Small and perfectly formed
For most of its history, the Japanese motor industry has had a category for small vehicles known as kei cars.
These are restricted in terms of dimensions, engine capacity and latterly power output. In return, owners have benefited from lower tax and insurance, and in some cases exemption from parking restrictions.
Here we’re looking at 42 of the most significant kei passenger cars sold in the 20th century. We are not including commercial vehicles, though it should be noted that the kei truck category was also very important and successful.
These are certainly pint-sized classic cars with a difference!
1. Suzulight (1955)
From 1949 until 1955, kei car regulations changed comparatively rapidly, with different capacity limits for vehicles with two- and four-stroke engines.
They settled down in 1955, and remained at 360cc (regardless of engine type) for the next 21 years.
The most famous of the very early kei cars was launched at the start of the 360cc era. The Suzulight was the first car developed by Suzuki, which had until then built only motorcycles.
Inspired by the slightly earlier German Lloyd 400 (whose length, width and 386cc engine were however too large for it to qualify as a kei car), the Suzulight remained in production, with several changes, for 14 years.
2. Subaru 360 (1958)
Like Suzuki, Subaru was inspired by the kei regulations to produce its first car.
Under its peculiarly shaped body, the 360 featured a rear-mounted two-stroke engine.
Several thousand examples were exported to the US, where Consumer Reports rated it Not Acceptable. In an article published in April 1969, the magazine criticised its performance, handling, braking, safety and windscreen demisting, and concluded, “It was a pleasure to squirm out of the Subaru, slam the door and walk away.”
In Japan, where road conditions were very different and tiny cars made more sense, the 360 was popular enough for Subaru to keep it in production from 1958 until 1971.
3. Mazda R360 (1960)
Mazda’s first powered vehicle was the tiny Mazda-Go three-wheeled truck launched in 1931.
Its first car was the R360, which met the kei regulations as they stood in 1960. This four-seat coupé was powered by a 356cc V-twin engine which also powered a pick-up and the larger P360 Carol saloon of 1962.
The R360 was discontinued in 1966. The more practical P360 Carol remained in production for a further four years.
4. Honda S360 (1962)
If you said the S360 was one of the most beautiful kei cars ever built, we wouldn’t disagree.
Unusually for a car of this type, it had a twin-cam four-cylinder engine which produced its maximum power output of 33bhp at 9000rpm.
Sadly, it never went into production, despite being enthusiastically received when it made its debut at the Suzuka circuit in June 1962 and when it went on display at the Japan National Auto Show four months later. Honda felt that the sports car market in Japan was too small, and that a model with a 356cc engine would not be popular anywhere else.
Instead, Honda reworked the S360 into the S500, which required a wider body. The length was increased at the same time. In both dimensions, the S500 was too large to meet the requirements of the kei class.
5. Mitsubishi Minica (1962)
The Minica was produced over eight generations until 2011.
The first model, launched in 1962, was essentially the passenger car version of the Mitsubishi 360 truck and pick-up which had been introduced the previous year.
In each case, the engine was a 359cc air-cooled two-stroke twin which produced a mere 17bhp in its original form.
A more powerful engine from the same family was used in the later HopeStar ON360, which (as we’ll see) was the basis of the original Suzuki Jimny.
6. Suzulight Fronte (1962)
The Fronte joined the Suzulight range in 1962. Its name referred to its front-wheel drive layout, though in fact this was also used in the earlier car.
Both Suzulight models received a new engine in 1963. In the up to 400cc race at that year’s Japanese Grand Prix meeting, Fronte drivers Osamu Mochizuki and Haruhisa Fujita finished just four tenths of a second apart after nearly half an hour of racing, and almost a minute ahead of the next competitor.
Other Frontes finished fourth and eighth. The third, fifth, sixth and seventh positions were taken by Subaru 360s.
7. Daihatsu Fellow (1966)
Known in export markets as the Daihatsu 360, the Fellow was available as a rear-wheel drive saloon, a pick-up truck and a panel van.
It was powered by a 356cc two-cylinder two-stroke engine which had made its debut three years earlier in the first-generation Hijet van and pick-up.
The Fellow was noticeable for its very early use of rectangular headlights. Non-round headlights were still unusual in those days, having been introduced only recently in the Ford Taunus and Citroën Ami of 1960 and 1961 respectively.
8. Honda N360 (1967)
After the false start of the S360, Honda’s first kei car was the N360 of 1967.
It was sold as both a two-door saloon and a three-door wagon, and had an air-cooled four-stroke engine of 354cc. Production ended in 1972.
The N400 and N600 were basically the same as the N360, and would have qualified as kei cars on exterior dimensions alone.
However, their engines measured 401cc and 598cc respectively. While both these sizes would easily be within kei car limits in later years, they were well over the 360cc maximum which applied when they were on sale.
9. Suzuki Fronte 360 (1967)
The Fronte 360 was the first kei car (and the second Suzuki after the Fronte 800) to be named after the company that built it, rather than being branded as a Suzulight.
The continued use of the Fronte badge was confusing. While earlier models were front-wheel drive, as mentioned previously, the 360’s engine was mounted at the back and drove the rear wheels.
In 1968, Suzuki introduced a high-performance 36bhp version called the SS 360. Its arrival was publicised by a high-speed run along the Autostrada A1 from Milan to Naples, in which two SS 360s were driven by Stirling Moss and Japanese motorcycle racer Mitsuo Itoh.
10. Subaru R2 (1969)
Unrelated to a 21st-century kei car of the same name, the original R2 was produced from 1969 to 1972.
It replaced the old 360, but retained the rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout of that model.
The engine in question was initially an air-cooled two-cylinder two-stroke from Subaru’s EK family, but this was replaced in 1971 by a water-cooled motor.
11. Daihatsu Fellow Max (1970)
Daihatsu replaced the first-generation Fellow with a front-wheel drive version known as the Fellow Max.
The original Fellow’s engine was retained, but its power output had been raised by around 40 per cent to 33bhp. A twin-carburettor version producing a very sturdy 40bhp at 7200rpm was fitted to the high-performance SS version.
In 1972, both engines were detuned to meet new emissions standards due to come into effect the following year. Power therefore fell to 31bhp and 37bhp, though the latter still represented a specific output of over 100bhp per litre. Daihatsu replaced them with a 547cc twin when it became legal to do so in 1976.
In its later years, the Fellow Max became known as the Max Cuore, or simply the Cuore. As we’ll see, this led to some confusion when the model was replaced.
12. Honda Z360 (1970)
Slightly larger than the N360 sold at around the same time, the Z360 started out with the same air-cooled 354cc engine, but this was replaced in 1972 by a 356cc water-cooled unit.
As with the N model, Honda also made a 598cc version called the Z600, which met the kei car regulations for vehicle dimensions but not engine capacity.
13. Suzuki Jimny (1970)
As mentioned previously, the first Jimny was a development of the HopeStar ON360 off-roader.
Suzuki replaced the engine (borrowed from the Mitsubishi Minica) with an air-cooled 359cc two-stroke twin of its own, but retained the four-wheel drive, an extremely unusual feature for an early kei vehicle.
14. Honda Life (1971)
The Life was Honda’s replacement for the N360, and was powered by the 356cc water-cooled twin which would later appear in the Z360.
Honda used almost all the space permitted by the kei regulations, coming within 5mm of the maximum length and width.
Production came to an end in late 1974. It would be more than a decade before Honda returned to the kei class with a passenger car.
15. Mazda Chantez (1972)
Of all car manufacturers, Mazda has been the greatest supporter of the rotary engine, which it first used in the Cosmo sports car of 1967.
It tried to fit a single-rotor unit to the Chantez, but rival companies persuaded the authorities to make this illegal within the kei class.
Instead, Mazda fitted a 359cc water-cooled two-stroke, which was mounted at the front and drove the rear wheels. An electric version was displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show, but never got past the concept stage.
The Chantez was discontinued when the kei car regulations changed in 1976. Like Honda, Mazda did not design an immediate replacement, and instead abandoned the class for several years.
16. Subaru Rex (1972)
The Rex was almost unbelievably more modern than the Subaru 360 which had gone out of production only a year before.
At first, it was powered by the 356cc air-cooled two-stroke also used in the R2, but a change in Japanese exhaust regulations prompted Subaru to switch to a 358cc four-stroke unit with emissions control.
Because of the emissions technology, and despite the very slightly larger capacity, the new engine was less powerful than the one it replaced, with a maximum output of 31bhp.
In 1976, the kei regulations were updated for the first time in 11 years. Subaru responded by making the Rex longer and wider, and fitting a 544cc engine.
17. Suzuki Fronte (1976)
The new kei regulations introduced in 1976 allowed manufacturers to build longer and wider cars with engines of up to 550cc.
As an interim measure, Suzuki introduced the third-generation Fronte with a 443cc version of the previous car’s two-stroke twin, but this was soon replaced by a 539cc three-cylinder unit.
This Fronte was manufactured for only three years before being replaced by the car known in western markets as the Alto.
18. Suzuki Jimny (1976)
Suzuki had updated the original Jimny in 1972, and three years later it became available in export markets (where kei rules did not apply) with a 539cc three-cylinder two-stroke.
It was essentially the same as the 359cc unit the Jimny had started out with, but with a third cylinder added.
The new kei regulations of 1976 allowed Suzuki to sell the Jimny with this engine in its home market.
Since the Jimny was classed as a commercial vehicle in Japan, it was not subject to the same emissions requirements as a passenger car, and did not therefore have to be fitted with the cleaner but otherwise similar engine used in the Fronte.
19. Daihatsu Hijet (1977)
Daihatsu had been building Hijets (mostly kei trucks but also micro MPVs) since 1960. All of them had 360cc engines until the kei rules changed in 1976.
A year later, Daihatsu took advantage of this by introducing a 547cc two-cylinder engine.
An almost identical unit had already been made available in the Fellow Max, but in the case of the Hijet it was reworked so that it could be mounted horizontally, which helped to maximise interior space in the tiny people carrier.
20. Suzuki Cervo (1977)
The Cervo indirectly replaced the coupé version of the second-generation Fronte, which had been launched in 1971.
Like the new Fronte, the Cervo was powered by a rear-mounted 539cc three-cylinder two-stroke. Unfortunately, this produced far less power than the best of the old 360s, so the Cervo was significantly slower than the old Fronte Coupé.
The Cervo was never sold in this form in Europe, but a derivative called the SC100 was. This version had a 970cc four-cylinder engine, and was so much fun that it was known in the UK as the Whizzkid.
21. Suzuki Alto (1979)
Alto was the name used for the hatchback version of the fourth-generation Fronte, and also for examples sold in Europe.
The kei version of the Alto was the last Suzuki powered by a two-stroke engine. This 539cc unit was replaced by a more modern four-stroke measuring 543cc.
Both had three cylinders, but the latter was derived from Suzuki’s first four-stroke unit, which originally had four. A 796cc version was used for non-kei Altos sold outside Japan.
Still in the 550cc era, Suzuki launched a second-generation Alto. The engine was basically the same, but twin-cam versions (with or without turbocharging) became available. Turbocharging was legal – and later became common practice for kei cars – because, unlike in motorsport, there was no equivalence formula to classify forced-induction engines as having larger capacities than they actually did.
22. Daihatsu Mira (1980)
The Mira replaced the Fellow Max, which was latterly known as the Cuore or Max Cuore, and was itself sometimes marketed as a second-generation Cuore or as a Domino.
It was a hatchback, available with three or five doors, and was initially offered with the 547cc two-cylinder four-valve engine fitted to the previous model from 1976 onwards.
In 1983, Daihatsu began offering a turbocharged version of the same unit, which produced 41bhp.
Like other Japanese manufacturers, Daihatsu produced a non-kei Mira with a larger engine for export markets, in this case a 617cc unit from the same family as the 547 with the same stroke but a larger bore.
23. Honda Street (1981)
Although Honda temporarily stopped building kei passenger cars after it discontinued the Life, it introduced a kei truck called the Acty in 1977.
A micro MPV derivative called the Street arrived four years later. Like the trucks, it was powered by a 545cc two-cylinder engine which was mounted behind the front wheels and drove the rears.
24. Honda Today (1985)
The Today marked Honda’s return to the kei passenger car class. It was a three-door hatchback initially powered by the same engine used in the Acty truck and Street MPV.
This was replaced in 1988 by a three-cylinder unit measuring 547cc.
When a new set of kei regulations was introduced, the Today was given larger bumpers (extending the overall length beyond the previous legal maximum) and a 656cc version of the three-cylinder engine.
25. Suzuki Alto (1988)
The third-generation Alto straddled the 550cc and 660cc kei car eras, and was therefore available first with the previous model’s 547cc three-cylinder engine and later, from 1990, with a 657cc development of it.
Like its predecessor, the 657cc motor was available with either one or two camshafts, and in the latter case with or without a turbo.
It was also used right through the fourth generation and into the fifth, which was the last to be introduced during the 20th century.
26. Honda Beat (1991)
The Beat was the car that the production version of the S360 might have been nearly three decades earlier, if Honda hadn’t canned the project.
Neatly styled by Italian design house Pininfarina, it featured a development of the 656cc engine used in the earlier Today and Street.
As fitted to the Beat, though, it produced a startling 63bhp without the benefit of forced induction. This would be the maximum permitted output when the kei regulations changed for the final time in 1998.
27. Suzuki Cappuccino (1991)
The Cappuccino was introduced in the same year as the Honda Beat and proved to be one of its closest rivals.
Like Honda, Suzuki took an existing three-cylinder engine (657cc in this case) and modified it to produce a maximum of 63bhp. Unlike Honda, it achieved this by fitting a turbocharger.
The Cappuccino lasted for two years longer than the Beat, remaining in production until 1998.
28. Autozam AZ-1 (1992)
The Honda Beat and Suzuki Cappuccino were joined in 1992 by another kei sports car.
The AZ-1 started out as a Suzuki project but was taken over by Mazda, which abandoned the original idea of a glassfibre body and went for metal construction, but kept the mid-engined layout which Suzuki dropped when it started work on the front-engined Cappuccino.
The production car was notable for its aggressive appearance and gullwing doors. The engine was the same as the one used in the Suzuki Cappuccino.
Mazda did not market the AZ-1 under its own name, but instead used the Autozam brand which sold a variety of small cars throughout the 1990s. The same vehicle, with only minor changes, was also sold as the Suzuki Cara.
29. Daihatsu Opti (1992)
During the crossover from the 550cc to the 660cc era, Daihatsu produced a kei car called the Leeza.
This was replaced in 1992 by the Opti, which was based on the third-generation Mira but had much cuter styling.
The Opti was only ever available with the 658cc three-cylinder engine which had become available in the Mira in 1990.
30. Subaru Vivio (1992)
After being produced in various forms for 20 years, the Subaru Rex was finally replaced by the Vivio in 1992.
The new car had a 658cc four-cylinder engine which was available with two valves per cylinder and a carburettor at one end of the scale, four valves per cylinder, fuel injection, a supercharger and an intercooler at the other, and several combinations in between.
A year after launch, future World Rally Champion Colin McRae drove a supercharged Vivio on the 1993 Safari. He retired with suspension failure.
31. Suzuki Wagon R (1993)
Throughout kei history, the maximum permissible vehicle height has been two metres.
Suzuki did not come close to that with its first-generation Wagon R, but the little MPV was still unusually tall – hence its odd looks but undoubtedly impressive interior space.
It used the same 657cc three-cylinder fitted to the earlier Alto. As in that car, it was available either with or without a turbo.
Mazda produced its own version called the AZ Wagon, which was initially badged as an Autozam.
32. Daihatsu Hijet (1994)
The eighth-generation Hijet was the first to be introduced during the 660cc era.
Its 659cc three-cylinder engine was familiar. It had been used in the previous Hijet and the Mira since the 1990 regulation change made it legally possible to do this.
As usual with the Hijet, there were several commercial vehicles in the range, but there was also an MPV, described as a glazed van rather than a panel van.
This Hijet remained in production until 1999. It was replaced by a new model which survived for only five years as an MPV, but for 15 as a truck.
33. Mitsubishi Pajero Mini (1994)
The full-size Pajero SUV (known as the Shogun in the UK) had two smaller counterparts – the more compact Pinin and the tiny Mini.
While the grown-up Pajero was nearly five metres long and had engines of up to 3.5 litres, the Mini was a kei vehicle measuring just 3.3 metres and powered by a 659cc four-cylinder engine.
The engine was offered with 16 valves and natural aspiration or 20 valves and a turbocharger. In the latter form, it produced 63bhp, the maximum permissible output for the class.
34. Daihatsu Move (1995)
The Move was a tall micro MPV similar in design to the Suzuki Wagon R introduced two years before.
It was mostly powered by the usual Daihatsu 647cc three-cylinder engine, though a long-stroke 847cc engine was offered in export markets.
The Move was also notable for being offered with four-wheel drive as an alternative to the more common front-wheel drive transmission.
35. Honda Life (1997)
After a 23-year pause, Honda brought back the Life name for a kei MPV introduced in 1997.
It replaced the Today, and like that car it was fitted with a three-cylinder engine.
Of the five generations of the Life nameplate, this model was by far the rarest. It was in production for only a year and a half, for reasons which are about to become clear.
36. Honda Life (1998)
The problem with the second Life was that it was introduced shortly before the kei regulations were changed to allow for larger vehicles.
Other manufacturers took the opportunity to replace or redesign cars they had been building for several years.
Honda was obliged to do this with a car which had only just gone on sale. The third Life looked similar to the second, but it was both longer and wider.
The engine was updated at the same time, and now produced 63bhp with turbocharging, or 52bhp without.
37. Daihatsu Mira (1998)
Although we haven’t mentioned the Mira for a while, it had been produced in several generations since its debut in 1980.
Daihatsu responded to the new regulations of 1998 by launching the largest Mira yet, which was also the last to be sold in the 20th century.
Malaysian company Perodua, which builds Daihatsu models under licence and sells them in southeast Asia, brought out its own version of the Mira (known as the Kelisa) in 2001.
The Kelisa would not have qualified as a kei car in Japan, because it used engines which were well above the 660cc capacity limit.
38. Daihatsu Move (1998)
The second-generation Move MPV was launched in late 1998, right at the time when kei cars were allowed to be larger than before.
It was therefore longer and wider than the 1995 Move, though the choice of engines was similar.
Perodua’s equivalent model, the Kenari, was introduced in 2000 with a 990cc engine.
39. Mitsubishi Pajero Mini (1998)
The flurry of activity among kei car manufacturers in 1998 included a revamp of the Pajero Mini.
Its length and width were increased following the rule change, though of course it was still far smaller than the full-size Pajero.
Otherwise, it remained much the same as before, though a switch from round to rectangular headlights made it look more modern.
In this form, the Mini had an impressively long life. The Final Anniversary edition went on sale on 26 March 2012.
40. Suzuki Wagon R (1998)
Like other kei models, the Wagon R was relaunched in late 1998 with a slightly larger body but few other changes.
It was replaced in 2003 by the third-generation model, which retained much of this one’s styling but had more elaborate headlights and a more upright rear window.
A 1.1-litre version produced in India by Maruti Suzuki had a much longer life. It was introduced shortly after the Japanese model in 1999, and remained in production for 10 years.
41. Daihatsu Mira Gino (1999)
Daihatsu briefly produced a retro version of the then current Mira in 1997, and marketed it as the Classic.
It was replaced in 1999 by the Gino, a derivative of the larger Mira introduced in 1998. This was available as a turbo or non-turbo kei car, and also with a 989cc three-cylinder engine.
The first Gino closely resembled the classic Mini. Its 2004 replacement had a less obvious, but still noticeable, resemblance to the BMW-era MINI.
42. Honda Vamos (1999)
Honda used the Vamos name for a kei truck in the early ’70s, and brought it back in 1999 for an MPV based on the Acty van.
It was conceptually similar to the earlier Honda Street, but far more modern.
With a boxy body only just within the length and width limits of the kei class (but nowhere near the 2.0-metre maximum height), the Vamos was about as roomy as it was possible to be within the regulations.
The Vamos was produced for nearly two decades until Honda discontinued it in 2018. The Acty met the same fate in 2021.
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