Daihatsu Cuore Avanzato

[71notout]

I remember being taken for a spin by the salesman at my local Daihatsu garage in 3 small cars - Mira, Leeza(sp) and the Opti - they were all 600cc, turbo with things like auto headlights/auto wipers and 4wd, etc. revolutionary at the time and they certainly attracted lots of attention.

I like this wee beastie a lot!

[MajorGav]

Flying Toilet said:

MajorGav said:

Flying Toilet said:

WANT!

What do these normally fetch? I am seriously interested in buying one after seeing this...

Difficult to price due to their rarity. I've seen high mileage cars in need of attention for around £1k and mid mileage cars for £1.5k - £1.7k.

Took me a couple of months just to track one down! Seriously glad I did - I rate it amongst one of my best purchases!

Thats not as bad as I thought, the hunt begins, any recommendations where to look?

Sorry for the delay in replying.

Seen this on eBay - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1998-DAIHATSU-CUORE-AVANZATO...

Needs work, but looks good value.

Otherwise, there were two others that contacted me when I placed the wanted ad on PH. If you PM me your details, I'd be happy to point them in your direction.

All the best.

[TomS146]

They remind me of Gran Turismo

[MajorGav]

TomS146 said:

They remind me of Gran Turismo

A car you used just to get your licences before moving on to bigger and better things and relegating it to the back of the garage!

Used to be fun buying a Kei car and then making a monster from it though!

[Bob Fossil]

A cracking little car - my wife's first car was a Daihatsu Cuore 1.0 3-door... nowhere as quick as the Avanzato but a hoot to drive nevertheless. The closest "modern" car I driven to my 1974 Mini 1000. So reliable too - the only thing it needed in 4 years of ownership (oustide of servicing) was a offside rear tyre.

[10speeduk]

MajorGav said:

TomS146 said:

They remind me of Gran Turismo

A car you used just to get your licences before moving on to bigger and better things and relegating it to the back of the garage!

Used to be fun buying a Kei car and then making a monster from it though!

+1

[sierrabravo999]

Brilliant!! The first time I came across one of these was while marshalling on a finish on a rally, had to get underneath it, as I thought the 4WD on the entry list was a misprint!

[10speeduk]

MGav- Please post up some videos! I'd love to see the beast in action!

[glazbagun]

I love these. When I was a kid I really wanted one of these and a Suzuki Cappachino. Good to see it looking so clean, I'd feared that these would all of ended on the scrap heap due to unthinking owners & parts availability.

[Gompo]

I reckon these are cool too, I am however holding out for a Honda City Turbo 2 to come my way..

[MajorGav]

Owned the Avanzato for a month now and it has been an absolute riot to own. Has raised more smiles than any other car I've owned.

PetrolBlog has been updated to give the story so far, but here are some pics of how she looks now. Have just fitted a square number plate to the front and given her a few layers of wax. Next job is to refurb the alloys.

Got to say, I love the car!

[10speeduk]

C'mon M-Gav. UPDATES PLEASE!

I live for this car!

Are you gonna do any big turbo conversions a la Gran Tourismo? Comedy lag followed by comedy boost?!

[Marf]

Do a "big block" conversion on it

http://autospeed.com.au/A_109795/cms/article.html

[Lubermans]

Funnily enough I've been keeping my eye out for one of these in the classifieds recently after seeing an old TV episode (Fifth Gear?) where they had a feature of 3 cars with engines under 1000cc (Copen, Cuore & some Honda import), strangely the owner of the Avanzato appeared to be an OAP!

Great pictures by the way

[MajorGav]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry for the radio silence this end.

10speeduk - I sense your urgency and frustration with proceedings! Isn't a new front number plate and a jolly good wax enough for you?! I'll be sorting out a smaller steering wheel, refurbed alloys and new tyres, but am thinking that will be all. I'm not a fan of modding cars too much - save that for Gran Turismo. Half the appeal of mine is the originality of the thing.

Having said that, Marf's link is awesome. If I find another Avanzato, I'd be seriously tempted to follow that lead. Thanks Marf!

Lubermans - thanks for the praise for the photos. I just rushed out before sunset to get them. The little Canon Finepix did an OK job. The video I think you're referring to is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO0ukFGWnhU It was the Used Car Roadshow.

Thanks again all.

[minimatt1967]

Awesome, as many have said, strong reminders of GT!

[istoo]

i remember these long ago, think they were limited production as well. Also the Charade GTii of the similar era was also nuts. First one i have ever seen in the flesh, love the idea of them, also secretly like the Honda Beat... I would love one of these as well, used car road show if i hear correct said 80 odd where made for the UK.

[C5L]

Awesome car.

8500 k redline !!! My god that must fly with 70bhp !!!!

Could we have pics of the interior and engine please.

one of the best small cars on PH !

Tell me does it do 4wd drifts ! HAHA