Koromo

Koromo is a Japanese company, known for selling several vehicles all across the planet, and having the current highest sold vehicle in the world, as well having a hand in every Japanese car company.

History

Founded in 1937 in Japan, Koromo Motor Corporation is a multinational automotive manufacturer and the largest automobile manufacturer, making over 10 million vehicles per year.

Initially it was known as Koromo Industries, founded by three college students, Torio Kotake, Kuriyo Roma and Keizo Mochizuki, in their early years. Torio’s father had a small machine maker company and that was used as the basis for the new company. The three built the first Koromo engine in 1934 and the first vehicle in 1936.

After World War II, Japan’s economy was boosted by making alliances with many countries and Koromo took the opportunity to create new ways for manufacturing vehicles. During the 1960s, Koromo expanded their portfolio and created the version of the Laurus, which eventually became the world’s best-selling vehicle. This helped Japan’s economy to grow to impossible levels seen at the time, called the “Japanese Miracle of the 60s”.

The American Oil Crisis in the 1970s did little to damage Koromo’s reputation and many of its locally marketed cars made their way into the USA and Europe, albeit with some local resistance from the latter regions. Soon Koromo cars became worldwide sensations, with the company making factories in South Africa, South East Asia, Brazil and Mexico, serving those regions. Back in Japan, the company was starting to offer luxury sedans and sports cars that would compete in several categories. These cars would be sold in other regions as well.

The 90s and early 2000s were excellent years for Koromo, both in sales figures and motorsports, with a variety of vehicles on the lineup, from all price ranges, body styles and durability to match, Koromo managed to gain more and more ground with the masses, with no less than five sports cars sold in Japan at the same time. Another breakthrough with Koromo was the creation of the first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle in 1997, the Primus. Since then the company has kept releasing new versions of the Primus, with both hybrid and fully electric versions.

The late 2000s and early 2010s didn’t prove to be so kind to Koromo as the company faced a massive issue with their vehicles, prompting a massive recall for issues with the pedals, with approximately 10 million vehicles and trucks being recalled, as well as lawsuits from several governments. But the later 2010s years saw record profit for the company and they turned around, with no more scandals on their doorstep.

Koromo Corporation owns many smaller companies and has a stake in almost every car company in Japan and if it’s not ownership, it’s some sort of partnership. In 2005, Koromo and Hyades announced a 25-year long partnership, covering costs of technologies and factories, allowing a cross-agreement between the two parties. This allowed both companies to sell the Koromo Narukami KTD and the Hyades Raikou HMT, a car made from this collaboration.

With most companies fully going in with EVs, Koromo decided to reposition some of their lineup to match the market expectations, but also making sure that regular cars wouldn’t be abandoned. This led to the return of the Ultra (FT80) in 2023.

KTD

KTD stands for Koromo Track Development. KTD is the in-house tuning shop for all Koromo vehicles as well as the motorsport division for Koromo as a whole.

It all started in 1972, after a British driver, Andrew Matthew, decided to run with Koromo cars in the FIMV Rally competitions. In this same year, he created Matthew Sports, and began a rallying program for Koromo. This caught the attention of the company after several victories between 1973 and 1980. In 1981, Koromo acquired Matthew Sports and renamed it to the name we know today. Since then, KTD has been synonymous with Rally racing, as the brand won multiple FIMV Cape Verde Rally competitions.

Koromo put themselves to the test and let KTD teams join both the 24h GrinVits races and the American Stock Car Racing Series. They were successful as well, having a winning streak of 7 years in a row on the former.

The label turned its head to their own commercial vehicles, offering custom tuned versions of Koromo cars with the KTD badge on them.

Featured Vehicles In Project Redline

Regular

Laurus KTD (2022)

The twelfth generation of the Laurus now comes with its own KTD tuning, for those that want maximum performance for their daily driver. There’s not much to say other than it makes a remarkable daily driver even better, and can be taken to a local race track without issues. It is available in hatchback, sedan and estate/wagon versions.

Powering this Laurus is a 2.0L inline-4 engine in a F4 configuration and with a 6-speed manual transmission.

Ultra (FT80) (2023)

The revival of a classic, the new Ultra launched in 2019 and was met with much criticism, mostly for not being a true Koromo car, as it was made in a collaboration with HFW. But make no mistake, this is a Koromo car, through and through, a worthy successor to the FT60. This 2023 version is a refreshed version with additional goodies.

The Ultra comes with a 3.0L HFW-made turbocharged inline-6 engine, in a FR configuration and a 6-speed manual transmission.

Navi KTD (2020)

Koromo took their common hatchback Navi and made it track-able. The Navi KTD is the answer to the Erin Monarch GR and many similar hot hatches, as the market got more and more competitive. One unique aspect of the Navi KTD is that it’s only available as a three-door hatchback, a contrast to the regular Navi with its five-door hatchback bodystyle.

Powering the Navi KTD is a 1.6L turbocharged inline-3 in a F4 configuration and a 6-speed manual transmission.

Narukami KTD (2021)

The third generation Narukami came with a new refreshed look and parts from KTD. A collaboration effort made with Hyades (and also sold by them under a different fascia and name), the Narukami is seen as the new affordable sports car of this generation.

The Narukami KTD comes with a 2.4L flat-4 engine with a FR configuration and a 6-speed manual transmission.

Radical CF GTC (2017)

The Radical CF (Competition Force) GTC is a racing version of the original Radical CF, made by KTD to participate in FIMV GTC. The end result is a fairly decent competitive vehicle that made a splash, having 5 wins in a row in its debut year.

It comes with a 5.4L V8 engine, in a FR configuration and with a 6-speed semi-automatic transmission.

Narukami Stealth (1984)

The more loved first-degree cousin of the Laurus back in the day, the Narukami was essentially the fifth generation Laurus but with some different minor parts, in a liftback bodystyle. While the Stealth had pop-up frontlights to make it unique from the Laurus for many, what made the car a success was the fact that it was light, affordable, easily modifiable, and came with a FR configuration, making it perfect for racing, finding its footing in Drifting. And of course, a certain manga and anime series.

It comes with a 1.6L inline-4 engine, in a FR configuration and 5-speed manual transmission.

Ultra (FT60) (1999)

The fourth generation Ultra launched in 1993 to universal praise. The design, engine, usability, drivability and ease to modify made the car one of the best and most known JDM vehicles in history. It has many years of refinement and the version presented here is from 1999, a complete rarity in the world, as it only sold 700 units in Japan until production ended in 2002. The Ultra FT60 was also very successful in racing, dominating the JGT Competitions from 1994 to 1997 before the Horizon R JGT showed up.

Powering this classic is a twin-turbocharged 3.0L inline-6 engine in a FR configuration, and a 6-speed manual transmission.

Custom

AT Hiko Ultra T880 (2001)

AT Hiko, a Japanese tuning company, took the Ultra and gave it a bit of a spa day, granting it new visuals with a new widebody kit, headlights, and wheels, as well tuning the incredibly famous engine to be even better.