20 years have passed since the MINI-Z was born in 1999. Since its debut, people have been fascinated by the beautifully crafted bodies and sporty driving characteristics of the 1/28 scale RC car that fits on the palm of your hand. So much so, the MINI-Z has become the major part of the KYOSHO brand portfolio. In this commemorative year of 2019, we asked the original MINI-Z developers about the development of the MINI-Z and their thoughts about the next 20 years.
Kazumasa Hirotani
KYOSHO CORPORATION R&D Group Product Development
“Lovers of real RC cars, model enthusiasts, and real car enthusiasts ... The MINI-Z was born for all car lovers to enjoy. This has been true for the past 20 years and will remain true for the next 20 years.
"I want to create something with scale realism superior to any other manufacturer and with a body design that realizes outstanding driving performance", says Kazumasa Hirotani, the manager of body development including MINI-Z body modeling, coloring, decals, and body structure design.
“The MINI-Z is loved by a wide range of people, from core fans of RC cars to fans of real cars. My predecessor was familiar with both model cars and real cars, but designed models that especially appealed to fans of real cars. I'm trying to design models that resonate with RC car fans while keeping with the concept of my predecessor. Specifically, the main body was thick and hard to break. By changing the thickness of the top and side walls, the design focuses on a lower center of gravity over appearance.
Given the precision scale, this was extremely effective in producing a body with authenticity that drives like a real car. Achieving the optimal balance between scale appearance and chassis driving performance is the essence of the MINI-Z. This is much easier said than done, but that’s what makes this job so rewarding."
The development of RC cars for the enjoyment of driving focuses attention on the development of the chassis and impose restrictions on the design of the body. The ultimate goal is to reproduce a body in the MINI-Z size with the accuracy of a die-cast model. This remains the greatest challenge.
“If the chassis and body don’t work well together, the whole model hasn’t been made well. Fortunately, I am the same age as Iwasaki, who is in charge of the chassis, and both of us love real cars. I think that the next generation MINI-Z has been developed with the same values and direction. While we eat lunch together, we discuss how the body can evolve to become more like a real car, but what about the chassis? This kind of good communication will also be useful in the future development of the MINI-Z.
The two developers responsible for the next generation MINI-Z development answer this question with Hirotani designing the Civic Type R body on Iwasaki’s FWD chassis. While going through the responses to the MINI-Z New Body Idea Campaign was, Hirotani started considering what new models should be created.
“If the chassis and body don’t work well together, the whole model hasn’t been made well. Fortunately, I am the same age as Iwasaki, who is in charge of the chassis, and both of us love real cars. I think that the next generation MINI-Z has been developed with the same values and direction. While we eat lunch together, we discuss how the body can evolve to become more like a real car, but what about the chassis? This kind of good communication will also be useful in the future development of the MINI-Z.
“There are as many ideas as there are people and so there are different cars that each person has a passion for. As a developer, I would like to fulfill all these wishes. I would like to make the Supra, which was also the most popular suggestion. It seems to be an interesting MINI-Z, both in terms of model design and running performance.
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