ST Motors MS-R

## Info

The **ST Motors MS-R** was a road car manufactured by ST Motors from 2018 to 2021. It was the successor to the ST Motors Prototype, as a cheaper supercar that could be used with luxury elements.

The car's performance was a modernized take on the Prototype, yielding better power figures (although worse power to weight ratios), and reaching a speed of 110 BPS, and 36 in 3.60s, an improvement over the Prototype's 100 BPS and 0-36 in 4.60s.

The car received a racing version for the International Touring Car Division 1 class, debuting and racing in the Inaugural Season, before retiring and being replaced by the faster LX-M based #08 ST Motorsports LX-R. It was known as the #08 ST Motorsports MS-R.

## History

As ST Motors influence on the automotive industry grew, ST Motors development centers were built in certain areas of the world to research and design off of regional markets and trends. One of these centers integral to the success of the company as a whole is ST Motors United Kingdom. In the middle of 2017, this certain research center was asked to look into the popularity of modern British sportscars. The unanimous note shared among everyone researching was "bubbly and sleek". With this information in tow, the UK branch's design division worked on sketches of the MS-R, known at the time as **M**id engine **E**uro **C**oncept (MEC).

The early sketches of the MEC's body relied heavily on the bubbly influence, resulting in odd concepts that were wildly different from its final iteration. After 2 months of trial and error, a design by designer Mason Smith, which incorporated the idea of curvy design in the front construction.

The engine of the original MEC test car was a detuned E0V6 engine sourced from a Prototype. However, test drivers complained about a lack of power, so a more powerful engine was requested, being the Prototype's exact 3L E0V6 engine. The test team took off the turbocharger originally installed in favor of lower production costs. The result of the removal of turbocharger helped the reliability of the engine and a better MPG rating.

The name of the car was also changed in the midst of these events to the **M**id engine **S**ports **R**oadster (MS-R)

The finalized MS-R was shown at a hillclimb festival in July. The car shown there was piloted by Raculi Monet, being one of the main highlights of the whole event, causing excitement among the community.

The MS-R was finally released in September of 2018, earning a reputation for being a really good track day car due to its high performance and great reliability.

When ST Motors saw the success of the MS-R, they decided to release it worldwide, being very popular and easily topping the Prototype's sales.

## Design

The car utilized the same 3L E0V6 engine as the Prototype, although without turbochargers. The design of the car was also simplified, likely as an attempt to decrease manufacturing price, as early sports cars were expensive to produce at the time. The car was as a result more heavy, but the car's straightline performance was much improved as aerodynamics were more efficient.

The car was also in higher production numbers, and more popular, seeing almost 3 years of life, superseding its newer counterparts, before being discontinued in favour of the ST Motors Aressa.

## Trivia

* The early sketches of the MEC are on display in the lobby of the ST Motors UK Center, along with clay models of some.
* In the United Kingdom, the car was released with more curved architecture to reflect the original designs.
* The car was the first of ST Motors cars to utilize an alternate headlight design, using bulbs with indicators on the sides, rather than integrated headlamps.
* The MS-R is Steel's personal favorite ST Motors car.