Tiny car, massive attitude.
Daihatsu, an offspring of the Toyota brand, is known for building odd little cars and plans on bringing one of its cutest, the Copen, to the Tokyo Auto Salon this year.
The modified Copen Roadster will be joined by a van-boat, making this manufacturer one of the weirdest around, and we love that. Daihatsu will bring eight main models to this year's Salon, with some models being concept cars and others being modified versions of production cars.
The Copen Clubsport is based on the regular Copen Roadster, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. It seems to be a track-focused model in line with the track-spec versions of the Mazda MX-5.
This special Copen features round retro headlights, a rounded grille, sporty side skirts, a rear diffuser, a roll bar, and red-tipped exhaust tips. It rolls on a set of dark six-spoke JDM wheels and even features a tow strap poking out the front bumper.
The interior gets a set of sporty bucket seats. We're not sure of performance mods, but we wouldn't be surprised if this little Kei car has received some major suspension upgrades.
The next car on display will be the Hijet Jumbo Extend. This Kei truck is meant to be a support truck. It's an extended cab version of the standard vehicle and features a custom van box that can be extended for workshop space or camping. Daihatsu's Hijet also features a set of Volk TE37 wheels, as seen on the Copen Clubsport.
The Atrai Wildranger is a beefy-looking Kei car with all-terrain tires and tough bed liner spray on the bottom half of the vehicle, but the best part sits on top: it's a boat!
The Tanto Custom is more of a city car and features a sporty design with a massive grille, black and red paint job, and a ton of LED lighting.
The Tanto Funcross goes in the opposite direction of the Tanto Custom by adding off-road-looking bits and pieces, including chunky tires, a rugged front end complete with a bash plate, and rugged door trimmings. Thick roof rails show off this Kei car's active intentions.
The Move Canbus, Taft, and Hijet also get excellent appearance packages that will show face at the Tokyo Auto Salon show and include unique front fascias, wheels, and more.
Daihatsu might not be prominent in the US, but this brand of small vehicles still punches above its weight in Japan.
Keyword: Daihatsu Betting Big On Small Cars At 2023 Toyoko Auto Salon