Nobody does retro like the Japanese. They (re-)invented the fad in the late ‘80s, and less than ten years later, the whole world was at it. But no country took to it like Japan. Every single marque in every single segment gave it a shot. A whole new specialized carmaker emerged thanks to it. So naturally, there were a few faceplants along the way. And few carmakers can produce duds like Mitsubishi.
One of their bigger retro-styled catastrophes was the aptly-named Flying Pug (1995-98). While they were trying desperately to sell those, Mitsubishi did pretty well by tarting up their little Minica kei car and calling it the Town Bee.
This was the first Town Bee though, launched in 1997 on the 7th generation Minica (1993-98). It was a pretty successful – if rather short-lived – experiment.
The Toppo, a tall wagon variant of the Minica, could also receive the Town Bee treatment. Usually, the Toppo got outsized chrome headlamps that looked quite distinctive, helping the Minica keep its sales up for its final year.
Then, in October 1998, a new generation Minica was launched, so the Town Bee disappeared for a little while. The Toppo became its own thing, inheriting the previous generation Minica’s optional 659cc OHC 4-cyl., which could be had with a turbo for 64hp; the Minica proper, however, was only available with the 357cc OHC 3-cyl., providing 50hp at best.
So this was a rather tame kei, even by the standards of the genre. Don’t get me wrong, most keis in the 2000s made do with about 50hp, but there was usually a turbo variant in the range for folks who wanted the full 64hp – the very upper limit of the kei regulations, power-wise. Not for the Minica, though. And sales kind of reflected that.
The Town Bee returned in mid-1999, and you could tell Mitsubishi were applying the mascara with a trowel. They even went for a Continental-style rear end…
It’s hard to make out because of that weird cupholder thing (and I flubbed the photo), but they did add a fake wood panel to the centre stack. That’s pretty much it as far as the interior was concerned.
The front was where the car changed the most. And boy did that go wrong. The giant wide-smile grille could have been ok in isolation, but it was flanked by some of the strangest bug-eyed headlamp clusters ever devised.
Competition within the kei segment was fierce at the time: Daihatsu were making a killing with their Mini-like Mira Gino, Subaru did great with their Bistro. By contrast, the Town Bee looked a little beyond the pale, even for Japan.
The Minica nameplate, created back in 1962, was perhaps past its sell-by date, which did not help matters. Buyers tended to shop at other marques for their kei saloons: for the 8th generation, the 3-door base model Minica van represented 75% of sales. In 2004, Mitsubishi killed off the saloons, Town Bee included, replacing them with the completely new mid-engined (and later electrified) i. The Minica van, however, carried on virtually unchanged until 2011.
The retro craze has given us a lot of odd-looking machines, and this little Mitsu is definitely in the “WTF” category. It is not alone, far from it. But as a kei car, it failed to catch the massive retro wave that sustained several of its rivals. Another cubic zirconia from the would-be diamond marque.
Related post:
COAL: Mitsubishi Minica – Vehicular Hopelessness, by Matthew Streeter
So my question – as a non-Japanese speaker – is whether “Town Bee” translates into something else in Japanese that has significance or at least doesn’t sound as ridiculous as it does in English? I’m holding out hope for that, since otherwise I cannot figure out why anyone would name a vehicle something as nutty as “Town Bee”.
Beyond the name, and the ridiculous front and rear designs, it seems like an ok little car. It seems practically-sized, good access, and the interior is pretty much standard for what one might expect. Gotta lose that name though.
It kind of reminds me of a Chrysler Sebring that got shrunk in the wash, or only partially crushed.
If that’s a Town Bee I’d like to see the Country Bee before making my selection.
I’m holding out for the Free Bee.
It could be worse, in some way it almost, at the front at least, predicts some current design trends, just needs a couple of led light tubes and disjointed swage lines.
I really like a lot of the retro designs such as the Daihatsu Mira Gino but this one is really odd. It has some of that insect type design that is seen on a lot of modern sport motorbikes but then combined with token attempt at a continental wheel (on a hatchback?!) that comes across as someone throwing random parts to see what sticks. Curious indeed.
I’ve visited Japan five times – this makes me want to go back…
There are kits of quite a few Japanese oddities – I’ll show you some one day – but even the kit manufacturers don’t touch these. Can’t say I blame them.
The basic Minica’s not a bad looking car, but I’ll have mine without TB thanks!