Nova Moonbeam Model S

The **Nova Moonbeam Model S** is a fanonical Rally Car created by JustAlex93.

## Details

The Moonbeam Model S is a rally car based on the new-at-the-time Moonbeam FWD hatchback. It has features that are ideal for a rally car of the Group B formula.

The middle section of the production car's monocoque was retained in favor of new tubular spaceframes for the engine, drivetrain, and suspension system. The roof section is steel, but the rest of the bodywork is made of a lightweight Kevlar composite.

The development team debated on where to place the engine, until they decided that it would be positioned front midship, which allowed for a reassuring polar movement. This would let lesser-skilled drivers have an easier time in adapting to varying rally conditions, making it more appealing to national-level clientele. Moreover, it was determined that any weight bias disadvantage would be dispelled under the acceleration, which would shift most of the car's weight to the rear and naturally improve its handling.

Seeing as the chassis was converted from the production Moonbeam to accept an AWD drivetrain, the Model S' development team opted to use the Ztrak system, which was designed to provide almost any FWD car with the possibility of adding AWD. While the Ztrak system was designed primarily for rallycross, it could be adapted for rallying. This allowed the Model S to attain a claimed weight of 960kg (2,115 lbs), though rumors state that an even lighter 850-kilo (1,875-lb) version was in the works.

Originally, the team was opting to use the engine of the Logan Catalina 500, destroked to 2.4 litres and equipped with a turbocharger. While it made a respectable 400bhp, its reliability proved questionable, with its reputation of busting gasket heads. So, they decided to use a new supercharged Inline-4, also 2.4 litres in displacement, that made 325bhp. They were also considering on using an 1,860cc turbocharged Patriot engine built and tuned by RalliSport that makes 500bhp. But, the idea of using the Patriot engine did not sit well with some of the more nationalistic members of Nova's rallying program.

Four Moonbeam Model S prototypes were constructed, all of which equipped with the Ztrak system, but each of them having a different version of the engine. Two of the cars were tested in the 1986 Paris-Dakar rally to mitigating results. Another one of them ran under prototype rules at the 1986 British Rally Championship, finishing in a respectable 4th place.

A few months later, following the two Model S' disappointing outing in the Paris-Dakar rally, Group B was cancelled. Though a disappointment, there was hope in the proposal of the Group S replacement formula, since the revised regulations dictated that the engine output would be limited to 300bhp. But there is a caveat; the Group S rules banned the use of forced-induction engines larger than 1,800cc. This would have forced the team to use the unreliable Catalina Group B engine, in a naturally aspirated configuration, which would have been destroked below 2,400cc to avoid being choked down by mandatory restrictors, or to get back to the drawing board.

Plus, another team within the rallying program wanted to go down a cheaper route by making an "Evolution" model of the pre-existing Weltschmerz Group B rally car for Group S, designated the Weltschmerz Evo.

However, the project, after three major failures, was shut down for good after Group S was axed.

One of the two Paris-Dakar prototypes was subsequently bought by Jack Walsh to compete in the British Rallycross series. Its engine was destroked to 2.1 litres and paired with a turbocharger from one of Nova's own Formula 1 race cars, producing a claimed 650bhp.

The supercharged version of the Model S made an appearance at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and is currently on exhibit at the Nova Museum in Luton, England.

The ill-fated Model S became somewhat of a legend among some German-born MotorStormers, who had always wanted to drive it. Luckily, there is a company that has the resources and know-how to convert standard Moonbeams into functioning replicas of the Model S, complete with the side scoops on the rear side windows, the engine (with the choice of either a turbocharger or a supercharger), and especially the Ztrak system.

## Trivia

* It is inspired by the Vauxhall Astra 4S/Opel Kadett E Rally 4x4, but with the tail lights of the Citroen BX 4TC and the headlights of the Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R. In addition, the side scoops on the rear side windows resemble the singular side scoop on the SEAT Toledo Marathon.