Kraft Haus Technik (Completed company)

[squidhead]

Kraft Haus Technik (Commonly shortened as “KHT”) is a small German company based just outside Hamburg. Founded in 1955 as an amateur racing team, KHT has grown over the years into one of the still small, but quite successful tuner companies. The company’s vehicles range from modified vehicles and white body builds on existing platforms to small scale production of car built both for racing purposes and street uses. KHT does not pursue the laurels of in-house aftermarket companies like AMG, but rather keeps company to the smallscale car manufacturers like RUF and Alpina. Despite the best efforts to be a racing team KHT has spent a lot more time building road legal cars and tuning kits. First racing experience of a KHT vehicle is recoreded in 1966, 11 years after the company was founded. These days KHT is running racing division that consists of a few key people, and utilizes factory mechanics and engineers for their building and maintenance purposes.

##Company’s cars

1955 Targa Florio MK1 (Engine based on URV Lynx (by NexxusDrako) Link here

1957 Monaco Coupe (Engine loosely based on Oppositelocks’ 3.0 OHV) Link here

1962 Adenauer Coupe Link here

1966 Brooklands link here

1968 Mulsanne concept Link here

1971 Mulsanne link here

1973 Parabolica (Uses 3.5 liter v8 by JSC) link here

1977 Keimola link here

1980 Imola Link here

1981 C1 Scura (Uses 3.5 liter v8 by JSC) link here

1984 Nemesis (engine by Inline Designs) Link here

1985 C3 (engine by Inline Designs) [Link Here] (Kraft Haus Technik (Completed company) - #176 by squidhead)

1988 Atlantic (engine by IMP) link here

1990 Tsukuba (Engine and gearbox by Saminda) [link here] (Kraft Haus Technik (Completed company) - #181 by squidhead)

1996 Monte Carlo concept [Link here] (Kraft Haus Technik (Completed company) - #194 by squidhead)

2000 Pacific [Link here] (Kraft Haus Technik (Completed company) - #195 by squidhead)

2002 Bahn C [Link here] (Kraft Haus Technik (Completed company) - #214 by squidhead)
http://i.imgur.com/SvScojg.jpg

2006 Schwarzwald [Link here] (Kraft Haus Technik (Completed company) - #279 by squidhead)
http://i.imgur.com/5Jdfm1N.jpg

2007 Adelaide concept Link here

2010 Adelaide R (DC1607 engine by ManHell Automotive) Link here

2012 Adelainde RS (E20SU engine is a modified DC1607 by ManHell Automotive) Link here

2015 Sepang AP1 Link here

2016 Sepang (V8F engine base by Syron (Vri404)) Link here

2016 Mistral (Powered by JSC engines) Link here

2016 Augusta (Engine based on ManHell unit) Link here

2016 Diabolica (collaboration with Gryphon Gear) Link here

2017 Eau Rouge Link here

##Company’s notable employees

###Vintage era
1955 - 1976 Kaspar Becker - Founder / Chief chassis engineer / Test driver
1955 - 1967 Ralf Hoch - Founder / Chief Bodywork and interior designer
1955 - 1972 Viktor Kruger - Founder / Chief engineer / Marketing officer

1957 - 1976 Claus Hoch - Materials specialist
1967 - 1976 Marco Noto - Chief bodywork and interior designer

###Classic Era
1976 - 1979 Claus Hoch - Materials specialist / President
1976 - 1979 Marco Noto - Chief bodywork and interior designer / Vice president

###Noto Designs carrozzeria
1979 - 1984 Marco Noto - Chief bodywork and interior designer / CEO
1979 - 1984 Claus Hoch - Materials specialist

###Old school era

1984 - 1986 Marco Noto - CEO / Chief interior and bodywork designer
1984 - 1988 Claus Hoch - VP / Materials specialist
1985 - xxxx Valeri Kravchuk - Chief of marketing department
1985 - xxxx Gerhard Wagner - Chief engineer
1985 - 2012 Steven Sterling - Senior test driver.
1986 - 1997 Marco Noto - CEO
1986 - 2007 Klaus Hilleman - Chief designer
1988 - xxxx Tadao Ueno - Materials specialist

###Modern Era
xxxx - 2007 Klaus Hilleman - Chief designer
1997 - current - Gerhard Wagner - CEO
2007 - current - Andrea Scalera - Chief designer
2012 - current - Miles Phillips - Senior test driver

We will update this car list as the projects come along.
PM if you wish to have a performance spec pack for your car(1955 and later), or with any other collaboration ideas.
Gerhard “Squidhead” Wagner

[squidhead]

##1985 Avus

In 1985 was the year URV (Ultimate Road Vehicles) has released yet another supercar, the Jaguar GT. Unfortunately, the car did not score well with the press. While being a great concept, and ticking all the right boxes, it also ticked all the wrong ones. Being unpopular with the buyers and at a hefty price of $83,000, a few examples did manage to find their ways into the hands of thrill seeking petrolheads. Unfortunately for them, the cars were quite a handful and had quite a few issues, which is why one particular Jaguar GT, right after finding itself in the hands of a wealthy German buisnessman soon found it’s way into a hedge, and soon after it’s remains into our workshop.

The body was completely destroyed, but the chassis wasn’t a write-off, so we took to work of restoring the thing for the client, with a few specific updates and upgrades to boot. We worked with what we could, and given the pricetags from guys at URV, we decided to create the hand made aluminium body from scratch. Most of the panels did not survive, and things left over from the original were the roof, and most of the rear. Front was completed by one of the smaller companies to our spec and design, and the most rear part was restored and sligtly modified. We were happy with the result.

As the rebuilt was in progress our engineers took a look at the KV8 series DOHC 5 liter v8, they found it to be a good power unit, with only a few things they wished to change. It was a crying shame to fuel the beast with 91 ron petrol. First the fuel was changed to 95 ron, CR raised to 10.5, and with the help of a better flowing exhaust and a few tweaks to the fuelling and timing the power output was raised dramatically, although, the environment did feel the consequence. The new unit received our KHT E50SU designation.

As we gathered information on the car little by little bit there was, got in contact with other owners, our conclusions were quite simple - it’s not a road car, this is a thoroughbred racer. Good thing, sure, but requires a professional racing driver behind the wheel. So we set out to set up the chassis. Brakes were changed to smaller, more civil units, since they were enough. Suspension setup made it the car more friendly and tame, and the aerodynamic tweaks were introduced, to ballance out the lift that occured at high speeds. Lastly we solved the cooling problems that the original car was having, simply by routing more air to the engine. It seems URV were too obsessed with the car clocking over 300kph that they sacrificed the cooling for better aerodynamics. This would work on a racecar to a degree, but not on a street car

Result was better acceleration, safer handling, better driveability and lower top speed. A few issues in the magazines of the time later, KHT received a dozen more requests on the same modifications to newly bought Jaguar GT’s. At the astronomical total price of $106,000 Avus scored highly with the clients, with 97.3% desireability and 84% affodability among the Hypercar buyers. Premium GT, Supercar and GT buyers were, however scared off by the price of the thing.
Not a big setback, as 1985 Avus pack to the URV Jaguar GT helped both small companies to the much needed funds.

The before and after numbers will tell you the rest of the story.

[size=150]Stats[/size]

0-100kph
Before - 5.9s / After - 4.9s

Top Speed
Before - 307kph / After - 272kph

Weight
Before - 1491kg / After - 1465kg

Max G
Before - 1.22 / After - 1.27

Lap Time
Before - 2:34.28 / After - 2:29.00

[size=150]Engine[/size]

Max power
Before - 378hp / After - 444hp

Max torque
Before - 446nm / After - 510nm

Responsiveness
Before - 42 / After - 45.7

Loudness
Before - 35.7 / After - 59.2

Smoothness
Before - 54.5 / After - 47.7

Reliability
Before - 58.6 / After - 58.6

[size=150]Misc[/size]

Comfort
Before - 40.0 / After - 36.4

Driveability
Before - 38.2 / After - 38.8

Sportiness
Before - 53 / After - 56.7

Economy
Before - 26L/100km / After - 27L/100km

[DoctorNarfy]

Love the development text there!

Just my 2 cents, but it’s a bit hard to tell which stat is before and which one is after, so might wanna make that a bit more clear.

Also, Pique horsepower. If the engine isn’t completely Spontaneously combusting (losing 2-3 Reliability per hundred RPM) you should set the max power to a few hundred RPM above pique horsepower. It makes it possible to access the power at the top of the powerband without bouncing off the limiter.

[squidhead]

[quote=“DoctorNarfy”]Love the development text there!

Just my 2 cents, but it’s a bit hard to tell which stat is before and which one is after, so might wanna make that a bit more clear.

Also, Pique horsepower. If the engine isn’t completely Spontaneously combusting (losing 2-3 Reliability per hundred RPM) you should set the max power to a few hundred RPM above pique horsepower. It makes it possible to access the power at the top of the powerband without bouncing off the limiter.[/quote]

Good advice, thank you. Will do.

Edit : changed the layout a bit, also added small pics of cars with links to their posts, so people could find cars they’re interested in by clicking from the first post. This looks more tidy already, thanks

[squidhead]

##2007 Adelaide concept

In year 2007 KHT has appeared at Geneva Auto Show. This time not presenting any of the modified cars, but rolling out their own concept car, to a moderate interest from the public. A small, mid engined sportscar set out to be the next trackday weapon and a weekend attention grabber at the local club scene, the Adelaide sported a mighty 255hp engine and managed 0-60 in under 5 seconds, with the top speed scratching just south of 255kph. Glued aluminium chassis was covered with aluminium body, and there would be much interest from the public. But alas, this year it competed for attention with the KTM X-Bow, Lotus 2-eleven and Exige GT3 concept. Not to mention the mighty Zonda R and Koenigsegg CCXR being on display, drawing yet more people away from the small KHT exibit.

A few months later a freshly terminated employee of KHT spilled the truth all over the internet. To much shame of the Kraft Haus Technik, CEO of the company Gerhard Wagner confirmed those rumors, that the concept did not actually achieve any of the numbers stated in the press release.At the time KHT did not have the funds to build their own engines, so it was powered by an aging N/A I4, of 2.0 liter displacement they pretty much had lying around in their back yard. which could only summon mere 125hp. The engine was treated to a straight pipe exhaust and a quick overhaul, just to make sure it performed the obligatory rev-demo and could move under it’s own power. Wagner also confirmed that the car was put through it’s paces, just to see if the chassis was viable enough to be a concept, and the results were 7.1 seconds 0-100kph, and a top speed of 162. The handling was to be refined but he also pointed out that it had potential. Overall the test drivers’ impressions were - “the car is very raw, it needs to be refined”.

The fate of Adelaide was out of KHT hands, and the reputation of the car was seriously damaged as a result. Only a good engine supplier and phenomenal performance would get this project back on track. But none of this was anywhere in sight.

[squidhead]

[size=150]2016 Sovereign[/size]

In early 2016 KHT was approached by Syron (link), a rapidly growing company, with a contract to develop performance versions for their Syron Karion lineup. As KHT accepted, work began on the “Imola project”, to beef up the available C, D and E class versions of the Karion. At that same time, KHT, seeing the potential in the Karion platform requested rights to a limited run of Karion C based vehicles, designed, built and distributed through it’s own network. Hence “Project Hockenheim” began. Our engineers saw the potential in the Syron V8F series 6.3 liter engine, despite it’s design being dated, sporting only 2 valves per cylinder and a pushrods, deemed it sufficient for our needs. 2 versions of the engine were developed, the E63SUR, for the Imola project, and a more thoroughly modified E63URR for the Hockenheim. The CR was raised, and the conrods were replaced by forged titanium units. Up top, performance camshaft was installed, the intake received individual throttle bodies, all finished off with a race grade tubular exhaust maifold and a performance intake kit. After thorough re-mapping the power output was raised to 655hp, aswell as a redline went up to 8k rpm

The chassis was given a few modifications, but none too serious, while the body has undergone cosmetic aero modificaitons, which included front bumper, hood, wide body quarterpanels, trunklid spoiler, wing, rear bumper and a diffuser. 19" Magnesium wheels were installed as well as performance semi slick tires. Serious changes to the suspension setup was performed as well as aerodynamic work to provide actual downforce. Sadly that limited the top speed, but gained great results in the corners. Brake upgrades were severe, now sporting 385 vented discs front and 325 rear with 4 pistons up front and 1 rear. A choice of more civil brake pads was made, to provide for better feel, while a cooling ducts routed air into the brakes to keep them from fading. Interior retained it’s luxury and comfort, instead of going full - racecar, which has proven a good choice in the face of the opposition. Our partners at Getrag were contracted as a gearbox supplier, providing 6 speed H-pattern manuals to replace the 7 speed automatics, they have also developed final drive ratio conversion kits for existing differentials. This proved a very good choice as performance figures rised dramatically.

During the testing of project hockenheim a few spy-shots have been taken, and posted on the internet, bursting a wide spread of rumours. Thankfully Syron motorworks kept a full non disclosure, as did the KHT team. With the final changes made, a deal has been struck with Syron. 45 body in white shells and 60 of V8F series engine blocks (15 of which were first half of the contracted engines requested by KHT for standalone racing purposes) and components were delivered to Kraft Haus Technik for assembly of the limited run of the cars. However KHT felt that the standard naming pattern of KHT did not suit the car, so “Project Hockenheim” name was dropped, and it was marketed as the “Karion Sovereign edition”, which has appeared as a separate trim at Syron motorworks catalogue.

Spy shot of Project Hockenheim on a closed circuit undergoing final testing

First test drives by the motoring journalists proved a hit, even though some mocked the car for being a “copy” of the more famous Mercedes Benz CLK AMG Black. Most reviews however were positive, with Top Gear magazine (not the TV show) letting it loose around Dunsfold, scoring a reasonably fast 1:19.7, which was 1.3 secods faster than the current gen C63 AMG Black series, crushing the direct competitor. A review by TV series “Fifth Gear” has once again pitted the Sovereign against the C63 Black, this time concentrating on the driving experience and fun factor. Sovereign lost this battle due to the fact it is trickier to handle, but did reclaim a lot of points by having a full luxury interior, being better to live with and faster when you really need it to be. It lost a lot once the fuel bill hit, naturally, but the car posessed enough charisma for the presenter to look past this downfall. An overall success the limited run of 45 was sold out before the first car was delivered.

Clip from the Fifth Gear episode on Karion Sovereign edition

These are the stats of Karion C 6.3 liter coupe versus the Karion Sovereign edition

[size=150]Stats[/size]

0-100kph
Before - 5.3s / After - 4.1s

Top Speed
Before - 307kph / After - 310kph

Weight
Before - 1893kg / After - 1618kg

Max G
Before - 1.19 / After - 1.46

Lap Time
Before - 2:31.39 / After - 2:15.53

[size=150]Engine[/size]

Max power
Before - 460hp / After - 655hp

Max torque
Before - 580nm / After - 640nm

Responsiveness
Before - 53 / After - 79

Loudness
Before - 28 / After - 35

Smoothness
Before - 55 / After - 28

Reliability
Before - 76 / After - 74

[size=150]Misc[/size]

Comfort
Before - 64 / After - 42

Driveability
Before - 55 / After - 53

Sportiness
Before - 36 / After - 75

Economy
Before - 20L/100km / After - 27L/100km

[squidhead]

##2010 Adelaide R

The 2007 Adelaide concept’s fate was to be forgotten and eventually scrapped, if not for a lucky (unlucky for some) accident. In 2009 KHT Junior marketing executive has experienced a crash while leaving work in an over exuberant fashion. Sadly for him this resulted in a written off car and a broken nose. At the time he was driving the 2007 ManHell Regata VTS Company link , and seeing as it wasn’t going to be repaired our engineers have had an idea. In their free time they removed the DC1607 powerplant from the crashed hot hatch and successfully installed it into the 2008 concept. The finished result was presented to the company’s CEO Gerhard Wagner, and after a short drive, the man green lit the project.

A deal was soon struck with the ManHell Automotive, on supplying KHT with their engines at a fair price, and the work began on polishing the concept into a proper production car. Our lead designer spearheaded the project himself, to freshen up the body, that would now be crafted out of carbon fiber. The result - a very nice looking car (if we say so ourselves). The interior was left basic, and some might say the quality wasn’t up to the supercar standards, but that same could be said about the opposition from Lotus. A lot of attention was put to researching the market and choosing our niche, but the answer was as originally intended - the lightweight track car market, which put us in the crosshairs of much more experienced companies, such as Caterham, Atom, X-bow and naturally Lotus. To bring our success chances to the maximum, a lot of work on perfecting the car was done.

Pre-production prototypes on their suspension set-up test runs in Stelvio’s pass.

What resulted in 2010 was an affordable, fun, fast and easy to maintain sportscar that took the market by storm. With 3.5 second 0-100km time and a top speed of 247 it not only bested it’s direct competitor the Lotus Exige S, but at $46,000 it was also $11,000 cheaper than one, and with the fuel consumption being 7L/100km, it was also more economical. On the Nordschleife it proved an easy match for it lapping the hell in 8:25, and off it - a very popular choice as a “weekend toy”. The enthusiasts praised the car for it’s lightness and handling, as well as plenty of aftermarket solutions for the DC1607 turbocharged engine, which could easily be boosted to 400hp. The press made the “phoenix rising” moment out of this occasion, which boosted it’s popularity even more. Once again the Adelaide was the talk of the petrolhead world, but this time, it was all good.

[SeriousSimon]

Just outside Hamburg The world is small, dear neighbour!

I like what you do with these cars and also how you present them.

Romanov is considering sending you a car to tune in the near future, as well. Just gotta think up a story to go with it.

[squidhead]

@SeriousSimon

Romanov is considering sending you a car to tune in the near future, as well. Just gotta think up a story to go with it.

Thanks.
Anytime you want a tune - PM

[squidhead]

In 2016 Pictures have surfaced in petrolhead communities all over the internet of an unknown supercar. The picture location was eventually figured out as Hamburg airport. Many fans have made the connection and believe it’s the road going version of KHT’s yet unrevealed supercar, possibly based on also yet unrevealed AP1 category racecar.

KHT did not confirm or deny the rumours, instead only referring people to the official KHT page, where they could find the teaser for the AP1 prototype

[Fayeding_Spray]

HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPE

[Speedemon]

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/xenoblade/images/c/c9/Want.gif/revision/latest?cb=20150503133839

[squidhead]

##2012 Adelaide RS

In 2010 KHT has held a competition between many young students of ISSAM (Italian university of automotive design). 3 of the winners were granted an opportunity to work for KHT. Many talented guys and girls participated, but eventually KHT’s chief designer Klaus Hilleman picked 3, who would become his proteges, and eventually one of them would replace the old man as he was nearing old age, and thought more about fishing, rather than racecars. The competition that decided the would be the new chief designer - updating the looks of 2010 Adelaide, since it began to show it’s age, both technically and ethically. So without further ado, Andrea Scalera’s (yes, she is in fact, a girl, don’t be so surprised) vision of the car. As Klaus said - “This is what it should’ve looked like from the beginning!”

The car has received new rear end, to match the LED optics in the front, more angular and aggressive design, and a ducktail spoiler. The cooling has been improved by better air ducting at the bonnet, and the downforce has been improved drastically with drag actually dropping. Front has received minor headlight refresh, since it was still pretty good and better airflow to the brakes. The most challenging thing was - to keep changes to the minimum, so the technical portion of the car could remain relatively unchanged, and the modification to our production line could be minimal, saving us money.

The safety measures have been updated to match the new, more strict demands, and the chassis got a fresh setup. The interior has received a minor revamp, but nothing too serious aswell. Main changes to the mechanical bits were under the hood. Our engineers have fettled around with the engine, and replaced the turbocharger for a bigger unit, re-mapped the ECU and fitted a new exhaust system. Which took the power from 275bhp up to 340. The now improved engine finally got it’s own KHT designation of E20SU. This helped with the increased weight, given to the car with the passive and active safety measures.

The reception of the car was warmly welcomed by the enthusiast community and the magazines, despite us presenting it without much fanfare. Weighing in at 882kg it still was a great handling car, and the improved powerplant propelled it to 100kph in 3.3 seconds a 0.2 second improvement, with top speed increasing to 265kph instead of previous 247. The dreaded Nordschleife was dispatched in 8:07, instead of 8:25 for the previous model. Which put it into the BMW M3 speed category on the lap time board. The price did not increase much, a mere $47,000 instead of $46,000 for the original 2010 model.

All in all, this was another great success of a concept that was doomed to fail.

[squidhead]

##2016 Sepang

KHT is methodical and efficient, we do not let our experience go to waste, and we always push our limits in pursuit of new knowledge. As 2015 AMWEC endurance series program started we knew from the start that creating a chassis solely for racing is a waste, so we created the best car we could to compete, and brought it to the streets. The 2015 Sepang AP1 class prototype served as a foundation on which we built our finest supercar yet. Introducing the 2016 Sepang.

A full carbon fiber body is covering the all new carbon fiber monocoque chassis, which houses Syron’s V8F 6.3 liter v8, upgraded, updated, improved, now sporting twin turbochargers at 1 bar of boost, propelling the rear wheels through a 7 speed bespoke sequential. 1275 kilo supercar deals with 0-100 in 2.6 seconds, top speed of 370 kph, cornering ability of 1.4 G, carbon ceramic brakes, and active suspension and cooling. Weighing in at 1275kg this is a lightweight among modern supercars. All in all this is one car to be reckoned with. Hand built in our factory to each client’s specific demands and desires.

Our contract Syron V8F engines arrive to the factory in boxes and are little more than parts, we assemble each unit indiviually, with one mechanic responsible for each engine. The power comes from a 6.3 liter v8, redlining at 7500 rpm. Twin turbochargers boosting the power to 800 hp and torque to 900. Reliability, usability, efficiency and comfort were just as important for us as the power output, so the engine produces nearly all of it’s power at 3.5k rpm and does not let go right until the redline. This provides for a smooth torque curve, that allows you to control the RWD monster. Completed by the lightning fast shifts of the single clutch sequential, this allows your acceleration to never cease, right till you hit the top speed. Our engineers are very proud of their work and this may have actually been their finest work yet. Not only does this engine allow you to exterminate any opponent on the road, it is also compliant with every environmental and noise rule and regulation. And to add injury to insult in the face of the inefficient power houses of the old, the average fuel consumption just about ticks over 14 liter / 100km.

The Sepang comes in variety of trims and options, each of which is hand crafted to suit the client’s needs. With the base car price starting at $200,000, our client can transform this into a high luxury cruiser, or a flat out track day destroyer.

Interior
Sports interior - Base option
Luxury interior - $4,600
Custom hand crafted interior - $16,200

In Car entertainment
None - Free option
Basic - Free option
Standard - $3,400
Premium - $5,000
Luxury - $7,100

Driving AIDS
Power steering - Base option
ABS - $1,400
Traction control - $3,100
Electronic stability control - $2,950
Launch control - $5,800

Track package
The $20,000 track package includes :
Chronometer, accelerometer, data logger, racing suspension setup, semi-slick tires, carbon fiber wheels, aggressive aero (Rear wing, active cooling part of the stock trim), optimised aerodynamics, built in fire extinguishing system, free of charge performance driving lesson (2 weekends, 6hrs each day) at the Hockenheim racing circuit under the tutelage of our test pilots.

Optional for the track package
Racing seats and harnesses - $3500
stripped out interior - $0
950bhp engine map - $15,000

[Deskyx]

Niiiicceeee

Got any track times? The Boson GT has finally found a worthy opponent to aspire to defeat, which at this time it(my car) is no match for.

[squidhead]

[quote=“Deskyx”]Niiiicceeee

Got any track times? The Boson GT has finally found a worthy opponent to aspire to defeat, which at this time it(my car) is no match for.[/quote]

Nothing too special for now, as this is a bone stock base model, not a track spec
Airfield test track in 1:17.1
Automation test track : 2:10.9
Green Hell in 7:36.2

[Deskyx]

They are practically dead even.

Even though some how you are a second quicker in the 0-60. Must have been my aero.

[squidhead]

[quote=“Deskyx”]They are practically dead even.

Even though some how you are a second quicker in the 0-60. Must have been my aero.[/quote]

Mine no downforce at all, all about the mechanical grip, theres that. And a 0-60 is just the sales point at power outputs like that. Also I got more torque earlier on, which allows me to sprint to 60 in 1st gear, leaving closer ratios for the higher speeds. I’ve done it to have more wheel hp at higher speeds to still push properly past 300kph. Actual downforce is available with the track package, aswell as lighter weight and slick tires, that alone will shave seconds off the laptimes, but will require extra 150hp to still be able to push 370kph. The Track spec hasn’t been around the laps yet, but the AP1 prototype laps TG Test track considerably faster despite being some 200hp less powerful.

[Deskyx]

I look forward to your track package.

I am certain that it will be extremely quick… So will mine be.

[squidhead]

##2015 Adelaide homologation special

As the 2015 AMWEC season came closer and closer, the fruitless chase for AGTE class car has been a downhill spiral for our junior engineering team, with many paths tested, all proving ultimately a failure. The inline 4 in the Adelaide could easily push 700hp, with acceptable responsiveness and reliability, but the appetite 4-5 times more than it would be deemed even close to acceptable. Many sleepless nights at the workshop, many blown engines, 3 complete AGTE mules later and our juniors had nothing to show for their hard work. Eventually at one of the staff meetings, an idea was proposed to Gerhard Wagner, CEO of Kraft Haus Technik. An idea ludicrous for KHT, rarely done, very difficult - we build our own engine, and release a limited edition of homologation specials on the market. The idea so silly, time consuming and expensive it should’ve been shot down on arrival. Meeting was adjourned. A few days later Wagner stormed into the junior engineering department and simply said “Make me an engine, build this car to spec”.

With full freedom on their hands and only a handfull of regulations and restrictions within months a new test mules have been seen on the track, boasting a thundering soundtrack, lacking in pops and blow off whistles. Powered by an all new 3.9 liter v8, with 4 valves per cylinder, vvl and vvt, racing components, many of which were crafted in-house, the new car finally took shape, performance, setups, everything came together to bring the Adelaide V8 homolagation special.

While the exterior got the minor touches, most of which were there to remove the vents and replace them with active cooling, minor trim changes and a tiny v8 badge, most changes went deeper under the skin.
Powered by a 470hp bespoke Typ839 v8 engine and fed through a sequential 6 speed gearbox to the rear wheels, the 0-100 was dealt with in 3.7 seconds, with top speed reaching 315kph. Weighing in at 1070kg the car was no longer as nimble as it’s i4 predecessor, but the laptimes still tumbled, the Ring now being dispatched in 8:05. On the inside, little was done to accommodate the driver, as some of the test drivers joked about the interior - “this is like being in the fastest army land rover”. Naturally the car went up for sale with little enthusiasm, as most homologation specials do, but to much relief, at $70,000, all of them found their owners among the trackday fan community, a few of which got eventually converted into full blown racecars