Kuruma
- "Sentinal" redirects here. For the another sedan officially known as the "Sentinel", see Sentinel article.
The Kuruma is a four-door sedan seen in Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
| Kuruma | |
|---|---|
 A Kuruma in GTA III. | |
| Appearance(s) |
[[Appearance::GTA III GTA Liberty City Stories]] |
| Also known as | Sentinal (During GTA III development) |
| Vehicle type | Civilian car |
| Body style | 4-door sedan |
| Capacity | 4 (driver and 3 passengers) |
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Overview
Design
The word "kuruma" means "automobile" in Japanese (車), which may suggest that the car is of Japanese origin. However, the car is loosely based on a 1998–2004 Dodge Intrepid and a 2001–2003 Chrysler Sebring. For GTA Liberty City Stories, the Kuruma has slight cosmetic changes to make it look like a generic Japanese sedan during the late 1990s, the front appearing to resemble a 1994–1997 Honda Accord; it also comes with colored or uncolored (gray) bumpers and trims, giving it the appearance of an economy car.
The Kuruma is the first car made available to the player in both GTA III and GTA Liberty City Stories, in the missions "Give Me Liberty" and "Home Sweet Home", respectively, probably due to the fact that it handles relatively neutrally. When originally introduced in GTA III, the car is not seen driven on the streets of Portland, but is parked in various locations in the island; in GTA Liberty City Stories, the car is present in Portland traffic.
During development of GTA III, the Kuruma was originally known as the "Sentinal", not to be confused by the Sentinel, another sedan in the final version of the same game, in which it was previously known as the "Beamer" during development. Prior to the game's release, the Kuruma is presumed to have been renamed, while the "Sentinal" name found its way into the Beamer, resulting in the Beamer being renamed the "Sentinel".
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Performance
The Kuruma is powered by a small, yet gutsy, engine, most likely a four-cylinder, channeled to the front wheels. Whilst the engine is powerful enough to propel the light Kuruma to high straight line speeds, the front wheel drive layout causes understeer. Players may therefore favor using the handbrake to swing round turns at high speed.
The Kuruma possesses almost identical handling properties to the GTA III rendition of the Taxi.
Variant
The FBI Car in GTA III is a Kuruma-based law enforcement sedan for use by FBI agents, prominently painted black and features a higher ride height as well as a blue dashboard-mounted strobe light.
Trivia
- The Kuruma has appeared as both a wreck and a working car in Manhunt and Manhunt 2, respectively.
- The Kuruma is referenced in an episode of CBS crime drama "NCIS" where a witness tells Ziva David that the getaway car was a "Kuruma", who gets told by her superiors that "kuruma" means car, and that her description of the car is car. Agent McGee steps in and tells his confused co-workers: "Kuruma is the name of a car in Grand Theft Auto III, it's a Chrysler Sebring Sedan, boss."
Locations
- GTA III
- Head Radio Studio, Hepburn Heights, Portland.
- Greasy Joe's Café, Callahan Point, Portland.
- Docks, Portland Harbor, Portland.
- Momma's Restaurant, Saint Mark's, Portland.
- Capital Autos, Harwood, Portland.
- Liberty Tree parking lot, Bedford Point, Staunton Island.
- Carson General Hospital, Rockford, Staunton Island.
- AMCo. Petroleum Company Headquarters, Torrington, Staunton Island.
- In a car park, near the apartments, in Wichita Gardens, Shoreside Vale.
- GTA Liberty City Stories
- Parked outside Vincenzo's warehouse in Atlantic Quays, Portland. The car is uniquely black.
- In Saint Mark's, parked where you dropped off the drugs for Salvatore from the Cartel in the mission Contra-Banned.
- Spawns regularly on all three islands.
- Easy Credit Autos, Harwood, Portland.