Assoluto Rondine

Assoluto Rondine
Manufacturer	Assoluto
Appearance	Ridge Racer Type 4
Class	3
Engine	5.0L horizontally-opposed 16 cylinder "boxer" engine
Drivetrain	MR
Handling type	Drift

The Assoluto Rondine (pronounced: "Ron-din-ay") is a sports car made by Assoluto and exclusively featured in Ridge Racer Type 4.

Design and performance

The Rondine assumes a generally futuristic look, with a large 5.0 liter H16 engine powering it. On R4's branch system, it's located in the lower end of Stage 3, which means that only players who doesn't perform really well can get this. The downside of this car is the weight, which is the second-heaviest in the lower Stage 3 cars.

The Estasi is the evolution of this car, however the Rondine and the Estasi are not located in the same branch.

The following is a translated transcription of the car featured in the Japanese Ridge Racer Type 4 - Namco Official Guide Book R4:

A packaged racer with a futuristic form.

Due to its futuristic for and horizontally opposed 16 cylinder engine, the Rondine seems to be a typical italian sports car. However, its weight is unexpectedly heavy for that, so its maximum speed and horsepower are both a little unsatisfactory compared to its displacement. The Rondine seems to be Assoluto's latest model from its new design, but it is actually a surprisingly old model instead. Eventually, the horizontally opposed engine, which is synonymous with Assoluto, was installed for the first time on this car and after being trained in races with other machines, it was inherited by the Aquila and other Assoluto models.

Trivia

• The word "rondine" is Italian for "swallow".
• The "Preset D3" car, available when the player has not chosen any car in the garage's first slot (out of eight), is the Pac Racing Club specification of the Rondine.
• In real life, automotive H16 engines are rarely used; such engine was used by the Lotus 43, with the H16 engine built by British Racing Motors; it scored a win at the 1966 United States Grand Prix, while BRM's own BRM P83 scored only one podium during the car's racing life, due to the overly complicated engine layout leading to problems such as high center of gravity.
• Because both the Rondine and Estasi are almost the same car, the Rondine also shares the same single front canopy door-opening mechanism.
• In terms of design, the Rondine is mostly based on the 1989 Bugatti EB110 PM1 concept, with minor details taken from the 1991 Cizeta V16T and the 1986 Buick Wildcat concept.

Gallery

The Rondine of Micro Mouse Mappy (MMM)

The Rondine of Pac Racing Club (PRC)

The Rondine of Racing Team Solvalou (RTS)

The Rondine of Dig Racing Team (DRT)