Still cannot get over how good the Sepang looks. The livery is so simple and effortless and perfectly complements the shape of the car. And I love all the minor bodywork details, like the little roof scoop and the side vents. So subtle yet so effective.
4 Likes
Hi.
Just pointing out that KHT once produced a factory tuning kit for a small 1980s hatchback in exchange for a custom-built V12 engine for the KHT Atlantic.
4 Likes
#2017 Dimension Axino HAMMER
For the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, the aftermarket division has prepared something they rarely touch, an SUV.
Link to the original car
The source material for the KHT Hammer was a 2.6 liter Dimension Axino. The original sported budget interior with imitation leather, and a offroad biased manual locking transmission, along with a tiny 2.6 liter turbocharged engine, producing 300+ bhp. With the 7 liter version only a rumour by this point, and no real range topper model in sight KHT has started working on turning the school run special into a real KHT machine.
On the outside, you can instantly spot the Hammer by it’s widebodykit and low stance. The kit is made entirely out of carbon fiber, which provides for considerable weight loss, which is needed, because the car has gained weight considerably in other areas after the KHT team has got to it. The wide body also allowed for seriously wide tires and 22" wheels, which were necessary for what the engineers had planned.
The interior saw a fullscale luxury refurbishment, replacing the imitation leather with actual nappa leather, and finishing it off with custom high quality sports seats and a Bang & Olufsen ICE. The interior changes alone dropped extra 100kg into the car.
The drivetrain has lost both the offroad ability and an automatic, as those were replaced by a conventional haldex center diff and an electronically operated twinclutch sequential gearbox courtesy of ZF. The main change was, however, getting rid of the 2.6 liter engine and slotting in the old KHT 5 liter v8, found in most early 2000’s KHT cars. The engine was given a once-over, now producing 535hp at 0.7 bar of boost. The result has been pleasing to the KHT, as the behemoth managed a 0-100 run in 3.3 seconds flat on regular road tires, topped out at 279 kph and ran the nurburgring in 8 minutes flat, while remaining a comfortable luxury cruiser.
The pricetag was a bit steep, as KHT asked for $65,000 for each car modified, which did not include the $40,000 for the base Axino, but the car quickly became popular among Russian wealthy youth, as a more flashy alternative to the Porsche Cayenne turbo, X5M and G63 AMG, which were becoming common in the streets of Moscow and parked outside VIP night clubs.
9 Likes
It definetely looks better than a Cayenne 
1 Like
The original was certainly based off a Cayenne/Macan except it looked dumb with narrow fenders.
#2016 MRZ-3 PTDS spec
As 2016 drift season dawned on KHT, a new car was needed to promote the aftermarket division. As a deal with Maesima was already underway for the 2017 MRZ-3 performance pack, it was not difficult to secure a few 2016 MRZ-3’s for the drift team.
The base car came with the perky inline 4 engine, and a sporty suspension, rigid body and was already a JDM performance icon, so KHT has scored massively even before laying a hand on the car. Sadly the competition was to be fierce, and half measures were out of the question.
Not being able to receive the STX-R version did not phase KHT engineers, who settled for a entry level XZ
The first thing the team has addressed was the power output. While the 1.5 liter i4 provided for enough OOMPH in the city, and on b-roads, it was not enough to get the car sideways at over 100mph while wearing semi-slicks. The choice between turbocharging and an engine swap has been settled pretty soon, with the 1.5 liter lump leaving the MRZ.
KHT’s MRZ-3 in early development trim
The weapon of choice was an easy to source Dimension GB62EI in 2007 trim, from a Dimension Hadron. The engine was dismantled, the cylinders honed and rebuilt to spec. The ALSI v8, displacing in 6.2 liters in it’s pushrod glory provided for enough torque to spin the wheels in 3rd. KHT however arranged for Crower high CR pistons and a Compcams camshaft. Custom exhaust manifolds and a straight through exhaust system were fitted, finished off by a custom map, resulting in 631 hp and 639nm, able to safely rev to 8k rpm. A beefed up transmission and a clutch by clutchmasters were making sure the power gets to the rear diff, which in turn was a unit by Quaife.
A late 2016 version of the car at 2017 Tokyo Auto Salon
Helping control the monstrocity were brakes by Wilwood, tein coilover suspension, and HRE wheels, wrapped in Nitto tires. Custom suspension arms helped with steering lock, and required a much wider wheelbase. A custom FRP kit was created for the car, later to be sold separately to any MRZ-3 owner who wished for it.
http://i.imgur.com/2TPyT8z.jpg
KHT’s promotional photoshoot at irwindale
During the season few sponsorship deals were ended, resulting in changed liveries from stage to stage. This however did little to alter the performance of the car.
13 Likes
That’s one slick livery
It’s absolutely bonkers, but fitting a big V8 in the nose of an MRZ-3 makes perfect sense if you want to turn it into an extreme drift car.
#1971 SanRemo RR
Things looked good for KHT as the company marched into the 70’s. Not resting on it’s laurels, the Musanne has been slated for production, having backing by freshly found Flug the future looked bright. In the KHT racing team the move was made to keep the aftermarket modifications branch alive, and the team decided not to re-invent the wheel, and turned to the new MkII Communitasia. The new chassis got the team excited, right up to the point when they found out that it’s pretty much more of the same MKI problems.
Accepting the challenge of turning underdogs into sports heroes the team decided to work on the new 2 liter 3 valve OHV modifcation the R, which was on paper inferior to the PR trim. Once again, as with the Alpenstrasse the front end, saw a redesign using much familiar fiberglass, with the rear receiving much of the same treatment. This time around the quarterpanels saw a widening, again using fiberglass, which dropped the weight noticeably. The hood received a scoop for better cooling, and both front and rear saw aero elements, which did little to the downforce, but helped with the sportier look.
One of the 1971 KHT San Remo RR’s promotional photographs
The engine saw a piston replacement to Mahle forged units, now 92mm in bore, changing the displacement to 2.1 liters. The new thinner head gasket and domed pistons also raised the compresison ratio to 7.6:1. Changes to the fuel mixture and the ignition timing were made, as well as eco carburetors being replaced with twin single barrel units, and custom tubular exhaust manifold, routing the exhaust into the new sports exhaust system. Unlike the previous attempt to please everybody, the new project has been moved away from the low quality 80 ron, and was setup to run the new posh stuff, that was the 91 unleaded. The accessibility was sacrificed for performance. The new setup pushed strong at 123hp and 177nm
The transmission saw a minor change, as the differential ratio was changed to see use of new found power, as well as the suspension, which received new shocks, springs and antiroll bars, along with a more aggressive setup. The tires were now 155mm wide, wrapping new alloy wheels instead of base steelies, and the front brakes were a 2 piston 250mm disc brake setup borrowed directly from the Mulsanne’s rear axle. This got the car the handling capabilities to match the engine.
The rear of the communitasia now sported an “RR” badge instead of “R”, bigger exhaust and a duck tail spoiler.
The interior of the car got a minor re-design, with all the seats being replaced by sportier versions, along with a new steering wheel. To finish it all off, the team installed a basic radio, to provide some entertainment on the long journeys.
While not a hit, the San Remo RR, as the team called their creation did see good sales, again, sold as kits outside Germany, and exclusively KHT installed in Germany. Sadly as the company went bankrupt in 1978, the aftermarket branch got shut down, and the conversion kits became quite a rarity, still being sought after by many restomodders. As with the Alpenstrasse, the San Remo RR saw a minor cult following in the modern day tuner scene, where most popular modifications include stancing or drifting.
One of the many restomodded KHT San Remo’s at a stanceworks meet
#Stats
###0-100kph
Before - 13.6s/ After - 8.6s
###Top Speed
Before - 161.2kph / After - 189.6kph
###Weight
Before - 950.3kg / After - 908.2kg
###Max G
Before - 0.79 / After - 0.97
#Engine
###Max power
Before - 78.7hp / After - 123hp
###Max torque
Before - 117nm / After - 177nm
###Responsiveness
Before - 8.9 / After - 27.1
###Loudness
Before - 37.3 / After - 58.9
###Smoothness
Before - 47.1 / After - 46.0
###Reliability
Before - 46.4 / After - 46.9
#Misc
###Comfort
Before - 14.3 / After - 11.2
###Driveability
Before - 51.8 / After - 46.6
###Sportiness
Before - 8.5 / After - 24.1
###Economy
Before - 12.69L/100km / After - 13.7L/100km
Galt Communitasia is a car by @cpufreak101
10 Likes
As always, love seeing what you get done with the Communitasia platform, probably should do a redesign of the MKIII so you have some better future material 
by the way, if you didn’t know, the R is supposed to be the base trim, with the PR being a step up
Daaaaamn that looks sweet. And that fat exhaust… 
That must sounds superb with the thrummy i4 engine
I love a good restomod, and the SanRemo RR is just that.
Assoluto Infinito 850++
Not many people could look at an Assoluto and think that it needs improvement, especially when it comes to their most powerful GT, the Infinito 815. Boasting a massive 6.6 liter v12, producing 815hp the car managed to scare even the most seasoned car reviewers. This however did not stop Kraft Haus from taking a look, especialy since KHT CEO Gerhard Wagner owned one of the first cars produced. The very delicate car demanded regular maintenance, and taking it to the dealership proved a hassle, since the closest dealership was over 250km away. By the time the car reached 15,000km and requested it’s third oil and filter change as well as a brake change it was decided to keep the maintenance strictly in house, even though it would lose the warranty.
Stock infinito 815 is more car than most can handle
By the mid 2017 Kraft Haus team knew the car inside and out, and at one of the regular check ups the ECU specialist asked Gerhard if he’d want to try and re-map the car for more power. Reluctantly he agreed. A lot of tinkering during the summer commenced, slowly incorporating more engineers to perform minor changes to the car. The AFR was left unchanged, limiting the tuners to tweak the ignition settings and electronically controlled VVL. Eventually A thinner custom head gasket was introduced to increase compression ratio, and a lighter, free flowing exhaust was fitted to compliment the OEM race grade exhaust manifolds. These minor changes saw the power increase to 850.
Sporting classy looks the 815 received a lot of praise in the motoring community
The suspension department got rid of the active suspension, since it was proving too much of a reliability issue, like most active suspensions, and installed a new thicker rear ARB. The wheels were changed to custom carbon fibre ones, wrapped in wider rubber, which also was changed to road legal semi-slick tires by Michelin, new carbon ceramic brakes were also installed. The interior saw no changes. The end result was a good improvement over the stock, feeling more dedicated and more driver focused, while not losing it’s GT edge. At that point Gerhard Wagner has commissioned a visual re-style and production of the performance kit.
Infinito 850++ had serious visual modifications without taking away form the classy look of the original
The new visuals changed the look of the Assoluto while retaining it’s original vision, while the aerodynamics department went with a lot less downforce, to improve upon the high speed dynamics. Still providing for 30 kilograms of pressure at 200kph, the car did not experience any lift.
The end result was called the Ininito 850++, and cost $35,000 over the base $320,000.
The best use of an Infinito 850++ in words of Gerhard Wagner is “high speed cruising”
One of the Assoluto Infinitos’ brought into the KHT tuner shop was badly damaged in a high speed race on the autobahn, and received many modifications similar to the 850++ during the rebuild. Unlike the regular treatment, the car had it’s interior stripped to the bare minimum covered in alcantara, lost all ICE, and saw a transmission swap to a 6 speed manual. Instead of the regular engine treatment had twin turbochargers installed, running just over 830hp at 0.3 bar. The car also had a tumbler switch on the steering wheel which closed the wastegate shut on demand and started the overfuelling cycle. The real number has not been revealed, but tuner magazines rumour mill has it anywhere from 1050 to 1100hp at 1 bar. The car also had an alarm system that warns the driver of overheat, since the air cooling was left unchanged from the regular 850++, and is insufficient at 1 bar of boost. The car is known in tuner circles as “Rogue Element”, and was able to reach recorded speeds of over 380 kph on unrestricted parts of the autobahn.
Rogue Element was differing visually only by his matte paint and piping going over the hood, which required extra vents to be cut out.
#Stats
##0-100kph
Before - 3.8 s / After - 3.7
##Top Speed
Before - 340.1 kph/ After - 362.7
##Weight
Before - 1659.6 / After - 1585.4
##Max G
Before - 1.43 / After - 1.36
#Engine
##Max power
Before - 815hp / After - 850hp
##Max torque
Before - 739nm / After - 746
##Responsiveness
Before - 74.1 / After - 73.8
##Loudness
Before - 33.4 / After - 55.4
##Smoothness
Before - 91.5 / After - 88.5
##Reliability
Before - 66.5 / After - 70.2
#Misc
##Comfort
Before - 51.2 / After - 45.0
##Driveability
Before - 59.4 / After - 48.5
##Sportiness
Before - 77.6 / After - 73.2
##Economy
Before - 11.9l 100km / After - 13.2l 100km
##Top Gear lap time
Before - 01:11.8 / After - 01:11.69
Note : every tab that saw me change anything that had quality points lost them. Meaning that I swapped out +6 sports tires to +0 semi slicks. This is why the results are not that impressive. Original car provided by @Deskyx
8 Likes
It seems incredible that anyone can improve on the mind-blowing Infinito, yet that is exactly what you have done, especially with Rogue Element!
1 Like
Damn son, the infinito got hella pimped.
Edit: Then I saw the 71 Sam, that shit dope.
1 Like
I think this might be one of the first cars on this forum that I’d genuinely call sexy. It’s got me smitten!
1 Like
Im super thankful you made a PS of the stock car… Your edits always make them prettier than the game could ever do.
1 Like
that said you did do a bang up job on the design of the Ass(hehe)oluto lineup. They look sharp as.
#KHT Tsukuba MT Edition
The Tsukuba has proven itself time and again as a potent sportscar, both on tight budget and on serious investment routes. So much so that when the time came for KHT’s ex employee Martin Todd to chose his next track day toy, he walked right past most of the options, and got himself a first generation Tsukuba. Martin worked as KHT service mechanic from 2007 up to his move to Japan in 2015, and was very familiar with most models and this one was no exception. Repairing the car was not a cheap undertaking, and it was in an “OK” shape at best, so without much hesitation, the repairs were to be combined with the tuning. As a track day toy, the car quickly lost most comforts, including the ICE and all the plastic in the interior, replaced with carbon fiber panels. The exterior saw aftermarket widebodykit, and custom 17" wheels, while the taillights were replaced with DIY LED strips. All of this got covered in a coat of blue paint.
The work on the mechanical parts of the car was similar, with simple bolt on kits, and easy to source replacement parts from Saminda and Saminda specialised tuner companies. The HE22 engine saw extreme camshafts, race grade intake and individual throttle bodies, up top, an aftermarket ECU with new settings, lightweight forged pistons which increased compression and a race grade exhaust which only featured a 3 way catalytic converter. It allowed the power to rise from 144 to 301hp while revving way past 9k. An aftermarket clutch by KHT and a Tsukuba S differential lock with a much shorter final gearing made sure the power got to the ground reliably, and the car would always be in the powerband. The brakes were sourced from Endless performance, and an aftermarket spoiler by Voltex provided for the downforce needs.
Nobody really knows the extent of speed of aftermarket tuned cars, until they are ran with a racelogic box or a data logger, but sadly MT edition never got such a treatment. The rumour mill has this car’s acceleration anywhere from 3.4 up to 4.5 seconds to 100kph, and while the car was seen close to topping out at suzuka, nobody was sure what that top speed was except for Martin himself, the crowd estimated this anywhere between 180 and 250 kph, so no reliable data is available. This car saw multiple track days and sometimes touge runs, up to the point when in 2017 Martin joined a touge oriented club, and forfeited the ever more expensive track days alltogether.
Created for the Automation D challenge. - Click
10 Likes
#1997 SMG CK100 - KHT Eivissa
In 1997 KHT was doing well and so was their tuner program. Having demonstrated their abilities a few years prior in the world Time Attack challenge the influx of new customers allowed to open workshops in numerous countries, including Japan, USA and Spain. The Spanish division mostly did tune ups and upgrades for existing KHT models, until they saw the influx of extremely cheap and very popular 1997 SMG CK100. The 3 cylinder fwd dull box was popular due to it’s pricetag, not for it’s flair, so after a quick talk with the headquarters 10 of the CK100 were bought and sent to Germany, where the engineering team would develop the performance kit for the car.
The engine department took apart the 3 cylinder power (???) plant, and started working on it. As engineers later commented this felt more like a job for a motorcycle upgrade, so motorcycle outputs were first in mind, but sadly a lot of the parts in the original design did not agree with revving to 14,000 rpm. A few solutions did, however arise, as the car got an extremely thin head gasket to up the compression ratio, and a custom tubular exhaust manifold was created. The fuelling and ignition timing were changed drastically, and custom spacers for VVL were introduced to allow the car to rev higher, which was complimented by a raised redline, with a sporty intake finishing the job on the engine itself. The team finished it off with a custom sports exhaust system allowing the power to rise to 100hp.
The gearbox turned out to be a problem, since the car only came with an automatic slushbox, which was left intact, since it was quite expensive to do a complete transmission swap. The self locking mechanism for the differential was introduced to help with wheelspin and torque steer. The suspension received new springs, dampers, antiroll bars and complete setup overhaul, as well as wider and lighter wheels were installed along with 215mm tires, now riding on 16" instead of stock 15.
The body received new bumpers and new quarterpanels made of cheap to produce plastic, this allowed for new taillights, which made the design more memorable. The interior saw a change from 5 seat basic interior to 4 seat sporty one, by using seats similar to ones found in the KHT Tsukuba in the front and differently profiled lower part of the rear seat, along with a sportier steering wheel. The whole conversion cost $3,200 and was only available for installation at a KHT certified workshop after a detailed inspection of the car to be worked on. This was done to make sure that the car could take the extra power without being terminally damaged very soon and coming back for warranty repairs.
Interestingly enough, of all cars receiving this treatment only 24 had less than 50,000km on the odometer, and only 13 of those were brand new. Most of the cars were second hand bought for cheap by responsible parents for their child as their first car. This called for another marketing ploy to get brand loyalty, with some of the cars receiving the free option of “My first KHT” edition, which included a list of checkable options of black painted wheels, black tinted windows, 3 spoke black aluminium steering wheel, and seatbelts to match the colour of the exterior. The youngsters felt like they were custom ordering their build from Kraft Haus Technik, while it did not cost KHT any extra to install a different kind of wheel or paint the seatbelts a different colour. This worked to an extent, as many KHT forum users state that they eventually bought a KHT car after owning the CK100 Eivissa, most of which went with second hand Tsukubas, while some managing more rare examples like the Keimola/Imola or Parabolica.
There are rumours of a special version of the Eivissa, most likely one of the original 10 car batch that underwent the initial experiements. They are all painted different colours but sport wings on the roof and semi-slick tires. They were sometimes seen cruising at high speeds through the city streets at night, spitting flames from the exhaust and sounding a lot more like a superbike, rather than a car. The local cafe racer crowd called them the “jokers”, but sadly nobody ever could find out more, since they never visited any meets or races. In 2014 during an AMA session at Car Throttle the topic was brought up and the reply was finally given. These were the early prototypes pushing the very max out of the car and the engine, of 6 cars 4 were converted to manual gearboxes, and 2 were completely stripped out. 1 was turbocharged, 1 was swapped to a tsukuba spec 2.2 liter engine and the 4 of the rest were in N/A trim. The turbo car burned the engine within a week, however, and 1 of the NA cars suffered a crash. It was also confirmed that the NA cars are still hidden somewhere in the KHT garage, producing from 135 to 155hp depending on select car, with the tsukuba version pushing nearly 200 from it’s 2.2 liter i4.
##Stats (Old / New)
0-100kph
16.5s / 10.3
Top Speed
145km / 177.7
Weight
900kg / 915kg
Max G
0.85 / 1.13
##Engine
Max power
60hp / 100hp
Max torque
81.0nm / 100nm
Responsiveness
34.3 / 43.1
Loudness
27 / 42
Smoothness
50.5 / 50.5
Reliability
61.9 / 38.3
##Misc
Comfort
34.8 / 24
Driveability
68.8 / 62.3
Sportiness
0 / 13.9
Economy
6l 100km / 7l 100km
TG track time
1:53.63 / 1:38.21
8 Likes