KAP Limited
KAP Limited (Kaldestad Automobiles of Prymont) is the largest automobile manufacturer in the United States of Prymont, a subsidiary of the Kaldestad Aamot Group. KAP Limited was formed in 1954, when founder Gunnar Kaldestad renamed the original company Kaldestad Racing Automobiles, to appeal to a wider market.
History
1920s - 1940s
Gunnar Kaldestad, the son of Aelmount mine tycoon Imre, was raised in the lap of luxury. While his father earned a fortune from his various wide scale mining operations in the Paranoff Mountain Range, Gunnar was left to pursue his dreams with a seemingly unlimited amount of capital. In the late 1910s, the young Kaldestad took up the recently founded automobile racing. He was fairly successful in the Argic racing scene, but believed that he could make better cars than the ones he was driving.
In 1926, he filed for a company, Kaldestad Racing Automobiles, to be founded in Fairview, Aelmount. Using his father's money, he purchased a row of garages in a mining village and hired local engineers to work for him when they'd finished their mining jobs. KRA's first car, the O1, was released in July 1926 to participate in summer Argic events. Driven by Kaldestad, it won its first event in 1926, and then went on to win the 1927 Argic Automobile Championship with minor upgrades. Powered by a front-mounted 1.9l straight 9 engine producing 140bhp, the O1 proved to be incredibly successful, and paved the way for KRA's future in racing and road cars.
While the O1 brought in race winnings in its triumphant reign over Argis' racing scene, Kaldestad was able to hire more engineers and develop newer cars. With a newfound love for automotive management, Gunnar expanded his business into road-going cars, releasing the Folly in 1929. KRA found a niche market in the wealthy and famous, who were interested in buying eccentric, powerful cars to show off their financial status. Banking on the successes of the O1 and Folly, the innovative yet unreliable O2 was produced in 1931. Running a unique two engine setup, the car was troublesome and heavy. While powerful, its mechanical woes were unable to be surmounted, and the O2 only achieved the best result of 3rd at the 1931 Trofeo de Iverica.
With the O1 now retired and the O2 not bringing ample race winnings, KRA needed to produce more road vehicles. In 1932 the Folly II was released, providing chassis and cosmetic updates of the original Folly. The Folly II would provide enough funding for KRA to revert to the basics and release the O3 in 1933. Building on the successful foundations of the O1 and innovative technologies of the O2, the O3 was an incredibly dominant car, and went on to win over thirty races in a three-year period. KRA were quickly establishing themselves as a dominant force in the motor racing scene, and were able to hire top drivers to ensure further success. The road going Folly III was released a year later, banking on KRA's racing victories and appealing to motoring enthusiasts.
Now with substantial funding from the O3's race victories and expensive one-off variants of the Folly II and III for wealthy clients, KRA were able to take risks with their next generation racing vehicles. In 1935, two models were released. The O4 ran a supercharged straight 8 engine, while the O5 used a much more powerful V12. Neither car were successful, as the O4 struggled from a severe power deficit and the O5 faced awful handling issues, often being referred to as a 'boat' to drive. Over a three-year period, the two cars won eleven races between them. Kaldestad knew that he had to act fast if he wanted to save his company. With loans from his father, he bought a sizeable warehouse and began quickly developing a host of new vehicles to recover KRA's recent losses.
1950s-1970s
The fifties started well for KAP. Their O4 was dominating in formula categories worldwide, and while Cinnibar sales were almost nonexistent due to the age of the car, it was proof that the public were interested in purchasing thoroughbred road legal Prymontian cars. With the revenue he'd made from race winnings and Cinnibar sales, Gunnar Kaldestad purchased a factory in Canastota, Ostport, to produce more public vehicles. Approximately half of the factory was also dedicated to the finest racing cars to continue pursuing his passion.
Production soon began on the Gamboge, KRA's first executive car. It would also be the last road legal car produced with the KRA logo. It was a hit across Prymont, and Gunnar quickly began negotiating with the Ostportese government to cut export tariffs to sell his car across the world. In 1954, three years after production on the Gamboge started, Gunnar made the executive decision to give his company a more generalised name, and thus, Kaldestad Automobiles of Prymont was born. The racing division became KRT, or KAP Racing Team, and would be a staple in motorsports for decades to come.
On the back of the success of the Gamboge, the Arylide was released in 1958 as a compact executive car. A coupé/spider followed the year later, named Tangelo. Meanwhile, in the world of racing, the O4 was receiving regular upgrades but was quickly becoming obsolete as competitors utilised newer technologies to create lighter, faster cars. Gunnar faced a dilemma: should he reinvest his hard earned money into auto racing, or continue making large profits on the public streets? He chose the latter, opting to develop the Gamboge and Tangelo models further to appeal to more customers.
The O4 was failing to win any races in the early 1960s and was reluctantly retired. Gunnar wanted to continue making road cars, but his desire to race was too strong. To combat this, he made a car that suited both markets. The Chartreuse was released in 1964, and a racing version was released soon after. As the Gamboge and Arylide reached the end of their production cycles, new dedicated road cars were required. From 1965 to 1968, several models were released: first the Citrine in 1965 (also used for racing), the Princeton in 1966 which offered retro styling with modern technologies, the compact executive Cardinal in 1967, and the Redwood sports car in 1968.
In 1968, KAP released a new race car that would last, in various iterations, for another decade: the O5. It was a move to sports cars that was foreshadowed with the Chartreuse and Redwood, the latter of which the O5 was based on. A year later, the O51 would be released into the racing world, dominating the international sports car and endurance scene.
With the wide variety of road cars released in the 1960s lasting KAP several years due to updates every other year, the company returned to focusing more on racing. In 1973 the O52 was released, again dominating its classes. It was succeeded in 1976 by the O53, which focused on evolution more than revolution and also dominated. By this point KAP realised that there was no longer a challenge on the sports car scene, and started to work on a return to the open-wheel formula.
However, their recent focus on racing led to declining sales in road cars. Engineers and interior designers were always working on upgrading their cars, but the public wanted something that fitted the current decade. Revenue from the road cars had gone into racing, and while their racing ventures had been highly successful, there simply wasn't enough capital for KAP to push out a variety of new cars like they did in the late 60s. In a last ditch attempt to salvage some purchases, the Ecru was issued in 1977. It was a fairly successful vehicle, but only selling one model hurt KAP's profit margins and market share.
Despite the lack of a long-term capital, KAP returned to formula racing with the O6 in 1977. They hoped that, after a couple of years, a true engineering team could be established to create stunningly fast cars. The end goal was to dominate the open-wheel scene in the mid 1980s as they'd done with the sportscar scene in the 1970s. The O6 utilised a naturally aspirated flat 12, and proved to be a fairly successful package for KAP's return to formula racing. The engine was powerful, the chassis competent, and the team went on to lead several laps, score one pole position, two podiums, and two fastest laps.
Financial issues from the lack of road car sales meant that the O6 had to be used for 1978 also, with minimal upgrades. Still, the car scored two podiums and was deemed a generally quick car. In 1979, the team was once again forced to use the same chassis. Gunnar Kaldestad feared that his team would be comically noncompetitive this year, and dredged up the last of his funding for one final, risky upgrade. Welcome the O61, a car with redesigned bodywork that accommodated a large fan at the rear of the car. This fan literally sucked the car to the ground, generating insane amounts of downforce and allowing for dangerously high cornering speeds. In the first race it entered, the O61 secured a front row lockout. After a competitor spilled oil on the track, many cars were seen spinning off, but the O61 was seemingly unaffected by this. After winning the race in dominant style, the teams ran to the governing body to complain.
Visto, who had utilised ground effect on their current cars, were afraid that KAP would challenge their dominance of the sport. They petitioned for the fan to be banned, but the ruling body agreed to do so only at the end of the season. With the O61's loophole safe, the team went on to win one of the most dominant formula championships ever seen.
North Prymont, where the company was headquartered, was facing economic struggles in the early 1970s and imposed large export tariffs on luxury items, which KAP fell under. This hurt the international sale figures for the Ecru, and Gunnar handed the company over to his son Robert, a budding young businessman who believed he could revolutionise KAP to become a heavy hitter in the automotive world once again.
1980s-2000s
1980 was the first full year with Robert Kaldestad at the helm of the company. He began phasing out the Ecru in preparation for revitalising KAP. Hundreds of millions of Prynds were set aside for the next generation of cars. Workers in Ostport and North Prymont factories were laid off in favour of an Iverican factory with cheaper labour. The factory in Ostport continued developing formula cars, with the 1980 competitor being the O7, featuring a new chassis, a new V12, and adjustable dampers. It was a fairly decent chassis, scoring two podiums throughout the season. However, more work needed to be done, and for that, they needed a bigger budget.
1981 saw the first car fully overseen by Robert Kaldestad. The Jonquil, a 2+2 coupé, would set the standard for KAP's mid-level sports cars. Featuring a rear wheel drive 2.6l V8, it proved immensely popular across Prymont and the rest of the world. The only thing hurting sales figures in the long run was the slightly high purchase price due to the materials used. However, it gave KAP enough capital to further develop their upcoming lineup, while also allocating funds for their racing projects. 1981 introduced the world to the O8, yet again another car with a V12 that scored several podiums. This time, the car demonstrated serious speed as it scored a pole position. Unfortunately, it was unable to covert that into a win.
The company wasn't due to release its next model until 1985. This would hurt sales figures, but despite the cheaper, quicker workforce in Iverica, production could not be accelerated. Once again, the manufacturer had to rely on race winnings to make a profit, which was becoming increasingly difficult. As the level of competition rose, more funding was required to keep up. However, the team simply couldn't raise enough funds due to a lack of substantial race earnings. Wealthy sponsors weren't stepping up because great results couldn't be expected, and thus KAP Racing Team found themselves in a very difficult position. Changes in the regulations upped costs even more, requiring the team to select a turbocharged V8 with a totally new chassis. Enter the O9, KAP's 1982 challenger. The engine was powerful, and gave the team two 2nd place finishes alongside a fastest lap, but again, it wasn't worthy of a win.
Because of a lack of funding, an updated version of the O9, the O91, was ran in 1983. Again, it proved to be a fast car, but was unable to keep up with its richer competitors. 1984's O-10 was the start of the end for KAP in the formula series. It was harsh on fuel, meaning it often ran out during races - other DNFs were caused by severe unreliability. When it was able to finish, mechanical errors plagued the car and resulted in poor positions. 1985's O-11 was no better. With no funds, the chassis was poorly designed and hard to drive. With the drivers crashing out regularly due to the abysmal handling, costs soared and before the end of the season, KAP pulled the plug on the project.
However, 1985 was not a fully negative year for KAP. Two new models were released - the Alizarin, a small family car powered by a variety of small engines, and the Rosewood, a compact executive car that would reinvigorate KAP's love for motorsports. A turbocharged V6 version was released in 1986, and in 1987 a fully-kitted race version entered the Argis Touring Car Championship. It was highly successful, and saw the return of KAP to auto racing.
Despite the positive sales figures of the Alizarin and Rosewood, KAP's executive car, the Persimmon of 1986, was a commercial failure. Critics blamed the front wheel drive, lack of modern styling and cheap materials, and production soon ended in 1988. KAP's final car of the 80s was the cult icon Flax, a rear-wheel drive V6 monster that caught the eye of many investors. The Jonquil and Rosewood ended production in 1990, opening the door for new models.
The only model released in 1990 was the Sunglow, the successor to the Persimmon. Several engine variants were available, including two V6s, but once again it was a commercial disaster. Since the failure of the Persimmon, the public didn't trust KAP with developing a good executive car, and very few people bothered to buy the Sunglow. Not all hope was lost however, as leftover chassis were developed into a mid-engined V12 sports car that would run in the KAP Touring Challenge, hosted in Prymont in 1991. The car was a huge hit amongst racing fans, and encouraged KAP to return to the touring car scene after the retirement of the Rosewood.
With the Sunglow and Flax being retired in 1991, KAP were only offering one model. Still, the Alizarin shone through, a successful car that proved KAP still had what it takes to develop a popular vehicle. Regardless, more models were required to turn a profit, and so in 1992, the Coral entered the market. It succeeded the popular Rosewood in both public sales figures and touring car performances. In 1993 the Coral V6 GTR entered the Argis Touring Car Championship, and dominated the series for four years straight. KAP had finally cracked the racing scene once again.
Due to the success the Coral V6 GTR saw in 1993, KAP started developing a sportscar prototype for 1994. The O-12 was a naturally aspirated V10 machine of pure beauty, designed to take on the best of the best in the International Prototype Championship. It entered the first qualifying session of the season and secured pole - however, the team were unable to compete in the race due to a last minute spark plug failure. A lack of funding meant the O-12 withdrew from the championship before the next race.
In 1995, KAP released its first coupé sports car since the Jonquil. The Marigold, also sporting a Spider variant, was front-wheel drive. While many enthusiasts preferred a rear-wheel drive sports car for better handling and power output, the Marigold was still a successful seller and would be available for a decade. A year later, the Coquelicot executive car was released. It succeeded the Sunglow, but rectified many of the issues KAP had faced with an executive model and was generally successful, albeit expensive. It remains to date the last executive car released by the Prymontian company.
In 1997 the Coral was retired, and then in 1998 the long-standing Alizarin followed suit. With only two models on the market, KAP's revenue was once again falling, and newer models were needed. The workforce in Prymont was still adapting to the United States concept, and the Iverican employees were demanding small pay rises. Executive figures demanded new models, but Robert Kaldestad was unable to meet their requirements.
The governing board put KAP on the market and began searching for buyers. Desperate to retain his family company, Robert once again tried to issue a new generation of KAP cars, although this time, he would be commercially unsuccessful, and it wouldn't be enough to save his pride and joy.
To welcome in Y2K, Kaldestad unveiled the Vermilion, the son of the highly successful Alizarin. A GT adaptation was released soon after for a national racing series, which somewhat revitalised public interest in KAP. Four years later, the Goldenrod, a compact executive car that followed in the footsteps of the Rosewood and Coral models, was sold to the public. Unfortunately, Kaldestad was unable to produce units quick enough, and a buyer was found in Prymontian billionaire investor Erik Bruun.
Bruun had sympathy for Kaldestad, and gave him the position of vice-chairman on the executive board. He retired the Marigold in 2005 and began working on a new naming system for KAP to renew the public's interest and give the brand a breath of fresh air. The final car released in the 2000s was the first car to follow an alphanumerical naming system. The KAP R1 succeeded the recently retired Marigold as a front-wheel-drive coupé sports car, and the first in line of the prestigious 'R' line. It was released in 2008, a year after the Coquelicot was retired. The Vermilion and Goldenrod models also entered retirement in 2009, signifying the end of the coloured naming system and bringing KAP into a new golden era.
2010s-Present
2010 saw the introduction of three new models, all of which followed new styling initiatives, and two pursued new markets that were previously unknown to KAP. The K1 entered the supermini market, aiming to please environmental legislation in Prymont by reducing pollution levels and providing a city runner car for New Halsham. The K2 replaced the Vermilion, in a market that KAP had been highly successful in. Finally, the K5 became KAP's entry-level sportscar, only one step down from the R line. Together with an aggressive marketing campaign, interest in KAP was revitalised and profits soared through the roof with the four current models. Once again, KAP had returned to top form.
Many were worried that KAP would wear themselves out quickly, as they did in the 1960s and 1980s when several new models were introduced. Safeguarding measures were implemented, meaning that the K1, K2 and K5 models would receive facelifts and interior updates every three to five years to remain appealing. Sports - and super - cars would also be regularly released to appeal to more luxurious customers, while the middle and working class line-up would be filled over the coming years.
The R1 was retired in 2011, and a successor was immediately announced in the beautiful R2. The spiritual successor to the cult classic Flax, the R2 was the most powerful road-legal KAP car ever built, and also the most expensive at β300,000. It was retired two years later due to a limited run, and another successor in the R3 was produced. Once again, it broke KAP records, being the first ever mid-engined road car released by the company. This kept interest and profits high.
In 2014, KAP Limited acquired a 100% stake in fellow Prymontian car manufacturer Visto Cars. Oskar Visto, who had been an engineering apprentice for KAP in the 1940s during his teenage years, had split away from the company due to a disagreement and founded his own manufacturer, Visto Cars. Visto competed against KAP in the formula racing scene, and were incredibly successful. Their road car division, while famous, was not exactly profitable, and was suffering from potential bankruptcy in the late 2000s. As part of his initiative to revitalise KAP as a profitable business, Erik Bruun approached Hugo Visto, son of Oskar and CEO of Visto Cars, to fully purchase the company and turn it around.
2016 saw the rise of a legend. The K3, successor to the might Coral and Rosewood models, entered the market in style. Several variants were released at once, with it's rear-wheel drive chassis handling like a supercar. Critics called it the best KAP produced since the end of the 1990s, and it was a welcome return to the compact executive market. Like the Goldenrod however, a racing variant is yet to be released, and fans are worried that we won't see one at all.
While 2017 saw no new models, three units will be released in 2018 - the crossover SUV K6, the company's first fully electric EK, and the almighty R2 spiritual successor, the R4. With a K4 executive car also rumoured for 2018, KAP's future is looking ever brighter.
