Kei Cars in Depth - Vol. Eight : Kei Cars Through Time #blogpost

Hey guys, I’m back again with more kei cars in depth, this week I’ll go back to the past, talking the kei cars to 3 major eras, the 360cc era, 550cc era, and 660cc era. This should break down how cars were like back then and all the crazy cars that exist that time. So let’s get cracking.

Kei cars didn’t actually started directly with 360cc engines. No, they started with 150cc 4 strokes and 100cc 2 strokes back in 1949. Kei cars were intended to the people who can afford motorbikes, but not able to afford a full size car. But there were a few problems with cars that only had motorbike engines. A few years went by and by 1955, kei cars were restricted to 360cc and that’s when the 360cc era started.

The 360cc era

The 360cc era started with cars like the Subaru 360, Mazda R-360, and Honda T360. Back then kei cars were very simple. 360cc engine, 3 meter long, 1.3 meter wide, and the maximum seats are 4. But there are no rules saying for fast a kei car can go, or limits for an engine. Kei cars started mostly with 2 cylinders ( except for Honda, they started with 4 ), making about 15hp ( except for Honda, their T360 made 30hp ), which is utterly slow to our current standards, but apparently was enough for people back then. The funny thing is, well, most manufacturers have their own ways. Subaru started the 360cc 2-stroke, while Mazda made V2 engines, and Honda used 4 cylinders to make 360cc of displacement. And if you looks their shapes none of the look alike back then, and most of them are not boxy like cars back then.

Most kei cars back then were made to carry people, until some companies started putting chilies on their cars. Performance cars didn’t have much power either back then, the 360 Young SS and Honda Life Touring only had 36hp. It sounds terrible but those cars weigh like 500kgs tops. And they were not really known for their power either, they were better known for their handling and agility. Honda had developed their first kei car, the N360, to handle like a sports car, and it worked. While the car struggled even to climb a hill, many people say that the N360 is actually a great car to drive. Same story goes to the 360 Young SS. It may be slow, but it’s still fun to drive. And it’s not like you’re going to break the speed limit doing it, they’re so slow yet agile that you’ll be happy trashing them below the speed limit. By 1972, Daihatsu even released a 40hp 356cc kei car, the Fellow Max SS. The Fellow Max SS even has the highest specific power output for an N/A kei car, with 112hp/ liter ( that’s EK9 territory ).

There had not been and real sports car in the 360cc era. The closest thing that even happened was a prototype of one, the S360. If you have read the first ever Kei Cars in Depth, you’ll know that Honda once tried to make a 360cc sports car. And if you opened a link in there, you’ll see an article I made just for the S360 ( before this series ). The S360 was actually a great idea. It was going to be a cheap car that did the basics of a sports car. I sounded absolutely mental for something that only had 360cc. But Honda thought that a sports car with 360cc just wasn’t enough for the rest of the world, and that’s why the S360 never made to production. And that is also the reason why the S500 was born.

The 550cc era

By 1976, the kei car laws changed. The cars get bigger, but what’s more important, the cars can have a bigger engine, more precisely 550cc new maximum displacement. Power is still unlimited, which is good news. The 550cc era started with the previous 360cc cars getting a bit fatter/ longer, until their successors actually arrive. Another good news, since kei cars got a bit more punchy, Japan manufacturers started to export 550cc kei cars, even though most of them are kei trucks. Nothing much really happened in the beginning of the 550cc era.

Hot hatches first appeared in the 550cc era, more precisely the mid 80s, when turbos started to dominate the Japanese market. And it all started thanks to 2 manufacturers, Daihatsu and Suzuki, with the Mira L70 TR-XX and Alto Works RS-R. Despite only having 550cc of displacement to play with, both these cars can actually live up to modern hot kei cars, with a savage 64hp output from both. The engines are much more playful as power comes at higher rpms compared to modern kei cars. And with less torque, you’ll really need to trash them to their very last. But that’s what make the different from modern kei cars. While many modern kei cars have a high redline, power comes at the mid range, while in these 550cc monsters power comes at the top. And since they’re made way before safety regulations exist, they are actually quicker to 100 km/h than most modern hot kei cars.

The hot hatch virus also came to Subaru, which led them to make the hot Subaru Rex. It’s just as powerful as the other boys, with 61hp. The hot Rex was also the first 550cc kei car to have 4 cylinders. The difference of the Rex isn’t only from the number of the cylinders. Unlike the two, the Rex has no turbo, but it does have a supercharger. Which means, it responses better at lower rpm, thus making it more enjoyable.

The 660cc era

As Japan’s economy boomed, kei car regulations also changed. The cars get slightly wider, while length remains pretty much the same. Best of all, all cars get 110cc extra displacement. On the down side, power is now limited to just 63hp. The 660cc era started with lots of goodies. By the early 90s, the kei sports began to hit the streets, thanks to the mid engined Honda Beat roadster. The comes the AZ-1 and Cappuccino, creating the 90s kei sport trinity. And it’s not just about the new sport cars, many manufacturers joined the hot hatch club. Mitsubishi had the Minica Dangan ZZ, Honda had their Today pumped with the beat engine, even though Honda never said that it’s a hot kei car. Ever since the 660cc era, many kei cars began to join the motorsports too. By 1998, the limit for dimensions was also increased, creating bigger, roomier kei cars.

The 660cc era is still the best era for kei cars. Not only that there are sports cars now, but there have been lots of kei cars in different shapes and different functions too. The Tanto and all the other kei cars with sliding doors first appeared in the 660cc era. Coming to the 21st century, there have been oddly unique kei cas like the Suzuki Twin and Daihatsu Midget II. And by the 660cc era, kei cars don’t only come from Japan. Smart first introduced the Smart K in 2001, even though sales didn’t go very well. The 660cc base model Caterham Seven is also a kei car, which is cool, but it still loses to the S660 in tracks.

But today kei cars have become a bit boring. Sure, their engines became more powerful and efficient, but it lacks a bit of the wild side compared to what kei cars used to be in the 90s. Plus with modern safety and gadgets, they’re not that faster than kei cars 20 years ago. Nevertheless they are still cool. Cars like the S660 have stuff like active aero and torque vectoring, much like most modern supercars. Many features from bigger cars actually came down to the kei cars, which makes kei cars very cool, and very good alternatives.

That is all from me. Kei cars have always been cool through time, and I’ll be very happy to have the best examples of every era, someday. On the next kei cars in depth, I’ll be bringing interesting facts about kei cars, which you guys might not even know ( except if you read all the volumes of Kei Cars in Depth ). In case you missed, here’s last week’s Kei Cars in Depth, talking about the very normal side of kei cars.