Danver

Danver (Japanese: ダンヴァー) is an American car manufacturer, introduced in Ridge Racer V where its cars center around acceleration rather than grip or top speed. Danver is considered to be the counterpart of Ford of Ridge Racer.

Many of Danver cars require more skill than required to drive its rivals. For instance, the Hijack drifts insanely out of control, deeming it not a wise car for newcomers but good for veterans of the Ridge Racer series.

According to a news ticker in Ridge Racer 7, Jeff Danver is the founder of the company, who planned to retire from the company after the events of the game.

Machines

Danver's notable cars include:

• Tornade: (mentioned in Ridge Racer 7): Danver's first automobile; possibly an alternate spelling of Toreador, as in the case with Kamata Fiaro/Fiera/Fiarre.
• Toreador: A typical 4-gear V8 muscle car, featuring the looks of 1999-2004 Ford Mustang (SN95), with rear lights from 1993-2000 Subaru Impreza (GC).
• Spectra: A modified classic car with incredible acceleration but poor handling. Resembles a mix of Cadillac DeVille and Plymouth GTX with chopped top and a blower.
• Bayonet: An American sports car which has two known different versions: the early generation is featured in PSP titles and resembles a hybrid of TVR 350 and Chrysler Crossfire, while the later generation that appears in Ridge Racer 6 and Ridge Racer 7 is based closely on the 2005 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. It's name was previously a Lizard product, and back then it resembled a C2/C3 Chevrolet Corvette.
• Hijack: A two-seater sports truck, debuted in Rage Racer as a Lizard product. The Danver variant debuted in Ridge Racer 6 and design-wise it resembles a cross between Dodge Ram SRT-10 and Chevrolet SSR.
• Bass Cruiser: An SUV that was featured in RR6 and RR7, noteworthy of its difficult drifting style and diesel engine. The trunk features an huge audio system inside.
• Hi-Night: Danver's latest car, debuting in Ridge Racer 3D. Its appearance seems to be slightly influenced by late 80's Cadillac concept cars, like Solitaire and Voyage, albeit general body lines are taken from a much more classic 5th/6th generation Cadillac Series 62. It may also be the successor to the Spectra, based on its appearance.
• CLIMBX: Pronounced "climax", a small, 2-door 4x4 which appeared in Go Vacation as a drivable vehicle, it's based on the Jeep Wrangler.
• XCLSR: Pronounced "excelsior", this SUV appears in Tekken 6's story mode as main means of transportation for protagonist Lars Alexandersson, originally owned by Lili as a gift, but as she disliked the SUV, she then gave it to Lars. Another character - Raven - drives the same vehicle in a post-credits scene. It resembles a third-generation Ford Expedition and was never featured in any Ridge Racer game. Judging from the badge, it may imply that is is powered by a 6.5 liter V8 engine.
• Unnamed armored van: Also from the story mode of Tekken 6, in the post-credits scene. This may imply that Danver's products are also in the defense market sector, being similar to Hummer or Terradyne Armored Vehicles. It is also an allusion to the Bass Cruiser having roots as a military-spec vehicle.

Front view of a Danver SUV

Rear view of a Danver SUV

Side view of a Danver SUV

This screenshot shows that the machine is equipped with 6.5L V8 engine and its name is, most likely, XCLSR.

Interior shot of the vehicle. Note the Danver Audio Studio.

Another interior shot of the vehicle.

The two heavy-duty vans in post-credits scene, one of which is seen here, are, apparently, also manufactured by Danver.

Trivia

• Danver and Soldat are the only car brands in the series which specialize in aerodynamic research; their cars use active aerodynamics.
• Danver, Kamata and Terrazi are the only brands in the series where some of their products are featured in other Bandai Namco games outside of the series, and are not featured in official Ridge Racer games to date.
• Based on the description of the Bayonet in Ridge Racer 7, it may imply that Danver's sports cars are popular in action movies (only seen so far with the Bayonet). This is an allusion to Aston Martin's cars being highly synonymous with James Bond, and to an extent, references the Lizard Cataract (said to also be popular in movies).
• With Danver being an American manufacturer, its cars have many features commonly associated with US kustom kulture, such as chop tops, superchargers, transmissions with low amount of gears and flamejobs.
• As the Hijack and Bayonet were formerly products and trademarks used by Lizard, Danver may have acquired them following Lizard's liquidation as a result of their financial collapse, while Lucky & Wild acquired that of the Wisdom.