I feel a little plaintive about the engine development program for the Mistral. When we did the V6 for the RS400 version there was at least another 30-40 hp extra on the way, along with a noticeable improvement in fuel efficiency.
But the necessary racing headers simply would not fit that engine bay, limiting the ultimate potential. That said, the performance seems to be blistering even with the on going 400 hp unit!
And of course we are proud of our 350 hp unit which we were able to optimize for efficiency.
Oh don’t worry about it, these engines do the trick exceptionally well. Power is not an issue one bit.
##1980 Noto Imola
The newly founded Noto Design studio has been left to fend for itself on the market in 1979, and while a few minor carrozzeria style contracts have been completed, it was not enough to keep the company afloat. In early 79 Noto Designs has seen a major contract with Galt automotive, who were well informed of KHT works based off the 1960 Communitasia, and have contracted Noto to create a few concept cars for the 3rd generation of the car. The contract was completed in record times, and one of two designs was approved by Galt. Simplified it has seen production in 1980, with Noto Designs having done work pro-bono, was now receiving minor percentage for each car sold, but it was barely enough to scrape by.
By mid 1979 Marco Noto has stumbled upon an idea, and after a thorough consultation with what was left of the engineering department undertook a venture. The dirt cheap KHT Keimolas were flooding the used car market, which Noto Designs has started buying for as little as 10% of it’s original price. The Keimola body was re-modelled to look at least a bit different from the disaster that was Keimola, but the main work happened under the skin and was simple. The solution to the problem was as always with Marco Noto - purely Italian : if the turbos needed that much fuel so it splashed all over the engine bay, all you needed to do was get rid of the turbos and the extra fuel pump. Which is exactly what happened
In 1980 the first Noto Imola has been delivered to a client. Powered by a naturally aspirated 2.7 v6, the changes were minimal and cheap - removal of turbos, extended downpipes, removed interooling, a sports intake and a new fuel and ignition settings. It was enough to not only remove excess stress from the engine internals, but also remove the excessive fuel delivery to the engine bay. Naturally it lost a lot of power, now developing only 183hp instead of the initial 270. The acceleration dropped from 4.9 to 6.1 seconds, with top speed now being 225kph. The advances in handling however were made, mostly due to the tire manufacturers coming up with new solutions. Now sporting 255 wide tires all around on new Rial wheels, Imola’s handling and cornering speeds increased.
The interiors of the used cars were refurbished, as well as most of the car undergoing serious inspection before being considered “fit for sales”, but not a single of the Noto Imolas was actually a new car. They were all pre-owned and pre-used Keimolas, with a facelift and resolved reliability and flammability issues. This was suprisingly quite a success, as prices were a lot lower than a brand new Keimola ever cost, and the improvements meant that owners could actually enjoy their cars. The story behind the name, the official one, was that it was chosen to pay tribute to a great racing track. The real reason, however was, that it was easier to remove “Ke” from the name than to create a brand new badge for the car. This cheap but effective strategy has paid off, with Noto Design Studio receiving more contracts for 1981, which allowed for slow but steady growth of the company.
A 1980 Noto Imola along side a 1977 KHT Keimola.
Fantastic looking cars, as usual.
That’s a successful restyle and also feels realistic in that only “replaceable” body parts were changed just like a cost-effective job would be done IRL. I like that attention to detail!
And the story is fascinating too. Taming a carb-turbo engine at that time would be difficult I imagine. Even the Patriot brothers of Texas had to switch to fuel injection after only
two years because their carb turbo engines kept blowing up…
##1981 Noto C1 Scura
As buisness started to go uphill, and new partnerships were forged a bold decission was made to re-enter the buisness of smallscale production of sportscars. This was quite a risk, as Noto had to mortgage everything they had built up till this point to get a loan from the bank and get a real factory. Luckily the old KHT factory, abandoned at the moment was available for a reasonable price. The empty hangars were cleaned up and makeshift production line has been created, mostly oriented to hand-building the cars.
Going through the log of un-used concept cars one stood out to the team, and a process of making it into a production car was undertaken. The design was drastically altered from the concept that was collecting dust since 1979, but the chassis remained a tubular spaceframe with double wishbone suspension, completed by a hand crafted aluminium body. The engines came courtesy of JSC, supplying the revised 8c-35 turbocharged 3.5 liter v8, capable of running on 91 ron petrol. The engine was mounted to a 5 speed manual gearbox with an AWD system, featuring 2 manually locking differentials and an open front diff. The first tests have proven the car to be capable not only on the road but on mild gravel roads, leading to the higher clearance and a sligtly softer setup than originally planned. This became the car’s selling point, with the slogan being “Uncompromising performance over any terrain”.
The ever present problem, as with all Maro Noto’s works was the desire to fit a big engine into a small car, and once again has appeared in the C1 Scura. Once again, however, Noto went the regular route of “just leaving everything that does not fit on the outside of the car”, in this case intercooler, and it’s piping, complete with a separate vents, which only function was to allow the piping from intercooler to the intake manifold to go inside the engine bay. The urgent way of designing a car, and building a production floor for it had it’s drawbacks, as this was, unlike any previous cars designed by Noto, equipped with a simplistic interior, lacking in high quality materials many people got accustomed to. The car offered a sporty interior and a basic radio, but apart from that it was for all intents and purposes as uninteresting as a brick. This resonated badly with the buyers who were looking for a GT, but the performance oriented drivers welcomed it, as it dropped the weight of the car to 1050kg.
The Noto C1 Scura’s performance figures were impressive for a small coupe, with 0-100kph being dispatched in 4.9 seconds, and top speed being 226kph. The cornering was very much impressive, with it’s maximum cornering rated at 1.19g. The car was finished off with ventilated brakes, set up for a very aggressive driving style. The car saw a moderate success throughout it’s production, allowing the company to stay afloat, and while not forging a mantle for itself in racing, is regulary named among the Delta Integrale and Audi Sport Quattro when it comes to a capable awd car of the era.
Wow. You really do bring awesome to the automation world! 
Also the car looks like somebody tuned it with the radiator sticking out the front. 
[quote=“Speedemon”]Wow. You really do bring awesome to the automation world!
Also the car looks like somebody tuned it with the radiator sticking out the front. [/quote]
Thanks. Well, that IS the very Italian way of chief designer Marco Noto - if it don’t fit - mount it on the outside 
This car makes me smile - it’s so original and so uncompromising. A design studio that does stuff like this would be sure to get a lot of attention IRL!
##2016 KHT Augusta
With the Adelaide getting some well deserved rest, a successor car was needed, and the Mistral could not claim that role, due to it’s pricetag. The new car had to be an affordable track toy for people to enjoy on a budget. Kraft haus technik has arranged for multiple surveys, along with talking to many people on numerous track day forums and a few specialists to bring the exact car people required. The 2016 KHT Augusta fullfills the track enthusiast needs on every level one can think of.
early design concept by Andrea Scalera
The first thing naturally was the speed, and Augusta got this aspect covered. Still powered by a ManHell 2 liter engine, it has seen a minor revision in it’s settings. The power output has remained the same as in the Adelaide, the car it replaces, but now the economy figure is below 7l/100km, as well as the emissions have dropped down, warranting a lower tax bracket for the little car. The 340hp is enough to get Augusta from 0-100 in 3.6 seconds with the use of a 6 speed manual transmission aided my an electric LSD, same as found in the Adelaide. The engine has enough reserve to run performance parts from both KHT and Manhell as well as a variety of aftermarket manufacturers, which are very much forward compatible from the Adelaide. The most powerful version of that engine to date rates at reliable 700bhp.
The body is made of aluminium, and so is the chassis. This was a deliberate step away from carbon fiber which had 2 reasons behind it. The first, as every experienced trackday enthusiast confirms - repairs of damage are very costly. This is the exact reason that most track Adelaides are by now running replica fiberglass and CFRP body panels bought through aftermarket dealers. The second reason was the fact that by not using the super costly CF, we could drop the retail price, and make the car more affordable. Sporting double wishbone suspension all around, and 255/285 tires, much wider than the outgoing model, the grip levels have increased drastically, with lateral G’s now reaching 1.25g through the corners. Unofficial tests at the now “new” top gear test track have yielded results of 1:16.00, which would place it 5th on the board as of 2015
The interior of the car is stripped of all things deemed unnecessary for the track, so the car gets a spartan basic interior, with bucketseats and carpeting being the most luxurious thing in it. The in car entertainment as well as aircon have also been removed, thus further reducing the price of the car. As a whole, the car can outperform a Lotus Exige S, while at $35,000, being 3 times cheaper. Kraft Haus Technik hopes that this will be a breath of fresh air for track day enthusiasts, who will have an easier time affording and running a pure track racer.
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Lovely, lovely car! Really like the stance and details about it. Also the “early design sketch” is a nice touch. Looks just like the real drawings which is another testament to your photoshopping talent.
1984 KHT Nemesis
Throughout the late 70’s the right to Kraft Haus Technik name has changed ownership numerous times, but in 1981 found it’s way into the hands of a successful Wall Street enterpreneur Samuel Morales. Hyped by the fact and wishing to go into the car manufacturer buisness he quickly contacted numerous parties to create what he saw as a fitting car for the company’s rebirth. Among which was Chevrolet for the engines and gearboxes, for their easy availability, and Noto Designs for the design and engineering, due to the fact that Noto was the chief designer at KHT before the company fell. In 1982 the contract was signed and Noto’s design studio started working on the first concept. Mid way through the initial design phase Morales has launched a campaign promoting the yet unreleased supercar, stating it’s top speed and acceleration way before the chassis was even finished. The promise of a 4 second 0-60 mph and it being the fastest road going car in the world has stirred up the interest at motor shows, where only design sketches were presented.
By early 1983 the car had a name - Nemesis, and a few dozen buyers, none of which have actually seen the car since it was not yet revealed. The first prototype was sent to USA for test fitting the engine and preliminary test drives by the pre-order clientele and that was the last Noto has seen the car. More so, soon after the communication with KHT’s Samuel Morales has been cut. Marko Noto, being a man of temper immediately decided that he is not going to be left unpaid for his work, leave his creation in the hand of a crook and over all treated like a one night stand (in that particular order). A lengthy lawsuit ensued, upon which the truth has been revealed. KHT has taken too much of a toll on Morales’ funds and he simply was running on empty, trying to weasel his way out of debts by shutting himself and a group of a few men trying to build the car. The gamble however did not pay off, as the lawsuit came a lot sooner than the car was finished and first funds could be seen.
Throughout 1983 Noto has got the prototype back, but as for payment he had to settle with what Morales could offer - Rights to KHT name and a decent sized engine workshop with machinery that could heavily modify engines. As a man of honour Noto decided to not let the name of KHT go down as a failure twice on his watch and made a decission to build the car. Not having a contract with Chevrolet a new engine contract had to be made to power the Nemesis. Thankfully a trip to America has been fruitful as a partnership was easily struck with Inline Designs, a company specialized in building custom engines. Inline have advised to use a much lighter v6 engine, and with the use of turbochargers to get the required power output to live up to the promises made by Morales. The initial engine produced by the company has reached 400hp, but the test have shown it to be insufficient. A few trial and error builds by Noto’s engineering team have worked out a spec that suited the car and finally the car was ready for it’s release.
First KHT Nemesis was delivered in summer of 1984, built in Germany, sporting an engine from Inline Designs (which ironically was a v6). A Spaceframe based supercar sported a full fiberglass exterior, creating a light and efficient car, interior being pretty spartan, but fully covered in leather, with seats and wheel being alcantara. No driver assists were made available, and the sole in car entertainment was to be had either from a basic cassette player or from the act of actually driving the car. The handling was taken care of by using a now very familiar double wishbone suspension design and 295 front and 265 2 piston rear brakes. The Nemesis had a 3.85 liter twinturbocharged v6 with multi point fuel injection (something Noto has insisted on, after the Keimola onslaught of carburetor problems) courtesy of Inline Designs. Producing 488 horsepower at 6300 rpm with the redline coming 500rpm later, the engine fed the rear wheels through a 5 speed manual transmission. Resulting in a 0-100 kph in 4 seconds and a top speed of 289kph, beating the previous fastest car in the world - the countach by a whopping 1 kilometer per hour.
Noto has taken great care to uphold and prove the car’s capability of living up to the claims, personally overseeing test drives both by clients and by media. However, later it was discovered that the 4 second acceleration was only possible on special tires manufactured by Good Year. The car left the factory wearing a set, but if a regular tire was installed the acceleration easily dropped by 0.2 seconds. This was not a very big deal as the Nemesis has been a successful project, despite all it’s problems in creation and shortcomings on the road. The name Kraft Haus Technik was once again a big player on the supercar market, and to Noto’s disappointment - even a bigger one than Noto Designs. Marketing purposes dictated that KHT name was to be once again used for the upcoming projects.
Note : Inline designs can be found here , and are offering a selection of off the shelf and custom engines. Check them out.
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It was a pleasure for us at Inline Designs to offer our expertise to KHT. We are extremely happy with how the car turned out!
My… God… It’s… Beautiful…
Squidhead, would you mind me if I would do Airborne’s competitor to Nemesis? My company actually needs replacement of Mercury from 1985 (Mercury Turbo got lower in model hierarchy from 1985 to 1991)
KHT fears no competition. Some of my cars probably would get a chunk out of sales from other cars on the forums, and nobody minds So why would I? Go for it.
I don’t think my comment survived the forum transition so I shall say it again: My god, the rear lights, my god.
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We need something that can help us compete (friendly competition) with other companies on the forum.
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Some kind of car buying guide like the Top Gear New Car Buyers Guide. But I could imagine it being a nightmare to keep updated.
I’ll go when I fix my PC because my laptop is most likely too weak to run Automation, hehe