Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 205: Amadeus' Antithesis

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 205: Amadeus' Antithesis

In my previous post in this series, I described how, and why, the 1990 WM Amadeus' size and weight forced rival manufacturers to make their hypercar competitors lighter and smaller, at the expense of creature comforts - but with a greater sense of exclusivity. Now, I'll show you another reason why other manufacturers decided to simplify and lighten their offerings in response: the KMA KS620. This small, light, fiberglass-bodied sports coupe was mid-engined, just like the Amadeus, but weighed a little over half as much, and had a 200-horsepower 2.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six mounted longitudinally in the middle, behind the passenger compartment and ahead of the rear wheels.

Above, from top: The 1990 KMA KS620 may have had only one-third as much power as the WM Amadeus that also debuted within the same year, but was far smaller and lighter, thanks to having fewer creature comforts within its fiberglass skin.

With a simple mid-grade cassette tape stereo and no driving aids (not even power steering or anti-lock brakes), this mid-engined pocket rocket was a far more visceral experience compared to the Amadeus (especially since the KS620 also had A-arm suspension front and rear, along with a 6-speed manual gearbox and helical limited-slip differential) - but one that was even less likely to be used as a daily driver. Even so, as a more straightforward tool for slicing up twisting back roads or purpose-built road courses, it was far wieldier than you'd expect for something not equipped with driving aids.

Serving as a smaller companion to the KX12 which I'd described earlier, this build was actually the result of repurposing and revising another challenge entry (which I did by cloning both the base model and engine family). The result was the KS620 - distinguished from its larger sibling by the option of a contrasting black roof (as shown here). However, this car is also the reason the 1995 HPG H2L (itself the subject of another previous post in this series) exists: I've just realized that the H2L is even lighter and smaller (due to its aluminum chassis and smaller four-cylinder engine) compared to the KS620. If HPG's engineers believed that the KS620, for all its virtues, could be improved upon still further, it might have inspired them to surpass it, and the best way to do so was to start work on the H2L.

In short, as a counterpoint to the WM Amadeus, the KS620 is every bit as amazing as its larger, far more expensive counterpart - and the origin of yet another rivalry.