Kay-car Suzuki 'Espresso' Cappuccino for sale
Desperately seeking something fun and carefree? A Kei from Jay might be just the ticket...
It’s remarkable what human beings come up with when constrained by a prescriptive set of rules. The purpose of the so-called Kei car regulations was very definitely not to create a snazzy range of downsized sports cars, but rather to promote car ownership in postwar Japan, and thereafter make the best use of space in its densely populated cities. Sports cars arrived because with a modicum of thoughtful packaging, you could make one fit inside the government’s measuring tape. And presumably there was buyer appetite for something a bit more life-affirming than a Mitsubishi Minica.
Suzuki first showed the Cappuccino as a concept at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show, with production starting in 1991. It arrived during a rash of such models, partly enabled by the decision in 1990 to increase maximum engine size to a heady 660cc. Honda had the Beat, Mazda had the Autozam AZ-1, and Suzuki built the only front-engined, rear-drive car of the three. A layout that tends to help when a road gets narrow and bumpy.
It also explains its reputation as something of a cult classic outside of Japan. Every time modern performance cars get heavier and more filtered - and let’s face it, the current crop really do take the biscuit - we end up back at things like this. The Cappuccino produced the Kei-class maximum of 64hp, from its turbocharged three-pot, yet it weighed roughly half what some current hot hatches manage. But you were never buying numbers with Kei cars anyway, because they were mostly the same. You were buying feel.
It was never common, either. Total production is generally put at around 28,000 cars, built from 1991 to 1997. Before it, unsurprisingly, Suzuki had no comparable rear-drive roadster. After it, with the Kei car rules adjusted to accommodate more safety features from 1998 onwards, there was no successor at all. Once the Cappuccino was gone, the company went back to hatchbacks, crossovers and the odd Swift Sport, leaving it effectively as a one-off in Suzuki history.
The market tends to look kindly on one-offs that combine roadster styling with double wishbones, near-perfect balance and an engine that revs to 9,300rpm. That this very well-kept, low-mileage example was deemed worthy of Jay Kay’s eclectic tastes is hardly a surprise; the removable roof panels and absurdly small cabin will definitely not appeal to everyone - but it’s an easy thing to love if you’ve got a million other cars to choose from when it’s raining. According to the selling dealer, he affectionately dubbed it the ‘Espresso’.
Obviously provenance has something to do with the eighteen grand asking price, although these days the Cappuccino feels less like a cheap curiosity for people who missed out on an MX-5, and more like a car that some enthusiasts have been quietly championing for decades, basically from the PlayStation era onwards. There can hardly be a better or more guilt-free way of rejecting the industry’s direction of travel. Or have fun while using the minimum amount of fuel.
mine with a bit of boost tickling and decent exhaust and filter crept up to 95ish bhp was a fair bit quicker than my mates mk1 Mx5.
however the tiny size does mean you are bullied by most other road users, I had a few occasions when I was entering a roundabout at a fair lick and mums in people carriers would look me right in the eye and pull out on you, necessitating a solid kick on the anchor pedal. this in combination with the never ending rust repairs meant I moved it on
still miss it though
Great little car but to me it’s ‘worth’ only half of the asking price, and personally I couldn’t care less that JayKay owned it, all I’d want to know is that it’s been looked after with receipts etc to prove it.
A great little car for town driving, or going into places like London, a pity that there aren’t more cars like it.
ok you could buy a Smart fortwo model 2015-2022 those look good me thinks and are just 270 long, lightweight and with manual and you can get the 90hp turbo versions and even EV and even Brabus versions
I think this model looks way better then their earlier models, better proportioned and so on.
ok you could buy a Smart fortwo model 2015-2022 those look good me thinks and are just 270 long, lightweight and with manual and you can get the 90hp turbo versions and even EV and even Brabus versions
I think this model looks way better then their earlier models, better proportioned and so on.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19rpEXeD3g/
mine with a bit of boost tickling and decent exhaust and filter crept up to 95ish bhp was a fair bit quicker than my mates mk1 Mx5.
however the tiny size does mean you are bullied by most other road users, I had a few occasions when I was entering a roundabout at a fair lick and mums in people carriers would look me right in the eye and pull out on you, necessitating a solid kick on the anchor pedal. this in combination with the never ending rust repairs meant I moved it on
still miss it though
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19rpEXeD3g/
Great little car but to me it’s ‘worth’ only half of the asking price, and personally I couldn’t care less that JayKay owned it, all I’d want to know is that it’s been looked after with receipts etc to prove it.
A great little car for town driving, or going into places like London, a pity that there aren’t more cars like it.
Great car that I hardly fitted in that sadly didn't do the "only one car" that I needed/could afford at the time
I do love small cars and really wish they'd make more of them rather than huge monsters
ok you could buy a Smart fortwo model 2015-2022 those look good me thinks and are just 270 long, lightweight and with manual and you can get the 90hp turbo versions and even EV and even Brabus versions
I think this model looks way better then their earlier models, better proportioned and so on.
btw, some even race with that model Smart, guess because they made them wider. more traction/weight balance in the corners and with 760 kg or so and the 3 cill sound, could feel faster then you go, also I guess low on wear of of parts with such weight.
and if you like a cabrio, they do that as well, here a Brabus ultimate E version
https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/elektroauto/br...
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