Interest, I always thought the point of the diligently-followed 64PS limit was to prevent government regulation by preventing a horsepower war; but yeah, further research confirms its actually law.
Though this makes me wonder how the Caterham 7 was able to qualify with 81PS?
It wasn’t if you read this article which is one of the Wikipedia sources.
Ah so that’s where I read that last year, couldn’t find it. Gotta love fighting bureacracy with bureacracy…
Cool there’s a kei challenge after all.
The Caterham dude seems fun, in a related article Caterham's Unlikely Export Hit: Kei Cars To Japan he has some choice words for anyone considering this challenge:
“They say kei cars are an artificial barrier – simply because they don’t have a kei car. Volkswagen, this is a nation of 130 million with the highest disposable income on the planet, build a kei car!”
This never mentions a change. I’m just going off of memory, please prove me wrong if I’m wrong. It was also just a joke, the only car that ever supposedly broke the limit and hid it was the Cappucino. The Caterham 7 broke the rules and everyone knew it.
I’ve just read the articles shared by xsneakyxsimx and Ludvig, and as Restomod said the “power limit” was actually just a gentlemen’s agreement.
These websites (where Wikipedia got its “Kei Car Regulations” from) make no mention about power output at all (except for cars before 1960, when kei cars did have power limits) so there never was an explicit rule.
https://www.keikenkyo.or.jp/information/information_000123.html
https://www.airia.or.jp/info/system/02.html
Therefore, I was wrong about kei cars my entire life and all articles that say that kei cars are limited to 64hp are bullshit.
Still, I think that this challenge would benefit from a power limit as that would prevent a power war from happening amongst entrants. Or maybe it shouldn’t be a rule and we should all just agree to limit our cars’ power output to 64hp…
@Arn38fr to clarify, this was a joke and the rules are fine with me
Edit:
I kind of like this but how would we implement it? What stops some lunatic from making an 80hp monster? Maybe the host implements a penalty for the stigma? Idk
The power limit might as well be a rule. With engine displacement tax some people get scared of the penalties of using a large engine and will keep their engine within a reasonable displacement but with kei cars there are no penalties for having more power so anyone can go crazy with their cars.
In the end it’s up to the host though. Maybe he does want to see a wild west power war happen.
I mean, the power limit is “real” in the sense that the companies actually do follow it as though it were law most of the time. So I think it’d make sense to implement as a rule, or at least a strong preference, if the host cares about realism.
But yeah, it’s it up to them whether they want realism or not. Horsepower wars can be fun, after all…
I personally think we should stick with Kei size restrictions and power, otherwise they aren’t really Kei cars any more…
I have a couple I am fiddling with - a coupe and a 5 door hatch. Same engine though - I have it making about 60hp as I’m aiming for 60mpg.
My only reasoning for the suggestion was so that people didn’t feel pigeonholed into using 1 of the 3 legal bodies without getting too far in the age of the body. Especially when one of the options wasn’t really suited for a ‘sporty’ sort of car.
OP only changed them a little bit, and it was because we have very few legal Kei bodies in-game.
What 0-60 times are y’all getting?
The Automation “agreement”
Are the rules changed now? The first post hasn’t been updated so I have no idea what we are making tbh
Submissions are not supposed to open until January 15th, by the way - until then, the rules of this round are subject to change.
That is correct. However it’d be nice to have the rules updated so people could start making test mules that fit the current set of rules. Now I’m not even sure if we’re making 1995 or 1999 cars.
One of the test mules I made does indeed meet all the rules and regulations as they currently are - but I’d have to tweak it accordingly if a later rule change rendered it ineligible for submission as-is.
In view of the results of the survey, I modify the maximum length to 3.40m and the maximum width to 1.48m but I do not change the year. Too bad for this little departure from reality.
Here is my entry - the 1995 Canmo Trio Lozenge, the sporty coupe version of the Canmo Trio Menage, a spiritual successor to the abysmal failure that was the Canmo Trio of the 60s.
Powered by a 56hp 660cc 3 cylinder engine, both the Lozenge and the Menage are true Kei cars fitting under their tight length and width restrictions. The Lozenge offers more comfort and sportiness than it’s 5 door sibling, and it’s sleek body helps it achieve a lofty 60mpg all while cutting 4 seconds off it’s 0-60 time.
NOTE: Canmo is the brand I am using in competitions lately meant to stand for Canada Motors. My entries to other countries would be considered export models (like these) that could also be sold in Canada, in the alternate reality that exists in my mind.
Want something small, agile and packed full of fun? Look no further than the Bokuto Nomi. A 660 cc turbo 3 cylinder pushing 64hp to the front wheels via a 5 speed manual transmission will have you grinning from ear to ear as you tear up the mountain roads of Akina.
