Fränken Stange

"The unlikely product of Albany's design team leafing through a vintage car magazine while in the depths of a masculine overdose. The Franken Stange will make you the envy of goths, emo hipsters and vampire wannabes everywhere. Don't be fooled by what's left of its old world charm; the steering linkage may be from 1910, but the engine has just enough horsepower to tear itself (and you) to pieces at the first bump in the road."

- Southern San Andreas Super Autos webpage.

The Albany Fränken Stange is a four door hotrod featured in Grand Theft Auto Online, added as part of the Halloween Surprise Update.

Design
The Fränken Stange appears as a hotrod, based on the Munster Koach featured in The Munsters, which itself is modeled after the 1920's Ford Model T. It can also be considered a landaulet variant of the Roosevelt; it shares most of the bodywork, particularly the front fascia, headlights, grille and wheel-arches with it. Because it shares its bodywork and chassis with the Roosevelt, it can be said that is based on the 1928 Cadillac 341A Town Sedan, where it shares the initial design shape, headlight arrangement and wheel arches.

The Fränken Stange features a unique ram-bar-style front bumper. Instead of the general aluminium doubled-up bar used for a bumper on the Roosevelt, the Fränken Stange's front bumper sticks out from the front axle much further than the Roosevelt. It also avoids guarding the wheels. The headlights found on the Fränken Stange are identical to the Roosevelt's, albeit located lower down, leaving the grille and engine exposed much more. The manufacturer, Albany has its logo printed onto its valve covers. Additionally, the car features many unique custom trinkets with a horror theme, such as a skull wearing a top hat mounted atop the grill and coffin-shaped side mirrors.

Unlike the Munsters Koach, the Franken Stange is much shorter in length, and the roof covers the cab, instead of just the second seating row. Additionally the "haunted mansion" style of the original is downplayed much more.

The Fränken Stange can have 4 unique liveries applied to it:
 * Midnight Potion
 * Hell's Furnace
 * Blazing Death
 * Spider Trap

The vehicle shares the same interior with the Roosevelt, albeit in a dark purple shade.

Grand Theft Auto Online
The Albany Fränken Stange (much like its counterpart, the Albany Roosevelt) handles like a boat, being 2 tons heavy. Turning is slightly sluggish which is expected of a hotrod. It tends to understeer at first which can quickly switch to a sudden oversteer but it's somewhat easily controllable. The acceleration is good as well as its top speed, surpassing the Roosevelt's velocity, thanks to the car's massive V8 engine, which shakes quite noticably when the car is on, being the only car in GTA V to do so.

It features high-profile, thick drag racing tires for its drag-racing capabilities, and despite its high traction, the power going into the wheels is still too much for the traction to keep it from wheel-spinning upon take-off. This doesn't pose too many problems for traction-control, as the vehicle's rear-thick tires are also beneficial, in that they stabilize power-sliding and are still able to control the vehicle's sideways movement.

As with most other sports classics, the Fränken Stange is highly durable against impact deformation. Rarely, the back of the car might get caught on curbs, or when following racing-lines in particular, the rear fenders, or rear wheels, may pose a problem for getting caught and spinning out when getting close to objects on corners, unpredictably hitting the car. Unlike the Roosevelt though, players cannot hang off the side of the car, making it a four person vehicle instead of six.

The Fränken Stange is powered by a hefty big-block V8 engine, in an FMR (Front-mid engine, rear wheel drive) layout, laid longitudinally. The engine features large zoomie exhausts running from the engine block, backwards, facing the driver, and sticking out further than the initial bodywork. It also features 8 carburetors that each have their own velocity stack, or you can fit your choice of one of the 2 "bug catcher" style intakes on the engine.

The engine sound is rather unique, in that it features a rather loud idling sound, clearly showing it's high performance camshaft which makes the engine sound the way it does. It is also a higher-pitch version of the Dukes' engine sound.

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * Can be purchased from Southern San Andreas Super Autos for $550,000 (enhanced version only).

General

 * The Fränken Stange is likely inspired by the Munster Koach from the television sitcom The Munsters, both being hot-rodded classic saloon cars with a large, exposed engine and a passenger cabin that is enclosed at the front but open at the rear. The Munsters was also about a family of famous Hollywood monsters, particularly apt given the update's Halloween theme.
 * The other vehicle added in the Halloween Surprise DLC, the Lurcher, is a reference to The Addams Family, another sitcom (and later film series) with a similar premise to The Munsters that is often seen as a direct competitor.
 * "Stange" is German for "rod", which relates to what the car itself is: a hotrod. It is pronounced somewhat similar to "Stein" like "stɑng:ɛ", which, when combined with "Franken", will create "Frankenstein".

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * The horn of the Fränken Stange is unique; it is similar to a combination of the Marquis' horn and the Marshall/The Liberator's horns.
 * The engine will viciously shake when it is turned on, even more so if it is revved, more than any other car in the game.
 * The Fränken Stange does not have a license plate, likely due to its illegal exhaust pipes and muffler-less exhaust system, all deeming it illegal for the road.
 * The Fränken Stange does not have any reverse lights.
 * If added, the Fränken Stange has a unique Turbo engine sound, a unique fan-spinning whistling sound can be heard, much more notable than other turbos.
 * There is a unique door closing animation for this vehicle, where the player uses both hands to shut the door when entering it.

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