Kirk Automotive was founded in 1981 following the fuel crisis. Their goal was to create vehicles that could revolutionize the auto industry by providing cars that met several guidelines in an evolving industry.
After several years of development, late in 1983, their first car was ready for production! This was the 1984 Kirk C130T.
Teleport back over 30 years to the official announcement of the Kirk C130T in July of 1983
1984 Kirk C130T
Design (Body, Frame, Interior)
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Kirk’s first car will be a 3 door hatchback with seating for 4. There will be a 2 seat variant available soon. Upon release, it will be available in 6 colors. Among them are Blue, White, Black, Red, Orange, and Teal. More colors will follow. Standard equipment includes 16" Wheels on 205mm wide rubber front and rear. The chassis is a Front engine RWD design made of mostly good quality steel. The suspension is comprised of MacPherson Struts up front and a solid axle coil in the rear to save on space, and is configured in a relatively sporty configuration.
The car was designed to appeal to wide audience, and the aesthetic is meant to reflect this. The front end has an angled, split grill design with a high tech headlight system. Optional round fog lights sit between the lower grill and side vents. These side vents are angled to improve down-force in the front while allowing for good aerodynamics. Efficiency is the name of the game, and getting the most excitement possible in a small, lightweight package can be challenging. The interior and safety packages will not compete with high end luxury cars, but should outperform most of the economy cars coming out this year. We’ve put an especially heavy focus on the entertainment system. This will be the first car released to include a Compact Disk player standard, and the paired 6 speaker stereo system with dedicated tweeters should help the new format shine.
Other exciting features include standard power steering and optional Anti-Lock brakes. Over-sized 2 piston disk brakes are featured all around for performance and safety. The standard wheels are 16" with 205/40/16 medium compound rubber from Michelin which balance rolling resistance, comfort, and grip. Initially, there will only be one interior offering, which will entail a black and dark gray two-tone polyester fabric that is both soft and durable. The front seats will both include 6-way manual adjustment, with the driver getting lumbar. The steering wheel will feature leather wrapping with hand stitching that will match the car’s exterior.
Overall, the interior is designed to be comfortable, inviting, durable, and exciting.
Engine
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The 1.3 Liter Turbo engine is of a very aggressive design to achieve a balance between power output and fuel efficiency. With only a 73.3mm x 79.9mm bore and stroke, most would expect this 4 cylinder engine to focus solely on economy. But they’d be wrong. This little engine is fitted with a 4 barrel carburetor, a single Turbo producing over 10PSI, and a DOHC design with 16 valves. The turbocharger has been specially tuned to deliver boost early and hits 10PSI at only 2800RPMs, while holding max boost through 6000RPMs with only minor dropoff thereafter. Max power is 115HP @ 6200RPM, which holds through it’s 6600RPM redline. Once the turbo fully spools at 2800RPM, you’ll have over 100lb-ft of Torque all the way through 6000RPMs, with the peak of 121ft-lb occurring at 3800RPMs.
What this all means is that you’ve got a small and light engine that can really put down the power. All the while, the engine remains very fuel efficient, low in emissions, and relatively inexpensive to produce. Many will ask while we chose a carburetor over fuel injection, and there is a reason. While experimenting with fuel injection, we were able to see minor gains in performance and efficiency. However, the cost and weight implications were huge, as the mechanical fuel injection was quite complex and intricate. We currently have an electronic fuel injection in design that we hope to bring to this engine in the next few years.
Specs & Competition
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When the little engine that could is placed into our small, practical, fun body, we get a recipe for awesome! The car is designed to be both and adventure and a day to day pleasure to own. The RWD, turbo, and 5 speed transmission scream have fun, all the while you’ve got a practical and safe machine that averages over 30MPG!
Overall, this is a car that can accelerate like a V8 Muscle car, handle like a BMW, and achieve the fuel efficiency and low emissions of a Japanese import. All with the latest entertainment and safety technologies.
The exact pricing is not yet confirmed, but we plan on being in the $9,000 to $14,000 range for all of the 1.3L Turbo models.
Pre order yours today!
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We need a sporty name like Sprint, Rabbit, Sunbeam or X-Wing.
