01
A thorny path
Advanced development was approved at a management meeting in February, and what awaited Hirai, appointed chief engineer, was a thorny path. The project came with the condition of using an overseas development contractor, but he judged that the prototype design drawings sent from the British contractor could not be used to develop a production car, argued for switching to in-house development, and his first job became ending the contract with that company. When the planning and design department refused to help, he appealed directly to Director Matsui of the technical research center and got four or five engineers, but they had no experience at all in layout work. Believing the only way to make up for the shortage of people was with computers, he introduced 3D CAD and had the computer draw the basic layout.
02
Drawings made after hours on a drafting board in the parking lot
The first Roadster began as a small in-house project short of both budget and people. Kijima, who was handling the suspensions of trucks and the RX-7, joined Toshihiko Hirai's team and drew plans on weekends and outside working hours on a drafting board he brought into the design division's parking lot. When the department responsible turned down improvements to drivetrain parts, he drew those plans himself too, though they were outside his specialty.
03
Assembling it himself to get the PPF through
To give shape to Jinba Ittai, Kijima proposed the power plant frame (PPF), which connects the rear of the transmission to the differential, and double wishbones front and rear. The PPF was a first for a Japanese car, but it met resistance from the plant, which built it on the same line as front-wheel-drive cars. Kijima went to the plant and showed that it could be put together in a form even an assembly amateur could assemble, which won over the shop floor.
