Kei Central

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Alto Works from a car show I visited today. Have never noticed that sticker on the side before, but that's magnificent.

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The 1962 Honda S360
The 11th National Honda Meeting General Assembly was held on June 1962 at Suzuka Circuit. Honda showcased products and conducted test drives throughout the event. And the S360 prototype was presented there. The car had the same engine found in the T360, Honda's first production truck. It was a 356cc DOHC Inline Four that produced 35 Horsepower. Unfortunately the S360 never went into production due to Honda believing the car wouldn't be successful in export markets due to it's low power but the Honda Sports was revived the following year with the slightly larger and more powerful S500. The S360 has a much shorter rear end than the S500. Honda built twelve S360's.
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I have been gifted a somewhat neglected Daihatsu Move L9 last winter:


Driving this has been an absolute eye-opener for me. I've always had an interest in Kei cars, but actually having one made me realize how perfect they really are for average daily use. This Move is extremely practical, costs next to nothing to run and despite its humble 54hp in EU-spec it's good fun to chug around. I previously owned cars from pretty much the exact opposite of the spectrum (W220 S500 and W210 E50 AMG), but I'm madly in love with Kei cars now 💡

After a few thousand kilometers in its current state I have decided to bring it back to a good condition. The welding work (rust in an issue with pretty much every Daihatsu from this era sadly) will be carried out next week, then it's on to making it look great again. :)

Bonus: I managed to get hold of an original set of Mille Miglia wheels from the accessory catalogue :D


Also can anyone recommend a good source to keep up with the latest in Kei cars? Can't read Japanese sadly.
 
I have been gifted a somewhat neglected Daihatsu Move L9 last winter:



Driving this has been an absolute eye-opener for me. I've always had an interest in Kei cars, but actually having one made me realize how perfect they really are for average daily use. This Move is extremely practical, costs next to nothing to run and despite its humble 54hp in EU-spec it's good fun to chug around. I previously owned cars from pretty much the exact opposite of the spectrum (W220 S500 and W210 E50 AMG), but I'm madly in love with Kei cars now 💡

After a few thousand kilometers in its current state I have decided to bring it back to a good condition. The welding work (rust in an issue with pretty much every Daihatsu from this era sadly) will be carried out next week, then it's on to making it look great again. :)

Bonus: I managed to get hold of an original set of Mille Miglia wheels from the accessory catalogue :D


Also can anyone recommend a good source to keep up with the latest in Kei cars? Can't read Japanese sadly.
I have a Japanese Hyper Rev mook on that generation Move- I'll PM some pics.
 
Also can anyone recommend a good source to keep up with the latest in Kei cars? Can't read Japanese sadly.
Best advice is to use a web browser with in-built translation. They're not perfect, but it means you can skim the Japanese sites and get at least a vague idea of what's going on.
 
Light offroad use in Japan probably means an occasional pothole :D

Also what's that dark car behind the 356 Copen and white S660?

That Suzuki LC Concept posted by @kikie is indeed a Kei car and paid hommage to the Suzulight, their first ever car.
 
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That Suzuki LC Concept posted by @kikie is indeed a Kei car and paid hommage to the Suzulight, their first ever car.
Thanks for that bit of info - I was actually trying to work out whether Suzuki had made an early enough kei car for the LC to take inspiration from. Looking at pictures of the Suzulight, I actually think the concept is more successfully styled, which isn't always the case with retro cars.

That dark car you mentioned looks a little like an NC or ND MX-5 with a body kit on it - despite being further away it looks larger than the S660 and the windscreen surround looks MX-5-ish.

Edit: I'm way too much of an MX-5 geek - it is NC-based, and there's a few more pics here.

Back to keis, a few more images of the LC, as it's a neat little bit of styling:

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Really hoping I can get to the Tokyo show again this year - worth it for the keis and concepts alone.
 
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I could swear some supercar or other brought them back a while ago. Maybe some kind of Pagani or Spyker or something quite ornate like that? I might be misremembering.
 
Thanks for that bit of info - I was actually trying to work out whether Suzuki had made an early enough kei car for the LC to take inspiration from. Looking at pictures of the Suzulight, I actually think the concept is more successfully styled, which isn't always the case with retro cars.

That dark car you mentioned looks a little like an NC or ND MX-5 with a body kit on it - despite being further away it looks larger than the S660 and the windscreen surround looks MX-5-ish.

Edit: I'm way too much of an MX-5 geek - it is NC-based, and there's a few more pics here.

Back to keis, a few more images of the LC, as it's a neat little bit of styling:

Really hoping I can get to the Tokyo show again this year - worth it for the keis and concepts alone.

That's a very keen eye you've got there! :cheers: Sadly though on closer inspection that NC conversion really doesn't look too appealing to my eyes :crazy:

Also you were right about the steering wheel trim, it was Spyker:

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That's a very keen eye you've got there! :cheers: Sadly though on closer inspection that NC conversion really doesn't look too appealing to my eyes :crazy:

Also you were right about the steering wheel trim, it was Spyker:

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Although some Spykers do have that vintage style steering wheel, I can't recall any of them having horn rings.
 
Thanks for that bit of info - I was actually trying to work out whether Suzuki had made an early enough kei car for the LC to take inspiration from. Looking at pictures of the Suzulight, I actually think the concept is more successfully styled, which isn't always the case with retro cars.

That dark car you mentioned looks a little like an NC or ND MX-5 with a body kit on it - despite being further away it looks larger than the S660 and the windscreen surround looks MX-5-ish.

Edit: I'm way too much of an MX-5 geek - it is NC-based, and there's a few more pics here.

Back to keis, a few more images of the LC, as it's a neat little bit of styling:

Really hoping I can get to the Tokyo show again this year - worth it for the keis and concepts alone.
Love the minimalist dash. No distractions. Just listen to the engine and cruise.
Honda T880.

iu
Want.
 
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