The 10 Coolest Kei Cars Ever

Japan’s kei car rules were created with entirely practical considerations in mind – to mobilise the masses in the aftermath of the Second World War, and to encourage people into smaller, more fuel efficient cars that made more sense in Japan’s vast, dense cities and narrow village streets.

With the strict constraints cars must fit in to be classified as a kei car – no longer than 3.4m or wider than 1.48m, an engine no bigger than 660cc and no more than 63bhp – you’d think opportunities to have fun with them would be few and far between. Creativity flourishes under such constraints, though, and Japan’s manufacturers have knocked out all manner of fascinating, fun and sometimes absurdly overengineered machines that still get a yellow number plate, and therefore bring buyers all the usual kei car tax and registration benefits. These are our 10 favourites.

10. Daihatsu Naked

The Daihatsu Naked has a rather unfortunate name, but it’s one that actually makes quite a lot of sense when you stop and think about it. It’s inspired by utilitarian, no-frills European people’s cars like the original Fiat Panda and Renault 4, and so parts like the door hinges and various exterior rivets are left unapologetically uncovered.

Buyers had a decent amount of powertrain choice – the 658cc three-cylinder engine came in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms, and paired with either a five-speed manual or four-speed auto and front- or four-wheel drive. We could definitely picture an AWD turbo manual version being a bucket of fun in the kinds of places where winter weather is a real concern.

9. Suzuki Jimny

The Suzuki Jimny was one of the first 4x4s designed to slot specifically into the kei class, and though subsequent versions have received bigger engines for export markets, Suzuki’s kept producing a kei version for Japan.

That continues with the retro-tastic current generation, which lives on in many parts of the world despite living a tragically short life in Europe. The current kei-spec Jimny gets a 658cc turbocharged three-cylinder as opposed to the 1.5-litre four it was sold with in Europe, and has shorter bumpers and loses its arch flares in order to stay within the size limits, but is otherwise the same ultra-cool and ultra-capable micro off-roader we deeply miss seeing in Suzuki showrooms here.

8. Daihatsu Mira Avanzato TR-XX R4

Bit of a mouthful, that, isn’t it? Let’s break down what it means. The Daihatsu Mira is one of the longest-running kei car models, having been around in one form or another since 1980. The Avanzato was a sporty model of it, the TR-XX was an even sportier version and the R4 threw in all-wheel drive for good measure.

So what we have here is a ’90s turbocharged all-wheel drive Japanese performance car, albeit one that makes do with 63bhp from a turbocharged 659cc three-cylinder. Still, that was plenty enough for the TR-XX R4 to be a seriously capable little machine. It was actually briefly sold in Britain, where it was badged as the Cuore rather than the Mira, but it’s thought that fewer than 100 found homes.

7. Suzuki Cappuccino

Another kei car to be officially offered in the UK was this, the Suzuki Cappuccino. It launched in 1991, a couple of years after the Mazda MX-5, and shares a similar philosophy to that seminal roadster, but downsized to meet kei regulations: front-engined, rear-wheel drive, two seats and styling that harks back to the European roadsters of the 1960s.

Where it differed from the Mazda was obviously its titchier dimensions and smaller engine – a 657cc turbo triple – but also its funky roof arrangement. It used a two-piece detachable hardtop that would allow you to drive it in either a targa-style configuration or as a fully open roadster. Later Japan-only versions were properly serious little sports cars, with kit like a limited-slip diff and double-wishbone suspension.

6. Subaru Vivio RX-R

The Subaru Impreza Turbo was capturing the hearts of car fans across the world in the 1990s, but it was far from Subaru’s only sporty, turbocharged all-wheel drive car. Even its contemporary kei car, the Vivio, had a hotted-up all-paw version in the form of the RX-R. It made use of a 658cc inline-four, complete with a supercharger and a very Impreza-ish bonnet scoop and set of fog lights.

There was even a motorsports-geared RA version in the same vein as its big sibling, and the Vivio was actively rallied by Subaru. One was even driven at the 1993 Safari Rally by an up-and-coming young Scot named Colin McRae – wonder if he ever went on to do anything else?

5. Suzuki Alto Works

The Suzuki Alto Works is the car to blame for the fact that no kei car makes more than 63bhp. Before 1987, there’d been no upper power limit, but when the first Alto Works appeared that year with that power figure, Japan’s Ministry of Transport felt that things were getting out of hand, leading to the Japanese manufacturers to informally agree to not go any further.

Apparently, it was originally going to launch with the heady heights of 78bhp (gasp!), but that clearly would have been just plain silly. The really impressive thing is that this was back when the kei car engine size limit was 550cc, and the Alto Works was getting that power figure out of a 543cc turbocharged three-cylinder engine. Factor in that in front-wheel drive guise it weighed just 610kg, and maybe the government was onto something. Several subsequent generations of Alto Works have appeared, but it’s the original that’s arguably the most iconic.

4. Suzuki Cervo (SS20)

What you’re looking at here is a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive coupe weighing a smidge over half a tonne and styled by the great Giorgetto Giugiaro. Perhaps disappointingly, it’s not some long-forgotten Porsche 911 rival, but it’s still very cool: the original Suzuki Cervo.

Launching in 1977, it hailed from the 550cc era, and in this case, the engine for the domestic model was a 539cc three-cylinder – a two-stroke, no less. A great performer it wasn’t, then, but it looked great and was fun to drive thanks to that low weight and rear-engined layout. An export version existed, including for the UK, where it was named the SC100 but known by the much cooler nickname ‘Whizzkid’, with a 1.0-litre four-cylinder.

3. Honda Beat

Arriving within months of the Suzuki Cappuccino in 1991, the Beat took a very Honda-ish approach to the kei sports car formula. The company was riding high on the success of the original NSX, and the Beat mimicked it with a mid-engined layout. Its pretty, wedgy styling, meanwhile, was the work of Pininfarina.

Unlike the Cappuccino, its 656cc three-pot engine was naturally aspirated, and unlike its big sibling the NSX, it didn’t have Honda’s shiny new VTEC variable valve timing, but what it did have was individual throttle bodies, meaning it made a highly amusing noise as it zinged its way towards a roughly 9,000rpm redline. None of this was the best part, though – no, that would be the zebra print seats. Oh yes.

2. Mitsubishi Minica Dangan ZZ

Launched in 1989, the regular sixth-generation Mitsubishi Minica was a very route one kei car – an affordable, sensible hatchback with optional all-wheel drive. And a version with one door on one side and two on the other, which was called the Lettuce for some reason. Spurred on by the new wave of kei hot hatches like the Alto Works, though, Mitsubishi decided to build a fast one.

Named the Dangan ZZ (‘dangan’ is Japanese for ‘bullet’) it was all-wheel drive, and featured a 657cc turbocharged three-cylinder with five valves per cylinder, a first in a mass-produced road car and a good few years before the Ferrari 355 made it a big deal. This arrangement helped the little Dangan rev to over 9,000rpm, despite the presence of a turbo, and cemented it as one of the most wonderfully overengineered cars of this golden era of Japanese performance.

1. Autozam AZ-1

Launched in 1989, Autozam was a short-lived sub-brand of Mazda, focused largely on small cars. Most of its models were rebadged versions of, or heavily based on, existing Mazdas, but not the AZ-1. Oh no.

A co-development between Mazda and Suzuki, which sold its own version called the Cara, the AZ-1 was basically a shrunken supercar. Yeah, sure it, still only had 63bhp courtesy of a 657cc turbo triple, but with that wedgy styling, mid-engined, rear-wheel drive layout and best of all, gullwing doors, it packed plenty of the drama of the era’s exotica into a titchy, city-friendly package. It’s almost certainly the maddest kei car ever made, and probably the coolest, too.