I've been meaning to do a thread about these for a bit but I've got nothing to do right now so this is my excuse, especially with the amount of people here who can actually consider an old Japanese car a classic (I hate snobs!).
Quick run down, what's a Kei, it's a car limited in engine size to 660cc (formerly 550cc) and in horsepower to 64 (but this isn't officially checked, the standard Copen is more like 80). The main thing is the size restrictions, I don't have official figures but think about the same as a proper Mini. They get lower tax in Japan. Whole idea was just to get some bigger cars off the road and get people driving little ones. We've had a few like the Copen and Mira TR-XX, also a lot like the Hijet vans but with different engines to what they have.
Anyway given these restrictions, instead of just making a load of nasty granny cars the manufacturers decided to go mad and push the limits of the restrictions, bolting turbos onto little 550/660cc engines and making absolutely bonkers tiny little hot hatches. Considering the weight of them is 500-900kg a 0.6L engine is surprisingly enough to launch them along!
1987 Suzuki Alto Works RS-R/RS-X
Tons of stickers eh, take note of the bonnet vent.....
Which seals over a top mount intercooler.
Look how far the rev counter goes.
Engine is 543cc DOHC Turbo (remember this is the late 80's!! Crikey!), 0-60 in around 9 secs thanks to the weight being a touch under 600kg, RS-X is FWD, RS-R is 4WD!!
More of these cheesy cars later. They're truly ahead of their time in terms of technology and engines.
Quick run down, what's a Kei, it's a car limited in engine size to 660cc (formerly 550cc) and in horsepower to 64 (but this isn't officially checked, the standard Copen is more like 80). The main thing is the size restrictions, I don't have official figures but think about the same as a proper Mini. They get lower tax in Japan. Whole idea was just to get some bigger cars off the road and get people driving little ones. We've had a few like the Copen and Mira TR-XX, also a lot like the Hijet vans but with different engines to what they have.
Anyway given these restrictions, instead of just making a load of nasty granny cars the manufacturers decided to go mad and push the limits of the restrictions, bolting turbos onto little 550/660cc engines and making absolutely bonkers tiny little hot hatches. Considering the weight of them is 500-900kg a 0.6L engine is surprisingly enough to launch them along!
1987 Suzuki Alto Works RS-R/RS-X
Tons of stickers eh, take note of the bonnet vent.....
Which seals over a top mount intercooler.
Look how far the rev counter goes.
Engine is 543cc DOHC Turbo (remember this is the late 80's!! Crikey!), 0-60 in around 9 secs thanks to the weight being a touch under 600kg, RS-X is FWD, RS-R is 4WD!!
More of these cheesy cars later. They're truly ahead of their time in terms of technology and engines.