Choro-Q Motors, an EV manufacturer that existed for a short period about 20 years ago
Akira Toriyama, known for his work on the manga Dr. Slump and character designs for Dragon Ball and the game Dragon Quest, passed away on 1 March 2024. We would like to express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. A fanatic of cars, aircraft, and other vehicles, he designed many fascinating machines in his works, and in the real world he also designed the QVOLT, a small one-seater electric car. We look back at the QVOLT and the micro EVs of Choro-Q Motors.
I want to make a Choro-Q that people can ride in!
Choro-Q Motors is a small EV manufacturer born in Japan at the beginning of the 21st century when EVs were still limited. The Choro-Q was a classic car-based toy from toy manufacturer Takara (now Takara Tomy), but it was not until 2002 that Takara decided to make a Choro-Q that could be driven by people, and established a subsidiary company, Choro-Q Motors Co Ltd, to produce “real Choro-Q cars”.
ChoroQ Motors made this dream a reality by entering the single-seater electric vehicle genre, which is classified as a motorized bicycle (four-wheeled). The company was supplied with the basic components for the Everyday Coms compact electric vehicle by Toyota-affiliated manufacturer Arako (now Toyota Auto Body), and the chassis was fitted with a comical, original-design body. The vehicle was developed and type certification was obtained by COX, which is known for its Volkswagen/Audi tuning work.
The small electric cars created by Choro-Q Motors were called the ‘Q Car’ series, and the first production car, the ‘Qi’, and the slightly later second series, the ‘U’, were released one after the other. Including other models that were never marketed, such as the prototype exhibited at the 2002 launch, there are currently seven known models, up to the last production model, the QVOLT, designed by Akira Toriyama.
But despite the buzz, Choro-Q Motors withdrew from the ‘car manufacturing’ business soon after its establishment. The challenge of a small electric car manufacturer came to an end after a short period.
With the help of “small car collector” Yuki Mizuguchi, AMW has interviewed five cars from his collection, including his QVOLT, to look back on the history of the Q car.
The first was the ‘Qi’, which looks very much like a Choro-Q
On 9 July 2002, when ChoroQ Motors was founded, the company announced three models: the ‘Qi’, the ‘U’, and the ‘QQ (Nine Nine)’. The first of those three vehicles to go on the market was the Qi.
The body size of the Qi was 2200 mm (length) x 1100 mm (width) x 1479 mm (height) and its production was limited to 999 units, named after the car. It is not a deformed version of a specific car, but has an original body design that is very Choro-Q-like.
This is an early batch model of the Qi, which was produced in a limited edition of 999 units, with a further 99 units produced in advance. Available in 13 optional colors in addition to the basic colors of red, yellow, and black, the Qi had the comical appearance of an amusement park ride, with an FRP body that had neither doors nor roof.
It was a true life-size toy, which explains why then-president Keita Sato said at the Q Car launch event at the time that “everyone who came back after the test drive was smiling”.
The second model is the ‘U’, which has both a roof and a cargo bed
This U is a more practical model with a front window, windscreen wipers, roof, and cargo bed.
At the time of the presentation, only a rendering sketch of the U was presented as the third Q-Car, but this U was the first Q-Car to go on the market after the first Q-Car, the Qi.
Shifting towards the practical side, the U was available in various specifications called Basic, Town, Surf, Pet, and Fishing, to suit the owner’s lifestyle. This would have been in line with the company’s direction, which at the time advocated being a ‘life entertainment company’. According to one theory, around 200 units were produced.
The phantom prototype ‘2010’ remained!
By the way, at the launch event held in early 2002 before the Q cars went on the market, two models were displayed: the ‘2010’, which incorporated the image of a ‘future sports car’ into the Choro-Q design language, and the retro-futuristic ‘Modern Times’.
The 2010 and Modern Times unveiled at the presentation were prototypes only and were never marketed in their original form. The futuristic 2010 was renamed Qi with a more Choro-Q-like rounded design, and was the first of the Q cars to go on the market.
It was thought that the 2010, which was built as a complete show model, would never appear on the market, but Mr Mizuguchi found out several years ago that only two 2010s produced at the time were still in existence and negotiated with the people involved. His enthusiasm finally led him to acquire a 2010.
The 2010 had been sitting in a warehouse for about 20 years since its launch in 2002, with damage to various parts, but Mr Mizuguchi restored it with his own hands, replacing all the batteries with new ones and repairing damaged parts, and in 2023 he was able to acquire the number.
The ‘Modern Times’ prototype of the ‘QQ’
The Modern Times, which was unveiled at the same time as the aforementioned ‘2010’, at the 2002 launch, was renamed QQ and launched as the third Q car, but the prototype Modern Times is presented here.
Officially, it is only an original design, but one look at its retro-futuristic appearance and you can tell that it was based on the Rumpler ‘Tropfenwagen’ presented at the Berlin Motor Show in 1921. This model boasted a streamlined design and a Cd value of 0.28, an astonishing figure at the time, and was also featured as the car of the future in the film “Metropolitan”. Combined with the car’s name, which seems to have been inspired by a Chaplin film, this is a full-size Choro-Q with a real sense of humor.
This one was also acquired by Mr Mizuguchi after he negotiated its acquisition from rotting away in a warehouse with the ‘2010’, and many consumable parts were replaced, including the battery, and the damaged body and interior were repaired to complete the restoration. 2023 and the number was obtained.
The QVOLT, the last Q car, of which only nine were produced
The QVOLT was the last mass-produced production model of the successive Q cars produced by Choro-Q Motors. All previous Q cars were designed in-house, but the QVOLT, as mentioned above, was designed by manga artist/designer Akira Toriyama.
Akira Toriyama, who was already known as a nationally popular manga artist at the time thanks to the huge success of “Dragon Ball”, fully demonstrated his passion and sense for mecha, and is said to have spent more than a year working on the design, which was outstandingly perfect, even compared to previous Q cars.
The appearance is reminiscent of the show rods of the American West Coast, and the chrome parts cleverly placed in various parts are also effective. The unstable aspect ratio of the moped car on which it is based is emphasized by the long grille and single eye light like the Ford Edsel of yesteryear, achieving both a ‘Choro-Q feel’ and an ‘Akira Toriyama taste’.
Although the car was not inexpensive at the time of its launch, priced at 1.99 million yen (Approx. 14,000 USD), it was introduced in “Weekly Shonen Jump” magazine, and due to the rarity of being limited to just nine units worldwide, it was said to have sold out immediately after its announcement.
This unit is chassis number “1”. It was the same chassis that was used for the QVOLT catalog photo shoot, with the autograph of ‘Toriyama Akira’ on the bonnet. The car is currently in good condition and participates in events in the neighborhood. Of the nine cars produced in total, Mr Mizuguchi is aware of only six at the moment.
translated by DeepL