I like this. Obscure 60’s supercar built real cheap and fast. It has some character.
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A Jap brand founded by a Brit? Simply fascinating… and the Revenge trim for the Keika could have been named more appropriately!
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Low on budget, yet proceeds to design and build an advanced inhouse engine.
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Shhh. This doesn’t need to be 100% accurate.
1968
1968 was an important year for Keika. The standard road going car had been updated to more closely match the original designs, while the Revenge spec car was updated to become a car teams could buy as a direct race car. Keika also had ideas of racing outside of Japan, going into rally.
Keika Katana
The 1968 changes were nothing too drastic. The engine received an extra horsepower and lb-ft of torque, while the stroke shrunk by only 0.3mm to let it rev another 100RPM higher.
Visually, the car received extra vents on the engine cover to help ventilate the engine, reducing the cooling issues, and a small hook around the exhaust for extra protection. The Keika I name was changed to Keika Katana, and new sticker showed off the new model name.
Gearing was brought slightly closer thanks to the extra room to rev, improving 0-100Km/h to 7.3 seconds. Tyres were changed to a medium compound and widened by 20mm both front and rear to bring lateral forces to 1.04g with some suspension tuning. Brakes all around were shrunk and became two piston units which, while reducing weight, also meant brake fade was more prominent.
The interior was improved greatly over the first year cars, and some basic safety features such as lap belts were added.
Keika Katana Race
The race model used an even smaller 1.8L V6, the stroke taken down to 69.5mm. Thanks to some aggressive tuning, the tiny engine managed to output 160hp and kept revving until 7400RPM. Two 4 barrel carbs were used to replace the 2 barrels used on the previous engine.
Visually, the only differences were the extra vents on the roof and behind the windows, along with the covered lights and missing bumpers. Semi slick tyres and some suspension tuning gave the car cornering forces of 1.13g, greatly improving over the other models. 0-100Km/h was done in a mere 6.1 seconds, and the car went on to a top speed of 206Km/h.
Keika Katana Rallye
Daniel Chase had always been a rally fanatic at heart. He loved taking tight public roads at the fastest speeds he could, and while the endurance racing of last year had been fun, he much prefered the faster, shorter sprints rallying gave. So it was only natural he wanted to take on the most prestigious of them all, the Monte Carlo Rally. He had already been dreaming up ideas since the first Keika’s production, and now had the budget to do it with the orders coming in.
He took the standard race model and worked on creating a single rally machine that would not only beat, but humiliate any of the works teams. First, the engine needed to be more reliable. The redline was dropped to 7000RPM and the stroke increased back to the 1.9L of the previous race model. Then an air filter was added to stop dirt from blocking up the engine. The finished product was 160hp, giving it a competitive power to weight ratio.
On the bodywork side, the car still needed to be road legal, so all lights were kept, as well as plate holders and wing mirrors. The bumpers were taken off as a weight saving measure, and several extra vents were added to help cool the engine and keep it as reliable as possible. All other chrome metal trim was changed for fiberglass. The only other visual changes were some extra lights for the night and some new wheels.
Tyres were made higher diameter, and the car ran sports compound tyres during testing. If and when snow tyres would be necessary, the car would tend towards understeer rather than fatal oversteer. The transmission got another new short ratio setup, getting the car from 0-100Km/h in 6.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 203Km/h, more than enough for the tight mountainous roads. Inside, another seat was added for a co-driver.
And then was a case of fine tuning. To help even more with the snow, the suspension was raised, and a manual locking differential and an offroad skidtray were added. The car looked the part, now all it needed to do was get shipped to Monte Carlo.
The 1968 Monte Carlo Rally
Daniel and his co-driver, an old friend of his called Jack Williams, met up only one day before the first stage. After impressing Jack with the finely tuned custom build machine, they ran through the pacenotes late into the night, certain that they would win.
The next morning they made some last preparations to the Keika. So confident in their victory, they decided to run on their road tyres instead of the snow tyres, claiming that their car would be so fast on the clear tarmac they wouldn’t need to keep up on the ice. At their sea level hotel this seemed like a sensible choice, but as they climbed the mountains to the first stage, they quickly realised that the snow was a little deeper than they anticipated.
Lined up at the start of the first stage, differential locked. On the mark of the marshal, they set off. The tyres spun, and the car struggled for grip as they headed down the tight, snowy roads.
Daniel, while experienced in loose surface driving, had little experience on snow and ice. This combined with the sport compound road tyres meant the car had very little grip, and was only a matter of time before they hit a snowbank.
Trapped in the deep snow, the mid engine Keika struggled for grip. After a few minutes of digging, they got the car free. They needed to regain time. Unfortunately, due to a patch of ice, they visited another snow bank. By the end of the stage they were seven minutes behind.
After finding this out, they needed a new plan. The next stage was only slightly later in the day, so Daniel couldn’t get the practice he needed. He would just have to drive as hard as he could.
On the next stages, the Keika was pushed to its limits. On one stage even managing to get a 30 second lead on the next car, a Porsche 911T. But individual stage victories would mean nothing if the seven minute gap couldn’t be closed.
Then came the final stage. With only twelve seconds to gain on the leading Porsche, it would be tricky. After the hours of driving on the slick conditions, Daniel had gotten to know the very limits of what his creation could do. With a strong confidence, he launched his car down the midnight final stage.
The headlights shone beams down the rapidly changing road. Scraping walls, running to the very edge of the road on every turn, the Keika was ballistic. Pushing the limits of both the tyres and the chassis, Daniel slide across the icy road while Jack held on for his life. At this point the pacenotes were too slow, and trying to read them in time was useless.
By the end of the stage the Keika was nineteen seconds ahead, giving it the overall victory.
After celebrating the victory in their hotel, and dealing with a strong hangover the following day, Daniel and Jack would set about plans to sell the car in Europe. First of all shipping to the UK by mid 1968, and then to France by late 1968. The extra income would fund their own engine building tools, which would speed up production greatly and mean cars could be produced for less money.
1969
This was a year mostly for expansion. With Keikas taking 3 out of the top five sports in the Monte Carlo Rallye, while in Japan they dominated the production orientated classes, Daniel focused more on production. His co-driver, Jack Williams, took care of the sales in Europe, managing shipping and advertising, while he stayed in Japan to build cars himself. He hired four employees, who helped speed up production to three cars a month. By the end of 1969, there were 64 Keikas built in total, three quarters of which were racers.
Meanwhile Rachel Foust, owner of a performance car dealership in San Francisco, contacted Daniel about bringing over the Katana to the states. Despite being denied, officially, she bought and imported several anyway.
Going to the effort of sending one of them to a reviewer, she then sent the results back to Daniel, who suddenly became interested in expanding to America.
You’re free to use all my cars and engines in your lore, whether it be using the engines or tuning/rebadging them for your own company.
Keika Katana: Keika - Katana.car (32.9 KB)
Keika Katana Race: Keika - Katana Race.car (29.7 KB)
Keika Katana Rallye: Keika - Katana Rallye.car (31.7 KB)
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1970
Keika began officially exporting to America this year, building US spec cars from factory and being sold to a chain of dealerships on the West Coast. These cars sold reasonably well and were almost identical to their Japanese and European counterparts, the only difference being the front lighting arangement.
A US Spec Katana. Note the quad headlights and sidemarkers.
Meanwhile, back in Japan, Keika were contacted by TSR to help make final adjustments to a final edition TSR Ultra, the GTX. With Keika’s help, the price was reduced, handling refined, reliability improved and 0-100 time was brought down to 4.7 seconds.
In return for their services, TSR offered a factory, boosting production greatly.
1971
1971 marked the beginnings of the IMSA GT Championship. Keika entered the inaugural season in the GTU class, facing fierce compeition from Porsche. Also, historians claim Caliban showed up, but there’s no laptime evidence or finishing positions to back that up.
Cars used were simply the race varients of 1968, with the main driver for Keika being the owner of the dealerships selling them, Rachel Foust. With her at the wheel, Keika took the championship in the GTU class, narrowly beating Porsche in points.
1973
Back in the USA, Keika needed to update the cars. Regulations were getting tighter and while in Japanese and European markets the balanced handling and low cost was enough to gain sales, in the US there needed to be some refinement to keep up with the competition.
The answer to this problem? Race car.
To improve performance, the 4 barrel carbs from the race cars were added to the road cars. While not a huge amount of power was added, this was enough to bring the 0-100Km/h time to 7 seconds, and also improved fuel economy. The stroke was also increased back up to original specification, providing a small amount of extra torque.
This was fine enough for the base model Katana, but Keika was looking to expand their horizons. After taking back the feedback from the US magazine, a specific for US model was created, called the Katana 2000R. This featured wider, sportier tyres, updated safety, and a few other things. Unfortunately, this did nothing to help Keika in America, as the updated design wasn’t radical enough to impress the masses.
1975
This failure, and the resulting lack of sales would finally kill off the first generation Katana in 1975. While the Katana was initially successful, the lack of improvements in the budget chassis would lead to its end. A replacement was already in the works though…
Keika Katana US: Keika - Katana 2000.car (33.9 KB)
Keika Katana 2000R: Keika - Katana 2000R.car (35.1 KB)
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Keika Katana Gen 2 (1976 - 1986)
Time to play spot the difference
After declining sales of the Katana during the mid 70s, a refresh was needed. Unfortunately, refreshes cost money, something Keika did not have a lot of thanks to the declining sales of the Katana. Even with a deal with Caliban in the early 70s, a proper update to the chassis wasn’t possible. So, some minor changes were made to bring the chassis to the present, while the body was largely unchanged, except for a visual overhaul.
Some larger bumpers for safety reasons were required, and a few other visual changes were made.
Underneath the engine was almost identical, with one killer flaw. A 2-way catalytic converter. This brought power down to a pitiful 109hp.
The news got worse for the rest of the car too. It had gained over 20KG more than the previous model, which didn’t help the already sluggish performance. 0-100km/h time dropped to 8.2 seconds, and the car topped out at 178km/h. In order to make it better in any way over the previous generation, some wider tyres were added to let it pull 1.04g on the 20m radius cornering test.
1979 brought some good news to the Katana, as a new 3-way catalytic converter was added, along with the magic of electronic fuel injection. This would be the first Keika to use any form of fuel injection, and this technology would help bring power up to 117hp. The stroke was then lowered slightly to let the engine rev to 7000RPM.
Visually the car got larger plastic bumpers, which were cheaper to produce, and the front facia was redesigned to reuse the indicators as parking lights to reduce costs further. Weight was brought down to almost 900KG. Thanks to that, and the extra power, it went from 0-100 in 7.6 seconds, while the higher redline allowed it to hit 183km/h without any changes to the gear ratios.
1982 added a special edition version of the Katana, the 2000RS. This version, intended for limited production for just 1982, was largely unchanged except for a new 8 track player, an aggressive but entirely useless body kit, and a multipoint fuel injection system. After all, if one injector worked well, why not 6?
With 123hp and a 0-100km/h time of 7.1 seconds, performance was now back up to the original standards.
By 1983 after declining sales of the 2000 over the 2000RS, the regular model was canned and the RS became the standard model.
In 1985 the car got a minor update visually, gaining some striping next to the frunk and the engine cover. Other than that, it was no different to the previous 2000RS.
As always, feel free to use my cars in your own lore, whether it be tuning, rebadging, or using the engines for your own models.
1976 2000: Katana II - 2000.car (32.4 KB)
1979 2000: Katana II - 2000 '79.car (37.7 KB)
1982 2000RS: Katana II - 2000RS.car (46.0 KB)
1985 2000RS: Katana II - 2000RS '85.car (51.4 KB)
I am aware that the 1985 car is set in 1982. As I said, it is supposed to be mechanically the same as the 1982 car, and upping the year would change it.
8 Likes
Keika Kaiken (1982 - 1994)
The Keika Kaiken is a hot hatch, based heavily on the Katana. Almost everything except the visuals were taken from the Katana. Underneath is a spaceframe chassis with double wishbones all around, with aluminium panels, which were made possible after TSR gave Keika some aluminium presses in return for tuning one of their cars.
It was named after a type of dagger, which is hidden and plain looking, which after the design process may not have been the best name…
1982
Under the bonnet is a transversely mounted V6 taken from the 1979 Katana to save costs further.
Visually the car was designed to be angry and aggressive looking. The angry headlights, the side exit exhausts, the huge bonnet vent. Everything there to try and intimidate the car it’s chasing. The arches were cut to fit the wheels, which thanks to the low suspension and offset, barely fit. Of course, the arches could’ve been widened and the suspension raised, but that would make it slower and heavier.
The car itself featured everything from the Katana. The interior, brakes, suspension and gearbox were all unchanged, although in the back were two more seats. The wheels were taken from the front of the Katana, but with different hubcaps over them. Unfortunately, when you put 117hp through 175 width medium compound tyres through an open differential in a car that weighs less than 750KG, it leads to a lot of wheelspin. Thanks to this, the car was grip limited to a 0-100 time of 7.3 seconds, although that meant that it was still faster than the Katana 2000, and could almost keep up to the 2000RS.
1987
In 1987, the car received an update with the new Gen 3 Katana. It used a 2L version of the Katana’s new 2.4L V6 with single point injection and it’s new transmission, which brought 0-100 down to [time]. The car also received power steering, a first for a Keika, in the form of advanced variable hydraulic power steering.
As always with my cars, feel free to use them in your own lore, whether it be engines, tuning, or rebadging.
1982-1986 Kaiken: Kaiken - 2000.car (46.8 KB)
1987-1994 Kaiken: Kaiken - 2000.car (48.3 KB)
11 Likes
How? I can’t see it!
I like drive Katana 2 in bmg, good car 
Keika Katana Gen 3 (1987-1999)
This new Katana greatly improved upon the Gen 2 Katana, being built from the ground up rather than reusing aging components. That’s not to say things weren’t recycled, but the important things were changed. The main thing was that Keika finally got a new engine: the BR V6.
After 21 years of service, the small and lightweight AR V6 was finally retired. The 2L engine was starting to show it’s limits, so a replacement was needed. This resulted in the BR, a 2.4L V6 with 4 valves per cylinder over the AR’s 2 valves, making it more efficient and able to produce more power. This engine was built in tandem with the new gen 3 Katana, with multipoint fuel injection, and a smaller 2L version with single point injection was created for the Kaiken.
Despite the extra size, this engine was only 11KG heavier than the previous engine, with an extra 26hp.
Another massive change was the styling. During the 80s Keika gained a designer from America, Phil Swift, who brought in a radical new black striping style to the cars, giving them a futuristic look. With the 1987 Katana, Phil was given free reign over the design. The aggressive and pointed headlights were inspired by the Kaiken, a car partially styled by Phil.
His new styling was futuristic and aggressive, ahead of its time even.
Underneath, the car used similar running gear to the previous gen Katana. But, importantly was lighter than the previous generation, at less than 900KG, and far more powerful and efficient than any Katana before it, including the race cars. This meant it could do 0-100 in 6.1 seconds, using a slightly different transmission to the Kaiken. Like the Kaiken, it also used a viscous differential with the same final drive ratio. The front tyres were slightly wider than the old Katana, but the rest of the car used the same components only modernised.
1995
In 1995, the Katana got an overhaul alongside the new Kaiken, using new parts to optimise both cars, while sharing as many components as possible.
An advert for the car in its last year of production
Mechanically, the car got some new brake discs, much larger on the front and slightly smaller on the rear, with one piston calipers on the rear.
The engine would gain another 11hp, and thanks to low friction cast pistons and an advanced VVT system on the intake, the car became much more fuel efficient.
As always, feel free to use my cars in your own lore, whether it be tuning, rebadging, or using the engines for your own models. (Just make sure to tell me first so I can work my lore around it)
1987 Keika Katana: Keika Katana III - 2400 '87.car (48.7 KB)
1995 Keika Katana: Keika Katana III - 2400 '95.car (55.1 KB)
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I don’t know why i am writing this but that katana III looks like this car from tokyo xtreme racer zero 
REBOOT
Because I have gotten a tiny bit better at designing cars and because I didn’t like the lore, I’m redoing Keika with mildly less offensive looking cars. Won’t delete any of the stuff above so you can compare and complain at me when I have actually gotten worse. Anyway…
Keika is a Japanese company, founded in 1966 by Englishman Daniel Chase. Daniel was a Caliban employee, who after having a few… disagreements… with Lord Mach, decided to try and get as far away as possible and do the sports car thing properly.
The name Keika was chosen because it sounded cool to Daniel and then later, while skimming through an English to Japanese dictionary, he found out it was a real word. Delighted by this, he kept the name.
Japan was chosen as the starting place because motorsports was beginning there. With various race tracks under construction, it was the perfect place to set the roots of a sports car company at the time. Also, Daniel really liked the scenery, and was also a huge fan of sake.
With a small loan, Daniel set to work in a garage on the outskirts of Suzuka, constructing an advanced chassis. Most of the money went to contracting a company to build engines for the car, because no other companies had anything to the specification he required, so the rest of the car was rather… low quality. Still, a legend was born in 1966, that would soon lead to one of the best known track car companies in the world*.
*Best known doesn’t always mean good things, so let’s not talk about reliability…
18 Likes
Since I don’t really have any plans to continue Keika, I’ve decided the entire lore and company name is up for sale. You want it for some weird reason? Send me a car that is your vision of what you want to do with Keika. Winner gets to use the company, simple as.
Just DM the car to me. It can be whatever you want it to be, it doesn’t just have to be an existing model name, or a modern car. Anything from any time. Including lore with your submission will potentially help you.
Deadline will be like end of the month or something
13 Likes
in what year are you selling it?
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Whatever year the person who gets it decides.
1 Like
here is a short version of my plans for Keika.
Keika is bought by Anhultz in 1979.
Anhultz is renamed slightly (need to figure out a name for this).
Keika will serve two purposes:
Sports cars, GT cars and track cars previously built under the Anhultz brand will now be sold as Keikas
For the remaining Anhultz vehicles, Keika will serve as the performance works.
(think of it like what AMG does to Mercs)
I am very happy to be able to run Keika now and i DO NOT intend of kiilling it anytime soon.
PS:
prepare for the return of FlexTape
EDIT:
any third-party company (cough Treadkillers @Mikonp7 cough) currently in ownership of post-buyout lore Keikas are allowed to keep these vehicles as Keikas without any modifications.
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You better be sending me some of those new Keikas
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