Coke and Bad Decisions; The Deva's Story
Our Story on this Interesting Machine Starts all the way back in 1967, and a chance meeting between to-be-Sakura CEO Franklin Hill, and to-be-KHI CEO Taka Kujite. Franklin was something of an enigmatic designer, and businessman. He had some… crazy ideas. When Franklin and Taka met, Franklin has Just started his car company, American Race Ready Cars, or ARRC. Taka had just been promoted to Product Manager for the American Markets, and was exploring further options for Sakura. Franklin and Taka had met at an autoconference, and Franklin had shared his strange ideas with Taka, who sort of brushed off his ideas.
Fast Forward to 1970, Franklin had conceptualized the first ARRC concept, a Mid-engined, All-wheel drive, wedgeshaped super car, with a Turbocharger. The concept never picked up traction, and he abandoned the Company, leaving it bankrupt and the unknown name in the dust. He instantly packed up his life, and attempted to contact Taka Kujite to find a Job at his Company.
In 1975, KHI CEO Kabeno Takanaguchi retired, and Taka Kujite took his place, after impressing the board with his handling of the American markets. He promoted his friend Franklin Hill to be his replacement in Sakura, knowing that having an American in control of American Market Development would be beneficial for expansion and understanding. Franklin, however, had never forgotten his ARRC concept. and moved to start developing technology that would further his goals.
1979 rolls around, and the Current Sakura Head, Hamode Kajikura, quits the company for personal reasons, and Franklin sees himself promoted to the CEO of Sakura Automobiles. His first plan is an odd one. He cuts the production of the D30 Duchess, and announces plans to replace it with something more fun, and more enjoyable to drive than the then 9 year old D30. This is where things start to fall off the rails.
1981 sees the first testing of Franklin’s new AWD system in a Mid-engine chassis, a test mule made from a 1977 D30 Duchess Turbo. Franklin sees this as a success, and instantly begins green-lighting his own project. He named this Project Angel.
Around the time of the Angel Project being green-lit, Franklin began falling into some bad habits. He was buying many kilograms of cocaine a month. This was used personally, and shared between all manner of staff in Sakura, KHI, and it’s associate companies. Franklin’s Project was getting stranger and stranger each passing month.
In 1984, Franklin made the strange decision to find the largest Engine that Sakura had casts for. This engine ended up being the JNO12 engine, only found in the 1969 Duchess 25x PV12. The Engine was modernised as much as could be scavenged, and produced for this Project. It gained Multi-point EFI and Twin Turbos. Now Franklin’s Dream concept would be nearing what he called “Perfect”
The body was drafted in the same year. Still a wedge, but much less aggressive than his original concept, the design was fueled by Cocaine, with some strange, and overtly modern concepts drawn into the body. The name was chosen in 1985, a year before the model was set to be shown to the world as a Production ready model. The Deva, being a deity-like entity in Hindu mythology was the perfect name for this model, Franklin’s Deity, his one calling.
1986 Rolled around, and at the Detroit Autoshow that year, the Deva was unveiled. A mid-mounted, 5L V12, All-Wheel drive, Twin Turbos, and Over 400hp. The Deva was something outside of Sakura’s reach, but it entered production anyway.
This car, coupled with the Outdated engine, and experimental choices almost spelled disaster for Sakura outside of Japan. Franklin’s Insistence for this model to be produced, plus his rather dangerous Habit put Sakura in massive financial trouble. The Deva and it’s development put Sakura almost $100,000,000 in the red. The Price tag for this got nowhere near covering the costs. In the end, from 1986 to 1989, only around 400 Deva were produced, and even less were sold.
Sakura felt the effects of the Deva well into the 1990s, with development being restricted in an attempt to recuperate losses in what would become known internally as the “Coke Car Crisis.”