1996 Daihatsu Hi-jet on 2040-cars

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Daihatsu bringing retro Copen roadster, van-boat to Tokyo Auto Salon

Though its products are almost universally small (aside from its rebadged Toyota offerings), Daihatsu seems as though it'll have a fairly large presence at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon. It's highlighting eight main models with a few of them sporting some pretty extensive and cool modifications. The more interesting models are likely just concepts, but occasionally some of these customs result in production variants, such as a wild retro Honda S660 concept from a couple years ago. Copen Clubsport Daihatsu's sportiest offering of late is the Copen roadster. And it's celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The kei-class roadster (shown at top) with its turbocharged 660cc engine has received drastic styling changes that put it more inline with the original. Those changes include round, retro headlights front and rear, and a much cuter round front grille. The cuter appearance is bolstered by racier appointments such as a roll bar, side skirts, rear diffuser and red-tipped exhaust outlets. As with the current Copen and the original, it still appears to have a retractable hardtop. Performance details haven't been announced, but we wouldn't be surprised if some suspension changes have been made at the least, if not any power improvements. This is also the car that had us thinking of the aforementioned Honda S660 retro model that reached production. We'd love to see it happen, as I'm sure would enthusiasts in Japan. Daihatsu Hijet Jumbo Extend View 4 Photos Hijet Jumbo Extend Designed as a hypothetical support truck for parts and more is the Hijet Jumbo Extend. It's based on the Hijet Jumbo, the extended-cab version of the Hijet kei truck. It's been fitted with a custom van box that can be extended for housing more stuff and maybe even people. The render also indicates that it will have an easily accessible fire extinguisher in a custom mount on the outside. Matching paint and a set of Volk TE37 wheels help it have the same racing-inspired look as the Copen Clubsport. Daihatsu Atrai Wildranger View 2 Photos Atrai Wildranger The third of the highly customized Daihatsu Atrai Wildranger. The company added chunky all-terrain tires and bedliner along the bottom half of its Atrai kei van. It also has suitably outdoorsy green paint. But the big attraction is what's on the roof. While looking like the van's roof, what's actually up there is a pop-off boat. That's why there are oars on either side. So this will get you both to the river, and down it.

Daihatsu's tiny concepts bring big weird to the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon

Daihatsu will have nine concepts at its 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon stand, featuring influences from the club to the clifftop. The most important is the Taft, which takes the Daihatsu Waku Waku concept showed at this year's Tokyo Motor Show closer to next year's production-ready form. In 1974, Daihatsu released a small, Jeep-ish 4x4 called the Taft, the name an acronym for Tall & Almighty Four-wheel Touring vehicle. The rebirth of the name on a kei-car that Daihatsu bills as "the world's first light crossover," and that comes standard with front-wheel drive and a CVT, necessitates editing the acronym to Tall & Almighty Fun Tool. The rugged pretensions of the Waku Waku are dialed back on the new Taft, with panoramic roof replacing the storage area in the Waku Waku's upper deck, rear doors and windows replacing the orange interior panels and jerry can motif, a more traditional front fascia and less cladding. Three Tanto kei cars dress up in three vastly different guises with three different front fascias. Because no auto show display can go without an overlander, the Tanto Cross Field concept delivers "Active gear you can rely on for your family," said gear appearing to be a roof rack and a set of fog lights. All we know about that Tanto Custom Premium is that it "gives off an overwhelming presence with a fearless black face" that seems to have taken design notes from the Toyota Prius and Mirai, not totally surprising since Toyota owns Daihatsu. The Tanto Marvel Spider-Man concept looks the most like a stock Tanto, wallpapered in panels from a comic book. Three Hijet microvan concepts don personalities for three different career days. The Hatsune Miku Marche concept is a working coffee stand and pop-up store dolled up in collaboration with the turquoise-haired, pony-tailed, "Vocaloid software voicebank" known as Hatsune Miku. Designers of the Hijet Peaks worked with Peaks magazine on the "playable overlander" with indoor climbing wall holds decorating the sides. Since the Hijet is only about 72 inches tall, it won't take much to climb, but Daihatsu will have a more challenging bouldering course in the stand for kids from three to 12 years old. The Hijet Jumbo DJ could be considered a giant DJ booth, DJ Kakushika making an appearance at the show to play a set in the Hijet's bed.

Daihatsu kei camper van heads to Tokyo Auto Salon

Daihatsu is heading to the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon with a selection of modified cars. The event is known for its high-performance sports cars and extravagant luxury rides, so how does a company specializing in kei cars and compacts stand out? By headlining a kei camper with a folding rooftop tent. #Vanlife! The Daihatsu Atrai Deck Camper started out as a kei delivery truck for Japan's narrow city streets. It's a notable vehicle for being the only kei truck that has four doors and a pickup-like bed in the back. Not only that, but the two rear doors are of the sliding variety, and the tailgate folds open 180 degrees. Normally, this would seem to be a hit with refrigerator or grandfather clock repairmen, but Daihatsu sees it as the perfect camping car. The rooftop canopy appears to open and fold outward in shapes that mimic the added buttresses along the bed. Additional expedition gear comes in the form of a safari rack on top of the tent shell, an LED light bar and what appear to be two pairs of auxiliary lights in a bespoke front fascia. Daihatsu's building four other vehicles for the Auto Salon. One is a more luxurious version of the fully enclosed Atrai van, fitted with a grille rivaling that of the new Silverado. Another Daihatsu HiJet kei truck is described as an assembly experience truck for the Copen roadster. Though we only have a cartoony illustration to go with it for now, it looks like you'll be able to construct the nose of a Copen in the truck's bed. Last but not least, Daihatsu is showing two variants of the revived Daihatsu Rocky. Gen X readers might remember that name from the Suzuki Samurai-esque off-roader that was sold briefly in the U.S. from 1988-92. Unlike its body-on-frame predecessors, the new Rockys are unibody compacts. The show cars depict a luxury-leaning version and an off-road version. Should Daihatsu ever return to the U.S. market the Rocky would probably sell well in crossover-crazy America, but the real MVP would be a production Atrai Deck Camper. Related Video: Featured Gallery Daihatsu Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 Aftermarket Tokyo Auto Salon Daihatsu Crossover Minivan/Van