Koji

Koji
Color	Red
Occupation	Touge racer
First appearance	Cars: Mater-National Championship
Main performer(s)	Masi Oka
Character information Gender Male Home Japan

Koji (Japanese: 麹) is a Japanese drift racer and major character in the Radiator Springs International story arc. A focused and technical competitor, Koji got his start in Touge racing.

Biography

In approximately 2007, Koji traveled to Carburetor County to partake in the Radiator Springs International, a racing championship hosted by Lightning McQueen to celebrate his completed Racing Headquarters. Upon arrival, Koji's high speeds earned him a ticket from Sheriff. McQueen himself first encountered Koji while driving into Tailfin Pass, whom nearly crashed into him in the midst of a high-speed drift race – Le Mans superstar Otto followed a moment later, trailed distantly by dogged locals Vince and Sonny – the final indicator of a street race in action.

McQueen later found Koji outside the Wheel Well and introduced himself, only to receive a lengthy Japanese reply. Mater (the self-proclaimed speaker) attempted to translate, agreeing McQueen to (apparently) a race "backwards, blindfolded, on four flat tires." McQueen hurried after Koji to ensure he wouldn't find himself in trouble.

After a thrilling bout through the Tailfin canyons and an alarmingly daring stunt by Mater, Koji later took part in the circuit's final stadium race against McQueen, Emma, Giovanni, Otto, and Gudmund. The group took a celebratory photograph alongside the Radiator Springs townfolk.

Specifications

Koji is painted red, with white designs towards his rear. He has a black hood and spoiler, as well as the word "Kojimoto" painted on both of his doors in white. He is modeled after a Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33), his bodykit could be inspired by the Nissan Fairlady Zs that raced in the JGTC in the GT300 class. Books A Day at the Races and Racing Days in Radiator Springs portray him with a gray paint job.

Koji is an incredibly talented Japanese drift racer, with incredible powerslides and drifts. He is a relatively speedy character, with outstanding handling.

Behind the scenes

A non-final character render, featuring slightly different stickers and decals.

Koji was designed by artist Jeff Garstecki. His model was built in Autodesk Maya, textured in Adobe Photoshop, and rigged in Max.

Appearances

Title	Year	Notes
A Day at the Races	2009
Racing Days in Radiator Springs	2011

• Cars: Mater-National Championship

Profiles and statistics

• Bio
• "Koji comes from the world of downhill Touge Racing, commonly known as drifting. Much of Koji's success is attributed to his light and manoeuvrable style of driving. He prides himself on his ability to take turns with wide, screeching, smoking power slides. Koji treats his sport as a science - he's extremely competent, but he's not so focused that he forgets to have fun."

Koji can be unlocked as a playable character by purchasing him for 40,000 bonus points. He also has an alternate green paint job that can be purchased for 40,000 bonus points. In the Wii and PS3 versions of the game, there are three more paint jobs that can be purchased for him, all of which also cost 40,000 bonus points.

• Stats
  • Boost: 2
  • Acceleration: 3
  • Handling: 5
  • Stability: 3

Gallery

• 

  Cars: Mater-National Championship

• 

  Koji at the character select screen

• 

  Character icon from Cars: Mater-National Championship

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  Character icon from Cars: Mater-National Championship

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  Character icon from Cars: Mater-National Championship

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  Character icon from Cars: Mater-National Championship

• 

  Character icon from Cars: Mater-National Championship

Trivia

• Koji is the only character unique to the game not to speak English despite the fact his voice actor can speak English.
• Koji's Russian name translated to English, Hiro, is still used in the coding of other languages of Cars: Mater-National Championship.