Sanda Motor Corporation - Le mans 🇫🇷 RPC-88

Nah. It’s not about being underpowered, I just like cars that include a bit of nonsense :stuck_out_tongue:

PS Or are surprising in a way. Or at least not something one might expect.

The term “GT” is so vague that there is no irony to be found here.

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Well, for me GT is gran turismo - a car that combines speed and comfort, good for long travels for one or two people. And I thought it is quite common interpretation.

PS Although as a trim name it’s like “slightly more power, a bit of fancy equipment”, which makes some sense.

For us petrolheads, but for must people and specially marketing people, GT equals to sportier than normal version xD, so with the right justification, you can badge any car with a GT insignia :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
But here is another silly take on a sport car.


1968 - 1971 Sanda Proton

After the presentation of a prototype in 1966, 2 years later, the official project came to the light, and this time, looking better.
The Sanda Proton was the take on a sport car, taking the characteristic small engine design of sanda. It was powered by a tiny 1.3L flatplane V8. Since the parts were so small, you don’t had to worry about vibrations, and the engine could rev up all the way to 7,800 rpms. All of that, plus a futuristic alienish design.
Sadly, there were some crocks with it. The fuel economy was one of them, it was rubbish for such small engine and power output. Also, due to the dependent rear suspension, and poorly tuning, it was unstable at high speeds or in bumpy surfaces.
It only remained in production 2 years and it took 3 years to sell every car, and to this day are considered collectible cars. It also founded the seed for some of the characteristic sports cars with small displacement that Sanda will manufacture in years to come.





Market price: $10,507

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The 1968 Archer. Welcome to the Danger Zone… :stuck_out_tongue:

That car looks so… 70s, but not the good Escort 70s, more like very cool but a challenging experience Fiat 70s :smiley:

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1970 - 1976 Admiral

After the good way the Archer was received, Sanda decided to produce a new car, specially targeted to premium buyers that wanted a coupé, with a little extra power than the Archer.

The admiral was slightly smaller than the archer, but it was equipped with a brand new L4 SOHC engine pushing extra hp to the front wheels. The car although was basically a 2 door version of the Archer Lxi received pretty good critiques, and it made some of other car makers turn the head around to the Sanda M. Corporation, such as the mexican company ADM that was thinking in actually take some of the japanese models and re-brand them for the american market.

Market price: $10,680

NOTE: Crap, I didn’t notice I actually copiede my previous design D’uh xD

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#1973 Archer Facelift

The economy was growing and so were the cities and the roads. By '73, the old archer was considered too slow (even the GT trim) so in the next iteration, with a new facelift, Sanda gave the cars a better and brand new engine.

Made of iron, the A1 was the biggest engine offered at the time, ranging from 1.4 to 1.6L. The valvetrain was a simple direct acting overhead cam instead of the complex 3 valve per cylinder used in the '70 Admiral.

###Coupe GL




###Sedan GL




###Sedan Deluxe




###Coupe 1.6





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It looks unassuming, but the Archer is shaping up to be a great entry-level compact car from what I’ve seen so far. It finally has the engine it deserves!

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Love the looks, properly 70’s cool

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Gosh darn that is a pretty little car!

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Thank you :grin: Now that my company is in the mid 70s I’m finally reaching a more fun era for the Japanese domestic market :smiley: Good things to come!
(in the meantime I need to make sure this company’s models don’t compete with each other).

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Easier said than done.

Following some of the other companies here, this one will be on hiatus until the next update, I need those turbo L3!

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Sanda announces new engine family series for '75 models

After a quiet time, Sanda has an announced a new line-up of engines for upcoming models, the K series

The K series is comprised of 2 families, the K3 and the K8. Both have block and heads made of steel iron, 3 valves per cylinder and to compensate for their small size, both use 1 or 2 turbochargers.


The K3 is designed for FWD use for kei cars, with a displacement of 549cc, 3cylinders feeded by a single barrel carburetor and a single turbocharger. It generates 40 hp and 41 ft-lb.

The K8 on the other hand, is derived from the original engine of the 1968 Proton, a small V8 designed for longitudinal RWD. It displaces 1702 cc, plus it has a flat crankshaft, 2 turbochargers and 2 single barrel carburators.


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Will they have head gasket issues in later years of production? :stuck_out_tongue:

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Probably… new tech is not 100% reliable

1975 Majime Second generation

https://i.imgur.com/wWrxIaG.jpg

Majime in a classic Sanda Brown + cream color.

https://i.imgur.com/KRZNR3e.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/8vsHBs6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QZh54sT.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ffzgKHw.png?1

https://i.imgur.com/Hter2mA.png?1

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1975 Sanda Ridge

After 4 years in development, the fruit of Sanda’s engineers was the 1975 Ridge. Based in the concept of the '68 Proton, the concept was fairly simple, light weight car with a tiny V8 (thanks to its small size, it avoided the 2 liter tax) conceived as future flagship of the company for years to come.

Designwise, it had pop-lights and some details that are in line with the '75 Majime. The engine was the k8, a small 1.7L turbo V8 pushing 130hp at 6100 rpm, while weighting less than a ton (133.33 hp per ton for the curious), giving a nimble and dyanamic driving…

…while being in the power range. One major flaw of the design was the lack of power below 3,000 rpm, making it’s driving in town quite tedious. Even so, Sanda engineers firmly belive the future of the company and future cars is linked to turbocharging.

SPECS:

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1978 New and Improved Archer!


Archer 2 Door version

The Archer, now in its 3rd generation, received a new treatment, with a new design from scratch.
The Archer is a model that sits between the smaller Majime and the larger (and more expensive) Admiral, while still having nimble driving characteristics.


Background
The previous Archer model was slipted into 4 trims, ranging from cheap sedan or coupe and sportier sedan or coupe. This time, the Archer came in 3 trims. Hatchback, 2 Door and 4 Door.

They all use the brand new Series B engine. This new family of engines had a brand new all aluminum design, as well as new designed heads with 2 valves per cylinder, and 2 single barrel eco carburetors.

Unfortunately, 1978 new emissions standards in Japan forced all new models to be equiped with Catalytic converters, effectively chugging some of the power of the engine.


Archer 4 Door rear


Features

Hatchback
  • 1.4L L4 DAOHC Series B engine
  • 70hp @ 5,900rpm & 71lbft @ 3,900rpm
  • 4 Speed manual FWD
  • 155 km/h top speed
  • 250mm Disc brakes front / 250mm drum brakes rear
  • 155/75R13 89Q
  • 5 Seats
  • Basic Radio
2 Door
  • 1.6L L4 DAOHC Series B engine
  • 78hp @ 5,900rpm & 79lbft @ 4,100rpm
  • 5 Speed manual FWD
  • 153 km/h top speed
  • 270mm Disc brakes front / 265mm drum brakes rear
  • 155/70R14 88Q
  • 2+2 Seats
  • Std. 8 Track
  • Manualy adjusted seats
  • Power Steering
4 Door
  • 1.6L L4 DAOHC Series B engine
  • 78hp @ 5,900rpm & 79lbft @ 4,100rpm
  • 5 Speed manual FWD
  • 153 km/h top speed
  • 270mm Disc brakes front / 270mm drum brakes rear
  • 155/70R14 88Q
  • 5 Seats
  • Std. 8 Track
  • Manualy adjusted seats
  • Power Steering


Archer Hatchback


STATS

1978 Archer Hatchback
Price: $7,605


1978 Archer 2 Door
Price: $9,295


1978 Archer 4 Door
Price: $9,795


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1978 Admiral 2nd Generation

For those wanting something bigger and more comfortable than the bare bones Archer or the small Majime, Sanda developed the Admiral. The previous generation was very similar to the Archer, making it hard to future buyers to diffentiate them. With that in mind, this generation departed from the original design, to something bigger and with more refined lines.


Background
The new Admiral came in 2 trims, sedan and coupé. Instead of the traditional sedan shape, the designers opted for a fastback design. It also served to separate it more from the other models.

The B series was the only engine available, this time bored up to 1.8L, paired with a 4 barrel carburator and a 5 speed manual gearbox.

Admiral Sedan


Features
Click for more

Coupe
  • Transversal 1.8L L4 D.A.OHC Series B engine
  • 98hp @ 6,100rpm & 92ft-lb @ 4.600rpm
  • 5 speed manual FWD
  • 165 km/h top speed
  • 165/85R13 92R
  • 230mm vented disc brakes front / 230mm drum brakes rear
  • 4 seats
  • Premium interior (leather seats, front seat with electronic adjustments for front-rear and height.)
  • AM/FM radio with 4 speakers and 8 track player
  • Power steering
Sedan
  • Transversal 1.8L L4 D.A.OHC Series B engine
  • 98hp @ 6,100rpm & 92ft-lb @ 4.600rpm
  • 5 speed manual FWD
  • 165 km/h top speed
  • 165/85R13 92R
  • 230mm vented disc brakes front / 230mm drum brakes rear
  • 5 seats
  • Premium interior (leather seats, front seat with electronic adjustments for front-rear and height.)
  • AM/FM radio with 4 speakers and 8 track player
  • Power steering

STATS AND PRICE

1978 Admiral coupe
Price: $16,256 (38% markup)

1978 Admiral Sedan
Price: $17,007 (38% markup)

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