Mamushi Motors Ltd

[Aruna]

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Mamushi Motors Ltd.

Dance through the snowfall.

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History & Lore

Starting out in 1946, wealthy businessman Kōsuke Aoyama set out with a dream to create affordable and reliable cars for the people of Japan.

The company was formed in Sapporo, Hokkaido prefecture, and named after the Mamushi pit viper: a venomous snake native to Japan, after Kōsuke’s encounter with one in mountainous woodland whilst hiking one day, the winding figure being that of the brand logo. Mamushi are generally depicted with duality: That of healing and wisdom, but also of mischievous spirits. The aim to create a smart and yet cheeky looking motorcar was most definitely in mind…

He begun the company with Goro Ito, a business partner, though truly a designer at heart, with a background in home décor and furniture design. He was keen on showcasing design from the soul, authentic and sporty styling was on his mind, so he took the role as lead designer. Ayane Yamazaki was hired to create interior for the cars, she specialised in fashion & tailoring, giving a boutique flair to the seats and interior trims.

With the economy in shambles and most companies creating trucks to help build back up the nation, restrictions on passenger vehicles was imposed, and so Mamushi Motors started out by creating limited production kei cars with the focus to becoming the top manufacturer in Japan for affordable and reliable cars. The company was also offered contracts to design and create trucks and military vehicles, which it took on alongside passenger car production to help sustain the brand’s income as well as keep it open to expansion into different markets.

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Notes

• Mamushi Motors Ltd. was initially created for a campaign mode playthrough on the Al Rilma update on the 12/11/2025!

• The settings I used for the 1st playthrough are as follows: 100m starting money, HQ Level 1, Engineering Time 100%, Competitor Difficulty 110%, Market Desires at 65, Market Volatility at High, Home Dealerships Level 1, Other Dealerships Level 0, Car & Engine Factory Plots Medium with Small Factories on both, Base Tech of 0, Emissions Regulations Realistic, Safety Regulations Standard, and finally Capacity Tax 1x, giving a score multiplier of 2.23x.

• It is somewhat a revival of an older brand of mine I no longer use: Python Motors but heavily revised and altered, the old brand used to be more of a focused sports car brand, but now as you can see it’s more a general company that does all sorts!

• Both the Mamushi Snake logo (1946-1966) & Geometric style logo (1967-1980) were designed by me using Krita! I have been playing around with the software on and off, it’s quite fun and I wholeheartedly recommend trying it out if you want an image creation software to go wild with!

• Unfortunately I went bankrupt in 1992 on the 1st campaign! So I will try again with a bit of an easier setting, turns out 2.2x was basically insane with a bit more money! I’m only a beginner at campaign so I need to keep learning and growing as I play it on an easier setup. Think of the 1st playthrough as more of an “alternative history” play.

• The settings I used for the 2nd playthrough are as follows: 100m starting money, HQ Level 1, Engineering Time 100%, Competitor Difficulty 90%, Market Desires at 50, Market Volatility at Medium, Home Dealerships Level 2, Other Dealerships Level 1, Car & Engine Factory Plots Huge with Small Factories on both, Base Tech of 0, Emissions Regulations Realistic, Safety Regulations Standard, and finally Capacity Tax 1x, giving a score multiplier of 2.23x.

• The journey continues! I will hopefully post here new builds when I next play the campaign run, to keep chronological order to the entire topic. This will possibly also mean longer time between posts if and when I feel the mood for it.

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Engineering & Design Philosophy

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Engineering

• Keywords: 1946-1971: Affordable, Reliable, Rugged, Lightweight, Sporty, Accessible,

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• • Mamushi started out with huge sized lots and small factories, a lot of their production utilised the abundance of post-war aluminium. Innovation towards automation was held highly, and so most factories had less staff and more automated production with high quality tools & quality assurance, this helped Mamushi produce affordable and reliable cars to the public whilst being cost-effective, boosting their growth into the 60s.

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• • The design of Mamushi chassis is a rugged yet lightweight approach where possible, steel space frames and heavy-duty steel ladders were used by the 360 and Kasete. If a vehicle didn’t need to be large, it wasn’t made so, saving on materials and cost, the 360 benefitted from this with much better fuel economy and handling weighing in at just less than 400kg in it’s first iteration, though suffered as safety regulations loomed in later years.

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Design

• Keywords: 1946-1971: Wisdom, Mischievous, Regal, Elegant, Hardy, Bold, Functional.

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• • Such as the Mamushi in depiction: The design philosophy originates out of wisdom with a mischievous element. Mamushi’s design language invoked and expanded upon these ideologies into the coming years… (To be continued as I progress Mamushi in my campaign playthrough!)

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• • Mamushi’s first production model, the 360 '46 is defined by this; with a cheeky smile made by three grille elements at the front and big googly eyes for headlights which leans it more to a mischievous design, yet the rear is well organised and sensible lending it to a wise design.

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• • The second model: Mamushi Starlight 2000GT '57 was a bit more regal and elegant in design. To coincide with it’s name; like the beautiful stars at night, expressed in chrome aesthetics and striking lengthy lines like a shooting star, it leans more towards the wise style.

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• • Mamushi’s venture into the Light Truck, Offroad, and Sports Utility markets came about with the Mamushi Kasete '68, a shortening of “Kasegi-te” which translated is breadwinner, since the truck was aimed for the hard working citizens. The Kasete was aimed at invoking a hardy, bold, functional design language that would appeal to everyone.

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[Aruna]

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Mamushi Motors Ltd.

Glide over the ice fearlessly.

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Additional information

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Historical Lineup

• 1946 - ???

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• • Mamushi 360/400SC - Kei car/Sports car

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• • Mamushi Stellar - Family/Commuter/City car/GT car

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• • Mamushi Kasete - Light truck/Family Utility/Light delivery vehicle

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Car Trims & Packages

Trim naming scheme:
Codename example 1: Mamushi Stellar 1000S
Codename system: Mamushi Stellar 1000(1000cc)Saloon

Codename example 2: Mamushi Stellar 1500GT SC
Codename system: Mamushi Stellar 1500(1500cc)Grand Touring Supercharger

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Engine Trims & Packages

Engine naming scheme:
Codename example 1: EX36 - Standard
Codename system: Engine Experimental 360cc - Standard

Codename example 2: EA15 - Supercharger
Codename system: Engine Alpha 1500cc - Supercharger

Naming scheme codes: Standard, Eco, Sport, Supercharger, Turbocharger, etc.

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Exterior Colours

• 1946 - 1976

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• • White (Solid & Metallic)
• • Silver (Solid & Metallic)
• • Black (Solid & Metallic)
• • Blueberry (Solid & Metallic)
• • Galaxy Purple (Metallic)
• • Oceanic Blue (Metallic)
• • Olympic Gold (Metallic)
• • Red (Solid & Metallic)
• • Spicy Blue (Metallic)
• • Spicy Orange (Metallic)
• • Spicy Red (Metallic)
• • Typhoon Blue (Metallic)

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• 1977 - 1997

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• • Coming later!

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Interior Colours & Materials (WIP)

???

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Technologies (WIP)

???

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Notable Persons

• Kōsuke Aoyama - Founder & CEO

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• Executives board

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• Goro Ito - Exterior Design
• Ayane Yamazaki - Interior Design
• Dan Maeda - Sales & Marketing
• Ao Miura - Research & Development
• Jiro Shirakawa - Production & Logistics

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• Mamushi Motorsports (Est. 1971)

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• Hanzou Aoyama - Vice President of Mamushi Motorsports

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• Kenji Yuuki - Test driver/Race driver
• Booker Hillam - Test driver/Race driver
• Yngve Hirsch - Test driver/Race driver

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[Aruna]

Placeholder for the 3rd revision logo!

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Mamushi Motors Ltd.

Look forward to the future.

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Campaign Playthroughs

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Campaign Review 1946 - 1971 (1st playthrough: Alternative History)

• At the end of 1971; Mamushi Motors Ltd. is run out of a Level 4 HQ with 42/50 logistical points used, Kasete Vehicle & Engine Factory (Formerly Starlight) 8+8pts, 360/400 Car & Engine Factory 12+12pts, Testing Grounds Level 1 addon 2pts.

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• • 5/4 R&D slots were used across; Aspiration +1, Drivetrain +1, Suspension +2, Interior +1, Safety +2.

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• • The Company Money was 11.7m with December 1971 income/losses of +1.45m with +103k Emissions Credits and a Total Company Valuation of -57.7m (Factory Plots 42m, Factory Buildings 163m, HQ Level 10m, HQ Addons 10.5m, Cash 11.7m, Debt -295m, Car Inventory 0, Loan Coverage 0.)

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Campaign Review 1971 - 1992 (1st playthrough: Alternative History)

• At the end of 1992; Mamushi Motors Ltd. was run out of a Level 5 HQ with 69/70 logistical points used, Kasete Vehicle & Engine Factory (Formerly Starlight) 12+9pts, Stellar Car & Engine Factory x2 12+12pts & 12+8pts, Foxtrot-20 Outsourced Factory 2pts, Testing Grounds Level 1 addon 2pts.

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• • 5/5 R&D slots were used across; Aspiration +1, Drivetrain +1, Suspension +2, Interior +1, Safety +2.

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• • The Company Money was -15.9m and a Total Company Valuation of -557m (Bankrupcy)

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Campaign Checkpoint 12/1957 (2st playthrough: Current History)

• At the end of 1957; Mamushi Motors Ltd. was run out of a Level 3 HQ with 49/50 logistical points used; 360 Vehicle & Engine Factories 10+8pts, Kasete Car Factory 9pts, Stellar Car Factory 10pts, EA (Kasete & Stellar) Engine Factory 9pts, Testing Grounds Level 1 addon 2pts, and progress towards Wind Tunnel Level 1 addon 1pts.

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• • 4/4 R&D slots were used across; Wheels +1, Brakes +1, Suspension +1, Safety +3.

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• • The Company Money was 71.3m and a Total Company Valuation of 429m (Factory Plots: 278m, Factory Buildings 82.3m, HQ Level: 10m, HQ Addons: 10.5m, Cash 71.3m, Debt: -22.3m, Car Inventory: 0, Loan Coverage: 0.)

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[Aruna]

Mamushi 360 1946 (Mk1) & 1954 (Mk2)

The people's car of Japan

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Designed and produced for 1946, the brand’s first car, the Mamushi 360; was a lightweight Kei car utilising an all Cast Iron DAOHC-8 360cc Inline 4 which produced 12.0hp @ 4,800rpm / 15.8lb-ft @ 2,700rpm mounted in a front-longitudinal RWD setup to a 3-speed manual gearbox. It was offered as either a 2-door saloon or 3-door panel van.

The 360 launched in January of 1946 under strict low-production rules, with priority towards trucks to rebuild after the war, the van variant gained more leverage, total sales for the Mk1 were 7,700 for the saloon & 9,370 for the van. Mamushi were certain there was a need for a “People’s Car”, by 1954 the Mk2 360 released as a grand success with less restrictions towards passenger vehicles, with 17k being sold for the saloon & 20k for the van, there was also the Mamushi 400 Supercharger which achieved just over 19k cars sold.

The chassis & body were made from Steel for the Space Frame with Aluminium panels for the bodywork, the platform used basic MacPherson Struts on the front and a rugged Solid Axle Leaf Spring for the rear suspension. All-in-all the small but mighty Mamushi 360 weighed 397kg, it wasn’t that sporty, but somewhat fun to handle around mountain roads and the like. Able to reach an underwhelming by modern standards 44mph, and near enough 0.6Gs of cornering.

It was by no means sporty, though the cheap yet reliable construction made it one of Japan’s most reliable cars of its time. The lightweight & utilitarian focus went on to achieve 55mpg(UK), with exceptionally low-costing maintenance from the most basic of designs; 10 inch wheels on 125/105 tyres with drum brakes all around, a manual rack & pinion steering and standard setup suspension, those plus the simplistic engine made it accessible for anyone with the basic tools to maintain.

The Mamushi 360 has a few quirks; for starters the seating arrangement, a triangle formation with the driver sitting in the front middle of the car, and seats for two passengers on either side at the rear. This arrangement allowed for much more room on the small interior at the expense of a third passenger was an interesting move, the markets did not mind it, some even embracing it as a “sporty” layout. The car also had suicide-doors which was acceptable at the time, and given the car could barely even get up to speed, wasn’t seen as a hazard, let alone the Mamushi had no safety equipment, not a design oversight, but to save on material and weight, after all there was no safety standards at the time…

In 1954 the first facelift model was released with no exterior or interior changes other than the inclusion of safety equipment as well as an AM radio as standard. New for 1954 however was the Mamushi 400 Supercharger, a 2-door 2-seater sports coupe: The engine was bored out to 400cc and fitted with a 37mm Centrifugal Supercharger to increase power from the 12.6hp to 19.2hp @ 5,900rpm.

This performance variant was highly successful, and a little bit nippier than the standard, reaching 56mph now, though the expense of the tuned motor sacrificed MPG and maintenance friendliness with 37.9mpg(UK) and almost double the average costs to repair/maintain. Even with the extra costs, the slowly growing economy ensured the 400 Supercharger to be a little zoomy success: The interesting induction sounds paired with the fancy fog-lights, new chromed hubcap wheels and sporty coupe aesthetics made it highly desirable to those young and old.

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Notes

• The 360 was made before I designed the Mamushi logos hence it’s using a placeholder one I made when I was creating it.

[Hshan]

Lovely angry puppy, that supercharged one

[Aruna]

Mamushi Starlight 1957

A shooting star into the sports & GT markets

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With the profits from the 360/400, and a few suggestions from the lead designer Goro Ito, Mamushi went forward with plans for an expansion to the HQ & land for two new factories to produce the newly prototyped Mamushi Starlight 2000GT. Goro was keen on creating a performance car, inspired by foreign brands on the racing circuits, and sketched out a lengthy swooping coupe, and from there it became history.

The Starlight was fitted with a 2.0L Inline 6 engine with new technology: 12 valve dual overhead camshafts were fitted on the top end helping provide the sporty 100.9hp @ 5,500rpm, maximum torque was 105.5lb-ft @ 3,900rpm with a healthy curve. Shifting through the gears up to 4th, 113mph was achievable in testing with a 0-60mph time of 11s helped by the healthy 1,054kg weight provided from a Steel Space Frame with lightweight Aluminium Panels on a MacPherson Strut front and Semi Trailing Arm rear suspension.

Elegance and chrome didn’t stop on just the exterior, the interior was fitted with a full luxury upholstery tailor-made by lead interior designer Ayane Yamazaki. A high-end AM Radio was fitted with a mono-speaker just below the dashboard adding to the luxury feel and quality interior more-so. The seating layout was a 2+2 design which made it more attractive to GT markets, though fun & sporty car lovers alike loved and enjoyed the Starlight 2000GT.

35k units were sold from 1957 to 1967, making it a sporty success, it could have been so much more but as the 360/400 was being heavily revised with safety additions it was more or less forgotten about, replaced by the Mamushi Kasete, a light truck, SUV, and van to provide the markets with a much needed boost to industry and growth.

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Notes

• I actually completed this car with a bit less effort in campaign, so decided to give it a little bit more loving in sandbox, here is the old campaign version for reference with less details & the old placeholder badge:

[Aruna]

Mamushi Campaign Summary (First playthrough)

A collection of the builds before bankruptcy!

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Unfortunately I went bankrupt in the first playthrough! Turns out I was playing on quite a hard setup (essentially insane with a bit more cash!) so as someone sort of beginner level to campaign I did quite well to get to 1992. Alas this is not the end of Mamushi Motors! In fact I will take this loss and start a new playthrough on an easier setup and take all I have learned myself and from the helpful community members on Discord into the new playthrough. In the mean time, I will share a few of the final builds and what ended up bankrupting me!

The doom cycle of loans started as I made the medium 1 factory + steel presses for the Mamushi Stellar, it started getting better in 1985, but come 1989 it shot up to 12.3m loan repayment monthly, which slowly killed the company off! I definitely did not have enough awareness/presence to be running a medium 1 with steel presses yet I think, that’s likely what resulted in the bankruptcy more than anything.

In summary, I will take what I’ve learned from this playthrough into the second run! It may mean going back to square 1, but could open opportunity for new models which might be exciting. I hope I can do well to create some more Mamushi cars to share with the world!

Anyway… Onto the more fun features, the cars!

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Mamushi 360/400 1971 (Mk4) & 550/999 1978 (Mk5)

From a people's car to worldwide car

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Facelifted for 1971, the refreshed Mamushi 360 received updated front & rear bumpers, upgraded covered front lights, update to the rear taillight/brake lights covers, twin wing mirrors, amber indicator covers, new wheel covers, basic mudflaps, and a reverse light on the rear.

As far as mechanical upgrades it now featured a 5-speed manual gearbox as well as radial long life tyres, solid disk brakes on all four corners, a semi-clad undertray, an upgrade to standard interior with premium AM radio, advanced 60’s safety, and progressive springs with gas mono-tube dampers. The sporty 400 Supercharged received a clutched LSD, alloy 12 inch wheels, and a sports interior with premium AM radio alongside its optional stylish stripe package and rally style fog lights.

Sales for the 360 (Mk4) were quite reasonable: 85k Saloons sold, 89k 400 Superchargers sold, and 263k Vans sold from January 1971 though till April 1978. At that point safety and emission regulations were getting tighter and tighter, so Mamushi delved into the world markets where the cars were more favoured and less restrictions held them back (Archana in campaign).

With the change to Kei Car regulations from 1976 onwards, the 360 was overhauled with a brand new 550cc I4 engine producing 20.5hp @ 5,300rpm and 22.0lb-ft @ 3,600rpm. It utilised a cast iron with aluminium standard head Direct Acting OHC-8 setup, the aluminium heads helped with emissions greatly paired with a two-way catalytic converter. Top end it featured a single 2 barrel carburettor with a standard mid-flow intake.

Paired with this, a 999cc I4 Supercharger version was created for the sports model, producing 105.6hp @ 5,600rpm and 100.1lb-ft @ 5,500rpm! The greatly improved engine resulted in phenomenal increases to performance for the 999 Supercharger model: 0-62mph in 8.8s with a top speed of 125mph!

In prep for the 1978 release, the Mamushi 550 got a major overhaul visually with new thick bumpers for international markets, new sealed headlights with spray washers fitted, new taillight fixtures which housed indicators & reverse lights, new door-mounted mirrors exclusive for international markets on normal-opening doors with new handles (previously suicide doors were fitted), new more modern wheel covers fitted, a new extendable radio antenna, optionally a large body-coloured sunroof could be fitted, and finally on the inside a premium interior combination with 8 track radio swapped in for the old tatty basic interior.

The Mamushi 550 was an worldwide success in markets such as South America and South-East Asia, able to fit in snug with less safety & emission regulations and sell well. Overall the 550/999 sold: 81k Saloons, 40k 999 Superchargers, and 418k Vans.

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Mamushi 360/400 1971 (Mk4) Additional pictures

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Mamushi 550/999 1978 (Mk5) Additional pictures

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Notes

• Much like the original VW Beetle, I planned to run the Mamushi 360 into 2010 by keeping it alive as an Archana marketed car and any other markets that would take it! I think unfortunately this also lead to the bankruptcy as it would have been much more efficient to have run the Stellar in two factories

• The 1978 facelift wrongly uses the old style badge (1975 onwards is the updated badge), as the marketing for Archana and Gasmea was quite low, so the old style snake badge was used to not confuse markets about the Mamushi brand, plus the cheeky snake logo was still quite beloved by most in reaction to the updated logo!

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Mamushi Kasete 1968 (Mk1) & Kasete Kai 1978 (Mk2)

A leap into the light truck market

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By mid-1960s Mamushi was doing well with the 360/400 & Starlight cars selling strongly, as the economy kept growing, plans to create a new vehicle for untapped market came about: A light truck, something for businesses and workers alike. The Kasete prototype was created in late 1965 which showcased a first for the brand: Mechanical Fuel Injection, with a production model for 1968 onwards.

The Kasete was named after the shortening of “Kasegi-te” translated to breadwinner: with the light truck being aimed to be the money-maker not only for Mamushi, but for the hard working people of Japan. It was offered as either truck, van, or SUV, with an additional “Sport” SUV variant later on in the revised Kasete Kai trims of 1978.

Features on the Kasete included: Standard interior with premium AM radio, 5-speed manual gearbox with optional manual locking differential, progressive springs with gas mono-tube dampers, front wing-mount wing mirrors, rear Mamushi-brand lettering mudflaps, and colour-accented bed tarp for light truck only.

Based on a heavy duty steel ladder chassis with aluminium panels, the Kasete was lightweight weighing in a 907kg on the truck trim, it utilised a 5-speed manual gearbox with a low-spread gearbox starting at 20mph in 1st gear, for better utilitarian stats: Able to tow 841kg and load up to 2,071kg. A new engine was designed for the Kasete: The C999, a cast iron block with aluminium eco head design producing 29.0hp @ 3,800rpm & 53.6lb-ft @ 2,200rpm, the new aluminium heads being economically tuned also helped it manage a WES5 emissions without use of any exhaust reactor or catalytic converter.

Performance wasn’t all that impressive, being able to reach a top speed of 58mph, but production and manufacturing costs were low, as were service costs but fuel economy was high with 53.7mpg(UK) combined, making it highly attractive for businesses in comparison to the competition.

Sales for the first generation Mamushi Kasete are as follows: 26,740 trucks sold, 34,610 SUVs sold, and 141k vans sold over the 10 year production period of 1968 to 1978.

To continue the lineage into the 80s, a facelift was introduced in 1978 which heavily modernised the Kasete up to standards visually and mechanically. It was now featured with an automatic 4-speed gearbox and manual locking differential as standard, vented front disks, offroad skidtray, premium interior with premium 8 track radio, hydraulic rack & pinion steering, updated safety upgrades, front & rear mudflaps (rear featuring Mamushi lettering), maximum load sticker on the exterior below the rear window, new stylish hole-cut steelie wheels, bumper-mounted rear lights for additional room in the truck bed, and finally an optional stripe package to add extra character and presence to the new colours offered.

With the new Kai model, a sports trim for the SUV was offered, originally it was planned to have a 2.0L Supercharged Inline 6, though funding was limited, and the original C999 I4 unit was given a supercharger to boost it up to 43.4hp @ 5,500rpm with 45.8lb-ft @ 3,600rpm. The SC Sport Kai was given a 5-speed manual gearbox, chunky offroad radial tyres, additional undertray cladding, a sports interior with luxury 8 track radio, converted to manual rack & pinion steering with standard springs swapped in too for a much harder sportier feel.

The Kasete Kai was sold from 1978 till bankruptcy in 1992: 119k trucks sold, 34,250 SUVs sold, 484k vans sold, and 1,316 SC Sport SUVs sold.

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Mamushi Kasete 1968 (Mk1) Additional pictures

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Mamushi Kasete Kai 1978 (Mk2) Additional pictures

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Notes

• I’m hopeful in the second campaign run to release the Kasete a little earlier, give it a larger production run until the 90s where it is replaced by something on one of the more modern 90-00s bodies as a uni-body.

• The Kasete Kai is the first car to feature the updated Mamushi logo!

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Mamushi Stellar/Starlight 1985

A family car for the masses with a sporty surprise!

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With income being steady for the 550/999 & Kasete, Mamushi went forward with a new concept prototype in 1979, with a new family being released in 1985: The Mamushi Stellar. This was Mamushi’s first steel panelled & monocoque car, fitted with a 1,490cc (1.5/1500) 8-valve SOHC engine with 2 barrel carburettor with a new three-way catalytic converter.

Also new for the Stellar was the electronic advanced automatic 4-speed gearbox offered alongside a manual 5-speed, ABS was also standard, making it Mamushi’s first car with ABS.

Performance for the Stellar was much improved over the 360/550, being able to reach 62mph in 16.7s and hit 94.4mph top speed. 0.7g was possible on medium compound tyres with a 47.4m 62-0mph braking distance.

The Stellar weighed a little over a ton at 1,094kg, which helped contribute to a 26.7mpg(UK) combined figure, not ideal in comparison to previous models, as due to the catalytic converter and automatic not helping. (Info taken for this paragraph from the 1500 Saloon)

The hatchback version meanwhile was able to do 0-62mph in 14.0s with the 5-speed manual gearbox fitted, and hit 102mph top speed, whilst also achieving 32.2mpg(UK) making it highly desirable compared to the saloon for most buyers, as seen by the sales below.

The Stellar & Starlight were sold from 1985 till bankruptcy in 1992: 77k 1500 Saloons, 9,040 1500 Estates, 110k Hatchbacks, and 11k Starlight 2000C SC-AWDs were sold in total.

Alongside the Stellar, the Mamushi Starlight namesake returned as a 3dr coupe intwined to the Stellar family. Set apart by the engine and drivetrain, the Starlight was mostly identical to the Stellar as a way of cost-cutting whilst providing a return to form with a successor to the '57 Starlight sports car previously produced.

The new Starlight was much more technologically evolved: Helical All-Wheel-Drive and Helical limited slip differentials were fitted to this model, with the burning powerplant of a 1,996cc Centrifugal Supercharged Inline 6 making 179.7hp @ 6,800rpm & 167.3lb-ft @ 5,000rpm. Unfortunately with the cost-cutting, fuel injection wasn’t fitted and leftover 2 barrel carburetors from previous productions were fitted in a twin-carb setup, even with carburettors, with the three-way catalytic converter, the Starlight 2000C SC-AWD still managed to achieve a standout WES8.

Performance was the best of any Mamushi vehicle to date: 136mph top speed, with a 0-62mph of 7 seconds, 0.8g of cornering G forces, and a 14.94s 1/4 mile drag time. It just about managed over 20mpg, with 21.5mpg(UK) combined, not too shabby for a sports car.

The Starlight 2000C SC-AWD featured a sports 4-seat interior with luxury 8 track radio, converted manual rack & pinion steering standard for a sportier feel with assisted optionally refitted, 15 inch alloy wheels (205/65R15) on all four corners along with vented disks using 2 piston callipers on each end, the undertray was semi-clad, and Mamushi-lettered mudflaps were optional as was the low-level spoiler on the boot lid as well as the solid sunroof.

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Mamushi Stellar (1500 Family) 1985 Additional pictures

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Mamushi Starlight 2000C SC-AWD 1985 Additional pictures

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Notes

• Unfortunately for this campaign playthrough, this was the final Mamushi car made! It also was likely the reason for bankruptcy, as I went too early into steel-presses with medium factory, the costs were outrageously high for my brand at the time, and I pushed too hard, leading to a monthly repayment doom loop which ended in 1992! Hopefully I am able to learn from this in the next run, I want to do my best and hopefully expand and create more cars earlier too!

• The Mamushi Starlight 2000C SC-AWD '85 got featured on the official Automation social media pages! https://www.instagram.com/p/DTvy8BFDOde/?img_index=1 @automationgame.bsky.social on Bluesky

[Aruna]

Mamushi Stellar 1952 (Mk1) & 1956 (Mk2)

Neatly decorated in chrome, a handsome car for growing families!

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With the great success of the Mamushi 360 series; Mamushi was able to grow as a brand, though keeping up with demand was starting to wear down the current factories, originally it was planned to buy a couple new large plots for 360 production, but the markets seemed to crave a slightly larger car, something ideal for families, and so Mamushi decided to prototype a new lineup: The Stellar.

In 1949 the first generation Mamushi Stellar begun prototype phase, with Mk1 releasing in April 1952, throughout this period of prototyping, Mamushi was able to arrange large & medium plots of land near their original facility & HQ, these would be built up as small factories to start, with limited awareness in mind.

The Mamushi Stellar took inspiration from the American markets, dazzled up in decorative chrome with an elegant appearance. Mounted on a steel space frame with aluminium panels it would endure the harsh Hokkaido winters well enough, a first for Mamushi however was the front double wishbone independent suspension which provided the Stellar with a much sportier feel when thrown into corners than the 360 ever did, semi trailing arm was retained on the rear with familiarity gains in full force there.

Fitted with an all cast iron 998cc Inline 4 producing 39.2hp @ 5,100rpm & 47.4lb-ft @ 3,400rpm the new EA10 series engine was quite reasonable at motoring the 833.8kg Stellar up to speed. Balance shafts kept the motor exceptionally smooth which was held in high regard to customers. A new 2 barrel single carburettor was fitted to the EA10 as well, helping boost that performance, providing a top speed of 65.3mph and 30.6s to 62mph. A reasonable 25.8mpg(UK) was achieved making it quite satisfactory, though nowhere near as economical as the 360.

The Stellar came as either a 4dr saloon or 5dr estate and a separate 1.5L Supercharged Coupe as the wildcard variant. The Mk2 released in 1956 with various upgrades and higher quality added into each build, most notably the saloon & estate were fitted with progressive springs whilst the 1500GT SC retained the sportier standard springs.

Introduced on the Stellar platform was the 1500GT SC, a larger engined supercharged coupe variant with a 4-seat sports interior and a premium AM radio. Fitted to the Mk2: radial sports tyres and upgraded double loading spring front brakes added to the performance of the car, exceeding previous expectations. The Mk2 Stellar 1500GT SC was able to reach 90mph top speed and achieve a 0-62mph time of 12.3s with a 1/4 mile time of 18.52s.

Total sales for the Stellar up to the end of 1957 are as follows: 13k Mk1 Saloons, 5,930 Mk1 Estates, 16k Mk1 1500GT SCs, 3,700 Mk2 Saloons, 1,140 Mk2 Estates, 5,990 Mk2 1500GT SCs sold. The exceptional sales of the Mk1 provided room to expand the facilities of the Stellar and EA10 engine factories somewhat, and a second generation with new variants was rumoured if sales continued…

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Notes

• This is the first new model featured in my 2nd playthrough of Mamushi Motors Ltd.! I’m running it on a 0.9x multiplier now which has been much more enjoyable for me and less difficult.

• This will predate the Stellar from the old game, which makes it the true 1st generation Mamushi Stellar!

• There is no additional pictures this time around! I managed to fit them all inside each paragraph break, since the Mk2 is identical visually to the Mk1, no need for extras this time.

[Aruna]

Mamushi Kasete 1954 (Mk1) & 1956 (Mk2)

Branching out into the industrial markets!

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Sales for the Mamushi 360 van were exceptionally strong, with the market presence already there, and profits to fund it: The Mamushi Kasete was born. A new cab-over design van/light truck intended to sell to industries across the globe but more-so locally.

The Kasete name is derived from the shortening of “Kasegi-te” which translates from Japanese to “Breadwinner”, a suitable name for a worker’s truck/van. Fitted to a steel space frame with aluminium panels was quite the unique construction for the vehicle, but Mamushi had the experience and familiarity with this chassis type to make it work! MacPherson struts were used on the front with solid axle leaf springs out back giving it a balance of low cost with some comfort retention.

This first generation Kasete was only available as a 4x4 drivetrain with manual 4-speed gearbox. Engine was shared with the EA series platform but uprated to 1.5L known as the EA15 Utility, an all cast iron inline 4 with direct acting overhead cams and a single 2 barrel carburettor producing 50.2hp @ 3,900rpm & 77.1lb-ft @ 2,900rpm.

Putting the “light” into light truck, the Mamushi Kasete weighed in at 1,098kg, but was able to load up to ~1,500kg safely and tow roughly the same load too, making it very suitable for an industrial fleet. There was complaints about how quick the machine was, but markets were happy enough to buy them: Total sales for the Kasete up to the end of 1957 are as follows: 3,640 light trucks, 9,910 vans, and 842 tourings (MPV).

The rather cutesy yet mischievous design was built rugged for function. The front bumper incorporated a ridged bash bar that is fitted with fog lights. Mudflaps were found all around from the factory, as was the front step plate.

Later in 1956 a facelift was released with introduced a family oriented MPV variant known as the Kasete Touring. A 9-seater (2 full seat rows, with the back seats being foldable) with premium interior and radio, it mixed utility with prestige and made for an oddball choice to most, the family-utility markets loved it though, but it was not a very high-demand vehicle and sold accordingly.

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Notes

• Another car which superseded the '68 first generation, this Kasete released in 1954, making it the true first generation in Mamushi’s timeline!

• I did originally plan for the MPV variant from the introduction of the model, but held off to see how the Kasete would sell firstly, then upped the size of the factory to make up for the productivity levels lost.

[vitameatavegamin]

A bit of Japanese sports lore…in the 50s when NPB brought a pro baseball team to Sapporo, Mamushi supplied them with 5 Kasete vans for team use. They traveled as a convoy to other cities for matches by ferry and National Highways and Mamushi even had part ownership of the team, known as the Sapporo Shimafukuro (Northern Horned Owls). Sadly, the team was never a real contender, and was dissolved after a decade. (1955-1964) The distinctive vans in white/tan/gold/green were lost.

[Aruna]

Mamushi Summary Early 1960s

A step in the right direction, new generation replacements, expansion, and growth!

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Going into 1958, Mamushi was surpassing expectations with an income of roughly ~3-5m a month now sustained, and company valuation combined of 67.2 billion Yen (429m in game) Mamushi was making waves not only in Japan but on the global stage.

It was time to get investing into marketing as well as R&D now, to begin growing into becoming a larger brand: With the assistance of Shirubia Heavy Industries business advisor, Mamushi begun restructuring their plans with marketing focuses increased into Asia and Europe (Dalluha & Hetvesia renamed) as well as their home country (Fruinia). The R&D department was expanded, with major focuses into aspiration, fuel systems and drivetrain.

Campaign Summary Screenshots End of 1957

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Campaign Summary Screenshots 7/1959

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With the great success of both first generation Stellar & Kasete, it was time for replacements for the 60s. Starting from June 1956 to Dec 1957 a prototype was created for each, and both were showcased at the 5th Tokyo Motor Show in 1958 in preparation for release June 1959. Greatly received, both models gained attention and over a thousand pre-orders before launch.

With the facelift of both Stellar & Kasete Gen 2 vehicles, Mamushi was ready to take further steps toward growth by upgrading their headquarters, making more room for R&D, Marketing, organising of new factories and more. (HQ5 upgrade completed on 7/1965)

After the upgrades at the HQ, Mamushi were developing a new prototype sports car & engine, aimed to venture into the sports markets with a new flagship model: A focused design all-around, with fully independent suspension at the front and semi trailing arm rear, based on a steel space frame with aluminium panels, fitted with a ~170hp 2.0L Supercharged Inline 6 known as the EX20S prototype.

It was rumoured that Mamushi had plans to go double down on sports cars with an experimental high-performance fuel injected all-aluminium V6 being made known as the EX30 Can-Am prototype. Sources say it is able to produce well over 500hp…

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Notes

• The reference to Shirubia Heavy Industries is since Cyborg Silvia was helping me a bit with the thinking/planning towards campaign which is greatly appreciated!

• The teased Can-Am engine should hopefully be featured sometime soon, in campaign I have plans to prototype it into 1969, with a production run aimed at 1970. However the sports car should probably come in a post before that as I have that completed, just a teaser for now as I catch up on other builds!

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Mamushi Kasete 1959 (Mk1) & 1964 (Mk2)

A shift in direction for the Kasete family.

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Introduced in June 1959 alongside the new Stellar, the second generation Mamushi Kasete was a complete change-up for the truck, now in a more traditional cab style, with separate bed on the truck variant. These changes also came with a new ground up chassis: A heavy duty steel ladder build using solid axle all around (Coil front, Leaf rear) for a more rugged utilitarian focus. With Mamushi being an expert with aluminium panels at this time, they continued forward with them for this second generation Kasete, same with the new Stellar.

Accompanying the new chassis was the EA15 Kai engine. The EA15 platform is a 1.5L Inline 4, but the Kai variant uses aluminium standard Direct Acting OHC heads, an upgrade from the cast iron ones, a higher quality 2 barrel carburettor was also used this time. Overall upgraded output was rated at 58.4hp @ 4,600rpm & 79.0lb-ft @ 3,000rpm for the standard trim.

The Kasete in it’s new trim was offered as a light truck, panel van & SUV variant known as the Touring. Most notable exterior features were the adaptable bumpers with hooks built-in for towing, standard mudflaps all around, premium radio, and radial all-terrain tyres on light truck & SUV variants with the van utilising radial utility tyres.

The new design was much boxier than the previous generation, but a lot more stylish with the bold and rugged front grille with integrated lights and imposing bonnet scoop making for a large-and-in-charge appearance.

A rather comical feature of the second generation Kasete was the bonnet mounted wing mirrors, a major design oversight, these mirrors were easily scuffed or knocked out of place when opening the bonnet fully, resulting in a few extra spares sales with a bit of reputation lost.

In light truck variation a total load weight was rated at a maximum of 3,000kg, as for the van it was 2,600kg and the Touring at 2,500kg. WES2 emissions rating was achieved for both the light truck & Touring, whilst the van achieved a WES4 rating. The top improvements versus the first generation were most definitely increased load capacity, emissions but most of all offroad capability with 35m of front approach angle and much greater ride height.

The main upgrades for the facelift in 1964 were increases to build quality with no visual difference.

Total sales for the second generation Mamushi Kasete (up to 1/1966) are as follows: 46k light trucks, 93k vans, and 50k Touring sold, with the facelift in '64 made up of 5,780 light trucks, 16k vans, and 14k Touring sold. A grand total of 224,700 Kasete Gen 2s sold (up to 1/1966).

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Notes

• The word Kai in EA15 Kai for the engine explained: Kai derived from Japanese “Kaizo”: “modification", “rebuild”, “remodel” or "reconfiguration”, in Mamushi’s case, reconfiguration is appropriate, but it will be used to indicate upgrades usually

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Mamushi Stellar 1959 (Mk1) & 1964 (Mk2)

Sleeker, sportier and safer, the new Stellar shines brightly.

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Replacing the first generation in June 1959, the second generation Mamushi Stellar was a breath of fresh air to the dated old body, a much sleeker and well shaped body was used, with chrome accents aplenty.

The headlights featured a large bezel which made them look a lot larger, matching sweetly alongside the Kasete’s “real big” vibes, this was also followed with the wheels & tyre setup: 155/75R15s with a white wall tyre finish made them look much larger.

The new Stellar utilised a shared engine with the Kasete: the EA15 Kai. A new and improved variant of the EA15 & EA10 platforms before with an aluminium head which improved performance with the lighter materials whilst also helping improve emissions targets.

Overall performance was improved over the first generation: A top speed of 87.4mph with 0-62mph in 15.8s, with 28mpg(UK) achieved. Comfort was also improved with the introduction of progressive springs which gave a much more cosy ride than the first gen.

This generation introduced a first for Mamushi: a convertible variant. The brand marketed it heavily, their first convertible was to be proud of, and a manual soft top at that, rather than a detachable. It was still a bit behind than the American cars of the time with automated soft tops, though Mamushi’s company growth was going strong, they aimed to get there sometime soon.

The variants of this generation Stellar were as follows: Saloon, Estate, 1500GT SC coupe & 1500GTC SC convertible.

The 1500GT SC coupe was sold much less so than the 1500GTC SC convertible, making it a much rarer sight on the road than the convertible. This was likely due to marketing strength towards Mamushi’s first convertible outdoing the coupe’s visibility.

Performance of the GT & GTC were about on par to the first gen’s at 92.6mph top speed with 12.6s to 62mph for the coupe, and 92.4mph with 0-62mph of 12.9s for the convertible. Roughly 26mpg(UK) was achievable combined for them both.

Same as the Kasete, main upgrades for the facelift in 1964 were increases to build quality with no visual difference.

Total sales for the second generation Mamushi Stellar (up to 1/1966) are as follows: 134k saloons, 65k estates, 9,700 1500GT SCs, and 60k 1500GTC SCs sold, with the facelift in '64 made up of 19k saloons, 16k estates, 2,100 1500GT SCs, and 12k 1500GTC SCs sold. A grand total of 317,800 Stellar Gen 2s sold (up to 1/1966).

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Notes

• I was actually super surprised that the increase in convertible marketing made such a huge impact to the coupe being basically “unseen” to markets as the Stellar 1500GTC SC convertible dominated between the two! Just goes to show, the marketing in this game is very valuable when used correctly.

[abg7]

As if the original Stellar wasn’t beautiful enough, you seem to have outdone yourself with its immediate successor!

[Aruna]

Mamushi 360 Kai 1962 (Mk4) & 1968 (Mk5)

Expansion the lineup to new markets and going global!

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By February 1962, 416,640 Mamushi 360s were sold, and in it’s place a revised model released; the 360 was getting on in the years with old styling getting outdated yet it’s bubbly look was still appealing, so in 1960 the team begun re-working parts to bring it more up-to-date. Introducing the Mamushi 360 Kai:

Updated lights for the front and rear with aero covers for the headlights, indicator glasses were swapped to regulatory amber, a reverse light fitted on the boot lid, fitting of wing mirrors, radial tyres were fitted with a little more width, the springs swapped out for progressive ones for extra comfort, the split bumpers on the front were dropped in favour of a full one for safety as well as advanced 60’s safety features retro-fitted plus upgraded front drum brakes to twin leading.

The EX36 engine received an upgrade too, now producing 13.7hp @ 5,300rpm & 17.0lb-ft @ 2,800rpm with a new 4 barrel single carburettor, power ran through an extra gear, being now a manual 4-speed gearbox only. 55mph was it’s top speed, slow and leisurely does it…

However the 400SC Kai was now making a peak of 23.0hp @ 6,100rpm with 21.4lb-ft @ 5,000rpm, this running through the car made a top speed of 65.3mph possible, with 0-62mph in 28.9s. It wasn’t setting any records against competitors but the lightweight 448kg weight helped by new stylish alloy wheels made it feel like you was going much faster, especially on the new radial sports compound tyres, 0.85Gs was recorded on skid pan tests.

New to the lineup though was the radical 400SC “Happy Jump” trim. Featuring the same engine as the 400SC Kai, the supercharged EX40 making 23hp/21.4lb-ft, but now on a 4x4 platform with manual locking differentials, chunky offroad tyres, offroad skid tray, front disk brakes with single calliper.

The exterior was heavily upgraded with a full off-roading aesthetic; Tubular bumper bars for the front and rear with extra spotlights mounted to the front, extra weight saving was made by giving the bonnet and boot lids external latches and lightweight front bonnet mounts, wider arches were fitted on, the air filter was routed up into a top-mounted intake duct snorkel on the car making it ideal for crossing water, the exhaust was routed up high in the centre similarly too.

In 1966 Mamushi decided to offset the production of the 360 into the India (Archana), expanding markets into the Middle East, Africa and beyond. The car was mostly sold in Japan still, though it spread more in countries with laxer safety limitations.

The facelift began production in 1968, it didn’t have any visual changes however the internals got more love; now a manual 5-speed gearbox was standard, semi-clad undertray was fitted and gas mono-tube dampers were swapped in for the old twin-tube design. The EX36 engine now produced 14.0hp @ 5,300rpm & 17.2lb-ft @ 2,800rpm making for a top speed of 57.3mph, though the truly record breaking figure was the fuel economy: 87.6mpg(UK) combined was achieved making it truly desirable as an A-to-B commuter car.

Total sales for the 360 facelift models are as follows (Till 9/1970 in campaign): For the Mk4, 71k saloons, 48k vans, 63k 400SC Kais, and 26k 400SC HJ Kais sold. For the Mk5, 4760 saloons, 7,220 vans, 6,160 400SC Kais, 2,930 400SC HJ Kais, and 942 400SC TCRs sold.

A 5th trim was introduced in 1966: the Mamushi 400SC TCR, a road-legal track car built upon the 400SC Kai base. The upgraded EX40 Supercharger engine now produced 25.1hp @ 6,200rpm & 22.8lb-ft @ 5,200rpm, this paired with a clutched LSD on the 5-speed gearbox boosted the 400SC TCR up to 62pmh in 21.6s with a top speed of 73.8mph. Weight saving was optimised and it was sold as a 1-seater with optional extra seat at a price, the single seat version weighed just over 400kg at 411.2kg, helping achieve 0.9Gs on cornering.

On the exterior a new front bumper was fitted with optimised airflow for cooling the engine & front brakes, a stylish ducktail spoiler was outfitted on the boot lid, and a slightly altered visual package thrown on from the 400SC Kai with new the two-tone coloured aero bumper and rear arches, along with a new original “Mamushi fangs” bonnet package making for a striking stand-out appearance.

The TCR competed as a base model sold to motorsports, though few were sold as road-going too, it was less successful than rivals with higher capacity motors, however a one-make series was held at Tsukuba Circuit in the 1970s to attract younger buyers as well as market the brand more into it’s sporty prestigious side.

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Notes

• The 400SC HJ Kai version was originally thought up from something silly in campaign: One Dalluha buyer thought to buy a standard 360 Mk3 for the Offroad Sport market:

• and so I decided why the heck not make an offroad trim, it might even be a success! It was also very fun as a design exercise fitting the offroad bumpers and kit onto it, the visual package too. It succeeded in the campaign too, selling mostly to Light Sport P. but also getting Offroad Sport sales unlike the lower non-4x4 road-focused 400SC Kai.

• I chose India for the country Mamushi 360’s new factories were made over closer regions as it made more sense as the Archana is mostly 3rd world/old Soviet block vibe, the cheap production made sense there, but also makes sense as most of the 400 HJs were sold to Dalluha in game, which is UAE/Dubai/Middle East based.