Hiromu Naruse: Cooking with the Nur Meister

Hiromu Naruse: 1943 – 2010 – “The Man Who Knows All Roads”, liked to “shake n’ bake” and according to the great man;

“Just as in cuisine, the ‘flavor’ of a car is quite important…”

The 60′s…

“I want to create cars that have a unique Japanese flavor like the famous five-story pagodas in Nara and Kyoto, and compete against European cars.”

Hiromu Naruse joined the Toyota Motor Corporation in 1963 as a temporary staff member in the vehicle Evaluation and Engineering Division. Even though he had managed to obtain a foothold on the first corporate rung, a worthy stack of credentials in mechanics and accounting looked set to pull him toward a different division within the company but the desire to work in the fast growing Motorsports section paid dividends with Naruse eventually working his way up to become a test driver.

His first claim to fame came by being involved with the development of Toyota’s first sports car; the diminutive Toyota Sports 800 or as it’s known among enthusiasts, the Yota-Hachi (Toyota8) – a car made to compete directly with Honda’s S800.

“…Japanese companies focus too much on eliminating imperfections.”

Hiromu Naruse proved a deft hand behind the wheel as well as in front of a milling machine or under a car and during the first 10 years of his position there, had proven himself to the point where he was assigned a leading position in the development of the legendary Toyota 7…

“The main point is that this is an issue of balance. If we focus only on the imperfections and completely eliminate them, the quality that existed until then would probably be destroyed.”

…and the even more legendary Toyota 2000GT; the crowning jewel in all of Toyota’s automotive history.

“To create good flavor, it is important to accentuate the good points (strengths) rather than eliminate every imperfection.”

The 70′s…

These were life changing times for the impressionable, likable Japanese and with every challenge came added with it, an equal measure of responsibility, a weight he accepted gladly; a weight he transferred into his passion to make the best sports cars the planet had ever experienced.

“If we were to create an all-round vehicle with no imperfections that practically no one would dislike, it wouldn’t have any flavor. European automakers understand this well.”

Naruse was instrumental in many of the sports cars that came from Toyota, including this early foray into grand touring for the masses with the 1600GT.

It wasn’t only the 1600GT that fell under his spell though, for all the Toyota Celicas of the 70′s and 80′s also bear his mark… including the TA22 from the early 70′s…

…the RA23 from the mid 70′s…

…and the Mustang inspired, fast back RA25 and RA28 from the late 70′s…

“In my case, when seasoning, I ask and answer questions by myself from the perspective of the customer…”

A swift move by Toyota to Switzerland during the 1970′s, put Hiromu in a position where he was able to help mold the fledgling Toyota Motorsports group into something much more focused and victory minded. Along with his work putting together the team for the Nurburgring and Spa-Francorchamps races, he also helped spearhead the development of everything that Toyota was developing for the circuit in Europe…

The 80′s…

“As automotive manufacturing has recently entered the CAD/CAM era, people like to replace everything with data and calculate everything by computers. Data, however, only indicates results in numeral form; the figures cannot represent transient characteristics that occur only momentarily. This is also the case with cooking, as the flavor is determined in an instant.”

During the 80′s, the ultimately chuckable, universally acclaimed AE86 became forever attributed to the successes of Hiromu Naruse…

…along with the Z20 Soarer…

…the front wheel traction of the ST165 Celica…

…the classic mid-ship rear wheel drive supercharged MR-2…

…and the highway bruising JZA70 Supra…

The 90′s…

“…I fear that we are becoming over-dependent on the computers.”

Hiromu Naruse continued with his relentless quest to perfect the sports car cooking process and in the 90′s churned out some of the most memorable of all cars the motorsport and tuning world have ever known, including the powerhouse JZA80…

…the packed full o’ firepower luxo barge Z30 Soarer…

…the all conquering ST185 WRC Celica…

…the compact FR sport IS200/300 platform of 1998…

and the Midship platformed MR-S of 1999.

His time in Europe at Toyota saw him become the Japanese “Meister of the ‘ring”, having completed more laps around the legendary circuit than anyone from Japan has ever done before. To see that his life would be cut short outside the compounds of the track smacks of bitter-sweet irony…

In Italy, Ferrari gifted him the name of “Nur Meister” – and the automotive world hung on every translated word he said…

When I speak to European engineers, they often talk about “agility.” They say things like “This car is agile” or “It’s not agile.” I do not speak English well (my discussions with Europeans are generally conducted in Japanese; rather than speak in halting English or use interpreters, it is easier to convey information in Japanese when talking to other engineers), so I don’t understand the underlying meaning, but I have taken “agility” to mean that the balance is good or well-connected, so I answer, “That’s right-‘taste’ is crucial for a car.” This is enough to establish a conversation, so I do believe that what we are trying to say is universal.

The 2k’s…

“Races are the best forum for handing down craftsmanship and nurturing human resources. Unexpected things happen all the time and things that must be done out of necessity occur constantly. It is necessary to skillfully and accurately solve problems with limited time and tools. These types of things do not happen within a computer, but happen right before our eyes.”

Few could analyze the way a car behaved better than Naruse, a man who constantly, almost with religious fervor, sought to perfect the Japanese sports car to levels an engineer would be envious of. It is this authors opinion that without the input of Hiromu Naruse, Toyota would be a mere shadow of itself, void of spark and passion, with sports cars lacking anything engaging or endearing and least of all in any way timeless.

The fact that Hiromu Naruse was intricately instrumental in the 10 year gestation of arguably the greatest ever supercar to come out of Japan speaks of the influence of this softly spoken and tireless individual.

“The word “can’t” does not exist at the racetrack.”

The death of Naruse at 67 years of age has hit the automotive community hard and yet, little effort need be made to ensure his legacy will not go to waste.

For where he passed on, lays an open book that spans an entire generation of car enthusiasts, containing cars that appeal to people across an age span of nearly 50 years.

His death, while tragic and untimely, ultimately resulted in Hiromu Naruse passing from this life into the next doing something he loved; a passion he devoted his energy and time to over the course of a 50 year career and one that bore the fruit of a generation.

Something all of us need to take with a pinch of salt…

Words: Adam Zillin

Photos: Toyota and Gazoo racing

Quotes: Gazoo Racing