Official UK sales figures of just 80 cars, permanent four-wheel drive, an 8,500 rpm red line and a kerb weight of around 750kg. Sounds like a pretty exotic specification, doesn't it?
This is not some exotic track day beast, however, but a tiny - if somewhat deranged - Japanese city car. Though it is exotic in its own little way.
Long before Mercedes was getting clever with the Smart (pun not intended), Japanese car manufacturers had for more than half a century been creating diddy runarounds to conform to specific regulations, most notably exterior dimensions and engine size.
By the 1990s the kei-car genre was sufficiently mature that it was dividing into sub-segments mirroring the wider car market. Thus, as well as a conventional hatchback kei car, you could have yourself an MPV, a roadster (Think Suzuki Cappucino) or even a pick-up. You could also have this, a four-wheel drive hot hatch.
Think of the clunkily titled
Daihatsu Cuore Avanzato TR-XX R4
as a McRae-era Impreza that's been shrunk in a hot wash and you get an idea of this car's character.
It might only have had 64hp (a result of the kei-car rules) from its 660cc turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but a kerb weight of just three-quarters of a ton means the little Daihatsu has plenty of zip to it. As in a 0-60mph time that some claim to be as short as 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 98mph.
In a car that seems barely any bigger than a 1:43 scale Bburago model (and probably barely more substantial), we reckon that's more than quick enough.
This particular car looks like it needs a wee bit of attention, and would need taxing and testing, but it's clearly been generally well looked-after during its life, and that JDM-spec Mira front-end seems to suit it better than the original nose. (And no, we can't work out why the
classified advert
has two pics of an entirely different car, either.)
And what could be better for screaming across the city in pretending you're on a tarmac rally stage than this? As a bargain city runaround this wouls surely take some beating. We wouldn't recommend it if you do a 50-mile daily motorways commute, though...
DAIHATSU CUORE AVANZATO TR-XX R4
Engine: 660cc four-cylinder turbo
Power (hp): 64@7,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 74@4,000rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1998
Recorded mileage: 88,100
Price new: £9,750
Yours for: £1,495