Harimau International are an Anti-Gravity racing team based in Malaysia. They are the racing team representing a humanitarian and environmentalist organization of the same name. Because of this, the team seem willing to introduce the "more eco-friendly AG racing", utilizing racing craft which they claim to be zero-emission.
History[]
Founded in 2177 in Malaysia, the Harimau International organization is a humanitarian foundation established to aid the recovery of the nation during the great depression of the 2170s. Expanding beyond the borders of its home country in the early 2180s, the organization began its worldwide programme, contributing to many urban regeneration projects in Asia and around the world during that decade.
The profile of anti-gravity racing as a sport in which the craft emit zero emissions convinced Harimau to establish a racing team for the 2197 season of the FX300 League, with a view to promoting an environmentally friendly message on an international stage. It was, however, uncertain whether or not the display from Harimau was a bold move at circulating such a message, mainly because much of the structure and hierarchy of the Harimau organization is unknown to the public, besides the fact that the nature of the competition would almost certainly contradict Harimau's intentions.
Speculations suggested an intense rivalry developing between Harimau and fellow newcomers Triakis, as the fundamental differences of their respective backgrounds would most likely translate into on-track friction. As for their performances in races though, the team were doing quite well with the veteran teams in the FX300 League, only to become among the backmarkers of the group. Disappointed, the Harimau organization suspended its AG racing project at the end of the FX300 League to better concentrate on another project – genetically modifying tigers for release into the wild.
While it was not clear whether this was yet another publicity stunt or the organization was serious about reintroducing a species that had been extinct for the last century, it did give good media exposure for Harimau. Ultimately, this fueled the desire to return to AG racing, coming late for the FX400 League. The Harimau team's latest biofuel-powered craft appeared to be a vast improvement from its predecessor, allowing them to better compete against the opposition in the league. Rest assured, the Harimau organization could continue to help produce a better, cleaner world.
FX300 Background[]
Founded in 2177, the Harimau International organisation is a humanitarian group established to aid the recovery of Asian regions from the great depression of the 2170's. Little is known of the structure of their racing team; media speculation is that the outfit has been established in order to promote the organisation on the global stage.
Quite how the high-octane action of the FX300 League will fit with Harimau's message of global peace remains to be seen.
FX400 Background[]
Harimau will be another team that are arriving late to the FX400 party, having focused most of their recent energies on promoting their international campaign to repopulate suitable parts of the world with genetically engineered tigers.
While it's not clear whether this is simply a publicity stunt or a valiant attempt to re-introduce the world to an animal that has been extinct for a century and an half, it has certainly gained welcome media attention for the team.
Aside from their tiger cloning efforts, the latest Harimau bio-fuel powered craft looked to be a marked improvement upon its predecessor during pre-season testing, sporting strong top-end speed and handling, which should see them challenging for the top spots in the season ahead.
FX400 Message[]
Statement by Harimau PR
Continuing our efforts to reduce the impact of AG Racing on the environment, the Harimau International Racing Team will be powered by 100% bio-fuel in the FX350 and FX400 Racing Leagues.
As part of our Return of the Tiger programme – our initiative to replenish the world’s population of an animal that has been classed as extinct for over a century – our lucky fans will have the chance to meet with a real tiger at selected events during the course of the FX400 season.
Why not come and show your support for Harimau International around the world?
Harimau – a force of nature.
Appearance, Evolution and Stats[]
The design of the Harimau ship looks like some kind of a fish, with a slight resemblance to the AG Systems ship, though it is somewhat less frail-looking. Its livery usually consists of the orange colour that dominates the appearance, as well as the Harimau International logo on both sides of the single-hull structure. Having first appeared in Wipeout Pure, and in subsequent games, the designs of their ships have not varied much.
The Harimau ship is generally a good all-around performer. While it cannot withstand too much punishment, it is overall a ship with great handling and decent speed, though this aspect was less present in the Pure ship (or perhaps obscured by Triakis' use of reverse-inertia deceleration system that time).
The Pure design is kept for use in Pulse, but the HD design is a slightly different model. The Pulse and HD chassis is well balanced, and statistically similar, despite now lacking in acceleration capability. While many people consider the Harimau to be the "inferior version" of the Assegai, of which the latter shares the exact same stat values except for increased thrust, inspection of the hidden stats in HD show the Harimau does in fact have slightly improved ground grip over the Assegai, contributing to a less obvious "true handling" being only slightly worse than the FEISAR.
The Harimau Fury ship, however, has become another favourite ship for use thanks to the major speed enhancement, giving it more considerable top speed. On the other hand, despite a minor improvement, the lack of thrust is still an issue. But at least, this tweaking, along with the very slight edge in handling, will distinguish it from the Assegai.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- "Harimau" means "Tiger" in Malay. The tiger is Malaysia's national animal.
- One of Harimau's projects by the end of the FX300 League was aptly called "Return of the Tiger", where they would create genetically engineered tigers to be released into suitable habitats. The lore further suggests that a particular species of tiger had likely been extinct for more than a century.
| Anti-Gravity Racing Teams in Wipeout |
|---|
| AG Systems • Assegai • Auricom • EG-X • FEISAR • Goteki 45 • Harimau • Icaras • Mirage • Piranha • Qirex • Triakis • Van-Über |
| Defunct/Former Teams: EG-R • G-Tech • Tigron • Xios |