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Thunderhead Asgard GTS "Sleipnir"

Manufacturer: Thunderhead Automotive Division & Wasteland Motorsports

Nationality: United States of America

First assembled: November 11, 2057

Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin/Park City, Utah

Engine: 7.5 L Twin-Turbo V12

HP: 2,110 BHP

0-60: 1.8 Seconds

Top speed: 265.13 MPH

 

Wasteland Motorsports is, as the name implies, a motorsports team operating from Park City, Utah. Primarily competing in rallying and rallycross series, Wasteland motorsports currently has over 20 championship victories under their belt. They're also a prominent name in the international Formula Drift scene, being a frequent competitor and event organizer for the North American Circuit. On top of that, they also run a sports apparel brand and are looking into manufacturing high-performance parts for cars. An empire like this isn't built overnight, however, and the story of how Wasteland Motorsports became what it is today is about as fun and action-packed as it gets. Founded in 2031 and operating in an old warehouse formerly used by a textile manufacturer, Wasteland Motorsports was moderately successful enough in the North America circuit to make the jump to international shores. This is where Wasteland's troubles began. Running a motorsports team on a national scale already isn't a cheap venture, and going international greatly exasperates this. Despite seeing moderate success in the international circuit, it wasn't long until Wasteland Motorsports was hemorrhaging money and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Wasteland Motorsports needed something, anything, fast. This is when Wasteland took a major risk and launched their aforementioned apparel brand, Wasteland Racing Gear. This move alone wasn't what gave Wasteland the save they needed. It was how they chose to advertise it. To promote the brand, Wasteland Motorsports took one of their Yamato WRC cars to an abandoned airfield in Utah's West Desert and filmed an impressively elaborate stunt video. The video, called "Meet the Wastelander" was named after the "Main Character" of the video; the mute, shadowy stunt driver decked out in dark Wasteland racing equipment that hid their identity. Though it was more than certain that the Wastelander was one of the few Wasteland Motorsports drivers in a costume, nothing has ever been confirmed. The "Meet the Wastelander" video was a viral smash hit, racking up over 17 million views in a matter of weeks. Needless to say, Wasteland Racing Gear took off, and the one-off video spawned a whole series of high-production "Wastelander" stunt videos, starring the brand's now-mascot. Something drastically changed by the 7th entry of the series, however. Up until then Wasteland Motorsports was using Yamato WRC cars in their videos, but their contract with Yamato expired by the 6th video, meaning they weren't able to use Yamato-manufactured vehicles anymore. With Wasteland Motorsports being one of the biggest names in the business at this point, finding someone else to work with was easy, and their new choice of partner surprised many. Wasteland Motorsports announced their partnership with American manufacturer Thunderhead Automotive on their 7th Wastelander video, which took the series to the streets of Thunderhead's hometown of Milwaukee. The vehicle they used was like nothing either brand has ever made. Thunderhead provided Wasteland motorsports with an Asgard GTS, their top-of-the-line sportscar, and what Wasteland did with it has to be seen to be believed. Called the "Sleipnir" after Odin's eight-legged horse from Norse mythology to follow the Asgard's own naming scheme, this tire-destroying machine was rebuilt entirely from the ground-up. Built on a composite tubular frame, the Sleiper really only shares a couple body panels and an engine block from the production Asgard, and even those are modified. While the Sleipnir looks about as race-ready as they come, it complies with absolutely no regulations of any official race series. Its one and only purpose was to do some of the most absolutely insane stunts imaginable one could do in a car, and it was certainly more than equipped to do so. The centerpiece, which Wasteland motorsports proudly displays with a lack of a front hood, is the twin-turbo V12. Bored out to 7.5 liters from Thunderhead's original 7.2, their are a pair of large turbos developed internally between Wasteland and Thunderhead grafted to the engine. For more efficient packaging and weight distribution, the intercooler and other cooling systems are mounted behind the driver cabin, as seen by the prominent cooling fans where the rear window once was. All this results in an immense power boost up to over 2,100 HP, well over twice that of the production Asgard. This engine is mated to a GT2-grade 6-speed sequential transmission, and an AWD system based on those used in rallycross. 0-60 was independently recorded at under 2 seconds, and Wasteland Motorsports estimates a top speed excess of 260 MPH. Besides the sheer power, this speed is due to the extreme weight-shedding Sleipnir went under. About 1,400 Ibs of weight was taken off the production model, resulting in a curb weight of just over 1,800. This results in a very light, very throwable car that's almost too perfect for the type of driving the Wastelander series is famous for. The Sleipnir was an immediate hit in the wider automotive community before it really even found its stride in the Wastelander video series, but found its stride it did. Its most notable stunts include drifting through the halfpipe-esque aqueducts of San Lorenzo, jumping the Chicago river at over 130 MPH, posting a record time on the Dragon's Tail in North Carolina, somehow performing a rail grind in San Salvador, and speeding down the Park City Mountain Resort Ski slope in Wasteland Motorsport's home city. There's also the "Sleipnir's Stable" video series, where the Sleipnir is pitted against various production and modified cars in best-two-out-of-three drag races. The sheer popularity of the Sleipnir has earned it various appearances in movies and video games, and bolstered Wasteland Motorsports to build more custom cars to appear in the Wasterlander series.

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Uploaded on January 19, 2024