Well, yeah, I mean, the article I was reading called it a "sequel" to 2049, but I think it just means that it would have been the next installment in the RUSH series.

Full text: http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=755

Notes from Scott : The unreleased sequel to San Francisco Rush 2049 and was cancelled before it was finished.

There are 8 tracks to choose from. Only three of the tracks are complete. Three other tracks are incomplete. You can race those tracks, but there are no textures so It's like Hard Drivin 2000! The last two tracks are unplayable and the music and sound effects are unfinished. The drone car logic is also not complete as they get lost while driving.

The cabinet is a standard 2049 cabinet with lots of modifications. There is a new Quad Stereo amp in the unit to power the new speakers in the tail pipes. Inside each tail pipe is a speaker and an LED light array. There are also real 'taillights' built into the base of the seat. The shifter ball is supposed to be a mini 8-Ball. The gas pedal is a throwback to the 70's pedals that were shaped like a 'cave man' foot. To the right of the monitor bezel is a light tree that signals when you should stomp on the gas. It only works at the beginning of the game. The monitor bezel and marquee bezel are black, instead of the 2049 blue. The seat looks like it is a new design, although it may be the same as Crusin Exotica.

The hardware is very different from the 2049 design. This game runs on a PC- a Pentium III 933mhz with a Geforce 2 card. It uses a special security board to keep the game from being bootlegged. The security board connects via the USB port. If the board is not present, the game will not boot. You cannot run this sofware in a 2049 cabinet.

This prototype gives you a good idea of what the sequel to 2049 might have been. The tracks are very cool, and the graphics are much improved. It's too bad Midway did not see this through to completion. This would have been an awesome chapter in the Rush series.

Personally, I love the visuals seen in this level to the somewhat generic "future" visuals of 2049, although the advantage of 2049 was that they could include all sorts of loop and corkscrew shortcuts that wouldn't make sense in "modern" or "historical" San Francisco (yeah, even though the Alcatraz level in SF RUSH THE ROCK had a couple).

IMO the Rush games are a lot better than most of the Cruisin' clones being released too this day.

I never got the Rush series until a local paper did an article on a Barcade. I always liked the realistic-as-can-be racers for my home console (playstation at the time,) and after a while I just didn't see them anymore (not just Rush, but any arcade racing games.) Anyway, he documents his attempts at the game on one beer, four beers, six beers and a shot, etc. it's a really fun party game.

Heh, or a real-life Polybius if you will. I still know people who swear that they played it but I'll never believe them.