PUTTING THE PEDAL TO THE METAL IN CYBERPUNK 2077

In a society driven to the brink by technology, perhaps going for a lovely Sunday drive can be an act of resistance

- By James Nouch

The purr of an engine turning over. The roar that accompanies an accelerator being pressed to the metal. The lovely toasty feeling in your buttocks when the heated seats reach their maximum temperature. Yes, these are the sensations that animate a true petrol-head like our man Vincent.

While the majority of Night City’s population seem intent on grafting ever more gleaming chrome and blinking circuitry to their meaty flesh, Vincent has been able to find solace in the relatively low-tech world of the motorcar. After all, for all their superficial splendour, many of the cars rolling around Night City seem to contain nothing more technologically advanced than the interior of a 2022 Honda Jazz.

So, our lovable luddite has spent the past month lifting the hood on various automobiles and murmuring things like “that’s a spark plug, alright,” and “hot damn, look at that carburettor spin”. And somewhere along the way – despite the fact that he still can’t operate a petrol pump without close adult supervision – he managed to forge a bond with a fellow hot rodder. He’s actually made a friend.

Panam Palmer is her name, and she’s a member of the Aldecaldos family of nomads – a roving motor-gang that rides its gas-guzzling convoy across the dusty highways and treacherous dirt roads that encircle Night City. Most of the Aldecaldos lack the money and means to encrust themselves too thoroughly with flashy cyberware, so Panam appears entirely unfazed by Vincent’s lack of embedded RGB lighting or, indeed, by his distinctive dress sense. She even tolerates his tiresome insistence that “nowhere sells proper coffee any more”. Now, they’re heading out on a mission together. The Aldecaldos’ leader, Saul, has been captured by a violent band of Wraiths, and Panam is determined to get him back.