So, you like the weird stuff, eh? Well, they don’t get any weirder than this little lot. Time to get one or two of these on your JDM cars to import list…
1. Honda Today
This tiny little Honda looks reasonably normal as far as city cars go, but it’s on the inside where things get seriously weird. Honda fitted the 1993 model with a full-on asymmetrical interior, which even included a larger driver’s seat. Apparently, this was because their target audience – young women – often drove alone and didn’t need the cargo space.
2. Mitsubishi Minica
The sixth-generation Minica came along in 1989 and included the 64bhp Dangan ZZ model, which was fitted with the first mass-produced five-valve-per-cylinder engine in the world. It also had a turbocharger, and who doesn’t love a turbo on a little kei car?
But that’s not the weirdest of the Minica lineup; they also produced a model called the Lettuce, which had three doors – one for the driver, and two on the passenger side. Very strange.
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3. Subaru Vivio Targa
As convertible kei cars go, the 1992-1998 Vivio has to be one of the weirdest. For a start, there was nowhere to put the targa roof and rear screen once they’d been taken off… we’ve no idea what Subaru were thinking there. It’s definitely cool though, especially the name, which refers to the 660cc displacement in roman numerals. VI-VI-O. Clever.
4. Nissan Be-1
The Nissan Be-1 is weird, but not quite as weird as the Figaro, that kind of goes without saying. But, although everyone bangs on about the Figaro, the Be-1 was Nissan’s original retro-style car, and it came along in 1987.
Based on the Micra platform of the day, and built in the Pike Factory, along with the Figaro, Pao and S-Cargo, the Be-1 has become known as one of the Pike Cars. Weird, but very cool!
5. Daihatsu Leeza Spider
This one may be as ugly as sin, but that seems to make the Leeza Spider all the more adorable. The weird thing here is why they actually made it in the first place… and gave it a turbo and a posh leather interior.
The Leeza hatchbacks were known for being extremely basic and were classed as vans with ‘temporary’ rear seats to take advantage of tax breaks for commercial vehicles in the 1980s. So, why they decided that Leeza needed a convertible version in 1991 is a mystery to us.
6. Toyota Sera
Okay, with a 1.5-litre engine, it’s not technically a kei car, but over the years, many have said that the wacky, A-pillar-hinged doors on the Sera are inspired by the McLaren F1. But no, that’s not the case. Chiefly because the Sera came along a full two years before the British supercar.
Perhaps the weirdest thing about the Sera though is that – apart from the doors and the glass roof – it’s actually remarkably normal. We’d have one for daily driving duties for sure.
