let me list some technical stats for you; 650 bhp, 3.8 litre Biturbo
engine, rear wheel drive with 4 wheel drive as an option, improved
aerodynamic characteristics with RUF developed front/rear bumpers, rear
spoiler and side mirrors, 19″ RUF 5 spoke wheels, drilled/ventilated
discs, light alloy monobloc calipers, and suspension, packaged and
designed to reach 220mph.  What more needs to be said, this has to be
one of the most perfect high performance cars ever made?

This is possibly one of the best looking modern cars in SEGA Rally so we had to create a livery that honored and amplified the overall look of the car.  Black paint is always mean looking so that was a good start, and of course very sharp blood red decals aren’t shy.  So the result is what you see in the images, a cutting edge, modern day rally weapon that looks the absolute business.  I’ll take two please…..!!

Check out the official SEGA Rally website now at www.segarally.com

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This is the first paragraph on the official RUF website, ‘RUF Automobile GmbH is a producer of high-performance vehicles, specializing in manufacturing new RUF automobiles from the bare chassis, conversions to RUF specification and the performance enhancement / refinement of Porsche cars’. 

That statement captures exactly why we had to have a RUF Rt 12 in SEGA Rally.

The RUF Rt 12 is described as a new dimension in driving pleasure; this is possible the truest ever statement about the RUF Rt 12.  RUF take a stunning motor vehicle bare chassis and then they create the miracle that is the Rt 12.

Let me list some technical stats for you; 650 bhp, 3.8 litre Biturbo
engine, rear wheel drive with 4 wheel drive as an option, improved
aerodynamic characteristics with RUF developed front/rear bumpers, rear
spoiler and side mirrors, 19″ RUF 5 spoke wheels, drilled/ventilated
discs, light alloy monobloc calipers, and suspension, packaged and
designed to reach 220mph.  What more needs to be said, this has to be
one of the most perfect high performance cars ever made?

It just looks truly amazing, and drives like some kind of automotive god, this has to be one of the fastest and most brutal cars in SEGA Rally.  Strong rear wheel drive on loose gravel/mud surfaces amounts to a lot of drifting fun, the only question is will you use anything else once you’ve unlocked the RUF Rt 12?

Check out the official SEGA Rally website now at www.segarally.com

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The brainchild of rally champion Alister McRae, the McRae Enduro is a new rally car concept that combines outstanding driving dynamics and modern turbo-diesel power with the extra traction that comes with a sophisticated suspension set-up and four-wheel-drive.

The rugged McRae Enduro has been designed to compete in the most extreme off-road events including the FIA Cross-Country rallies, Baja-type events and the gruelling Dakar Rally.

I first met with two of the guys behind the McRae Enduro back in the early development of SEGA Rally. We were all excited to have the opportunity to work together and the development relationship became even stronger when I actually started to get involved not just with the in-game model but in the actual design process of the McRae Enduro itself. Opportunities like this don’t come along very often so to be able to offer help and advice on the look and shape of the McRae Enduro was just too good to turn down.

I think the end result is very cool and can’t wait to see the real thing in action.

The McRae Enduro will be making its video game debut in SEGA Rally.  

More information can be found on the McRae Enduro website; www.mcrae-enduro.com

Want some more, well we’ve got a blog every day this week covering off some of the most exciting cars featuring in SEGA Rally?

Check out the official SEGA Rally website now at www.segarally.com

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Big, fast and brutal trucks thrashing through mud and snow, it’s a perfect scenario isn’t it? 

That was why we chose to put a Rally Raid HUMMER in SEGA Rally, and this is no ordinary HUMMER this is a Customized H3 SUV. 

We noticed that a number of race specification versions were being raced in off road events events across the world and they were doing very well.  So that pretty much decided it for us, we had to have a racing HUMMER in SEGA Rally!

The design is based on the HUMMER H3 SUV, but I shortened the overall body height, lowered the ride height, removed most of the glass work from the drivers/passenger doors, added Rally Raid spec wheels and tyres, deleted most of the roof bars, rear doors and door handles and then designed an appropriate racing livery. The result retains the strong HUMMER vibe, but also adds the pedigree of a stripped down and raw racing truck.

It looks superb in game bouncing and jumping all over the place, and the scale of the thing is crazy racing against some of the smaller cars (shoving them out of the way is great fun).

Want some more, well we’ve got a blog every day this week covering off some of the most exciting cars featuring in SEGA Rally?

Can’t wait till then? Then visit our
official website where there are now over 100 SEGA Rally screenshots, plus
the sassy environmental sizzle videos.

Check them out now at www.segarally.com

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This is the ultimate performance racing Audi, the Pikes Peak version of the Audi Sport quattro S1.  Take a world class Audi rally car platform, shorten the wheelbase and widen the wheel track and then increase the number of valves in the twin cam cylinder head.  What you end up with is a fire breathing 500bhp monster of a rally car.

Then to use this beast on the legendary Pikes Peak Hill Climb add monstrously large front and rear spoilers, which very nicely match the widened body panels.  The result is a rally car that is lightweight and has enough downforce to keep it on the ground in high speed corners.

However the real reason why we chose this car for SEGA Rally is that it looks absolutely amazing and sounds like something from another planet. The images tell the story!

Want some more? New to the
official website there are now over 100 SEGA Rally screenshots, plus
the sassy environmental sizzle videos. Check them out now at www.segarally.com

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Have you ever seen extreme Icelandic Racing?  No, well if you have you will definitely have seen trucks like our Icelandic Racer.  Iceland have held extreme off road racing on loose sand circuits for nearly 20 years. 

Many of the competitors race bespoke handmade custom trucks like this one, they are usually 4 wheel drive, very light weight, exceptionally agile, have large capacity big bhp engines, and many of the photos I sourced for reference showed most of them upside down or rolling down impossible slopes.

The balloon-like low pressure tyres are designed to hook into loose
surfaces with the large shovel-like shapes on the tyre tread.  It has
also been known that at high speeds these trucks can skim over the
surface of water!

Like the previously mentioned Andorra Racer this vehicle has been designed in-house specifically for SEGA Rally.  The paint scheme was heavily based on the Mongoose logo you can see in the livery, the orange and purple looks vivid enough to compliment the extreme look of the vehicle but at the same time it ties in nicely with the sponsor logos.

Want some more? New to the official website there are now over 100 SEGA Rally screenshots, plus the sassy environmental sizzle videos. Check them out now at www.segarally.com

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