RRT4 Fanart - Assoluto Squalo

A bit of rambling ahead

The Assoluto Squalo making it's first and to date, sole appearance in Ridge Racer type 4 (1998-1999), and like many cars, did have some impact on me. Partly because for all my admiration of F1 then or now, I had then and now a love for all things sports cars and sports racing prototypes. Be it from the past such as the Ford GT40 to more present machines including the Audi R18, Toyota TS030, to Daytona protypes such as the corvette bodywork, even though under that body is either a Riley, Dallara (Doran) or Coyote chassis, although the engines are Chevy's.

Point being, I felt something closer with sports cars than open wheel machines. And to me the squalo was one example of 'what if I wanted to bring an F1 like car into being a sports car. While the Internet Game car database says this car was inspired by the Peugeot 905 Evo 2, and while I can see some semblance, I disagree.

Why both goes with what I've been trying to find along with...lets face it my own bias, which in itself could be sufficient evidence to blow my view of what the car's inspirations came from. But hear me out.

I believe it's based more on the Ferrari F300, the F1 car for 1998 more so than the Peugeot 905, among other prototypes to which their rear tires were covered by a skirt for the sake of aerodynamics. I say this because based both on the car itself and what I've been able to find, along with the release date of the game. While the game itself was initially released in 1998 then 1999, and the time line itself taking place during 1999, it would have to be 19998. That's my take in a nutshell anyway.

But I think I'd rather go into how I've been approaching this car and other cars as of late, and that ties in a bit with some of the WipEout art I've been doing as of late as well.

When trying to draw this car taking references direct from the game itself, along with RL references such as again the Ferrari F300, I took it on myself to also try and inject some of my own views on how the car would be rendered. As with many games at the time and before, artists and designers had to work with limitations, be it time, hardware or other things.

As hardware got more powerful, such restrictions were not as constraining, but alas finding those who legit put their effort into some designs are not terribly common.

An exception I've found and still analyzing are the WipEout games, and as stated more than once, my interests were encouraged due to it having a lore, and later I got into the art styles portrayed in all the games. Including the polarizing PS2 title Fusion.

Point being, the craft got closer to the concept art in question or they went with a result that also 'worked' to some extent with said craft.

I'm still studying said craft (and environments) in more ways than one, in what ways I can.

I want to both re-tread and re do some earlier drawings I've done of the ridge racer cars from the PSX era, but rather than trying to go for pixel perfect replication, instead try to bring them into greater detail, while still retaining their basic fundamental design cores.

I'm still trying to figure things out, and the Squalo is one would be attempt to get closer to such a goal.

Rambling aside...hope you all like.