Tuesday 28th February 2012

Spotted: Daihatsu Cuore Avanzato TR-XX R4

A big name for a very small car...

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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...

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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

Full Avanzato advert is here

[gofasterrosssco]

Think these are brilliant in an oddball sort of way..! And 65hp is just the tip of the iceberg being Jap and turbocharged. Parts can sometimes be a bit more expensive and difficult to source though for older Kei-class cars.

Not sure I could drive one everyday though, and thats coming from a former Suzuki Cappuccino owner!

[BigTom85]

Different for sure. I've pulled bigger things out of my nose

At £500 it would be worth a giggle, but £1500!!! No thanks.

[Johnboy Mac]

Something like this never fails to put a smile on my face. Great stuff.

[moskvich427]

Easily the most terrifying way of doing 98mph...

[SimonV8ster]

Not too sure about epic performance but would be a laugh ! At least I now know what JDM stands for !

[Hugo a Gogo]

excellent, I'd love that

not sure I'd fit though

[kambites]

I've never driven one, but I could easily imagine it being much more fun on a typical British back-road than many modern sports cars.

[Hellbound]

I remember when these came out, there were three of them parked up at a garage I'd pass on my way to college. Always wanted to drive one.

I guess if Abarth did something with the new 4x4 Fiat, it could come close.

[Flewis]

I had one of these for over 2 years and loved every drive. Lightweight and so chuckable. So much more fun than my current 924S. Really miss my old car.

The feeling of speed was immense, best way of having fun without breaking the speed limit!

[sjabrown]

Think these were rallied for a while.

[Frankeh]

I remember 5 years ago I wanted one of these as my first car but any mention of a turbo made insurance ridiculous.

I still think it look rad for such a small car.

[Oddball RS]

To the Germans that now run Mini, take note, 1950's style vans, (NO!) fat ugly 4x4 things.. (NO!)

Start engineering and leave the BMW parts bin alone!

[SimonV8ster]

Could you tune this easily ?

[Johnboy Mac]

SimonV8ster said:

Could you tune this easily ?

I suspect you could. The question really is would you want to?

[irish boy]

I test drove one of these when they were new.....being 17 odd I couldn't get insurance anywhere!

[Speed_Demon]

Love the concept of Kai cars. Rarely see these for sale. Hoping they make a return as a focus on lighter materials develops.

A shame at a "powerfully built" 100kg, I'd ruin the power to weight ratio. though I hear you can almost double the power of this with certain mods IIRC

[977]

Paint it yellow, drive around shouting BUS wkERS!

[GTiFrank]

Flewis said:

I had one of these for over 2 years and loved every drive. Lightweight and so chuckable. So much more fun than my current 924S. Really miss my old car.

The feeling of speed was immense, best way of having fun without breaking the speed limit!

Welcome to PH

[Bucketeer]

An old Gran Turismo favourite. Cheeky little buzzbox.

[marshall100]

I love this kind of stuff. I'll bet it's ace in the snow. The only type of car that can tempt me away from my quad, though I think that might be quicker to sixty

What's the mental little mazda that never really made it over here in very many numbers?