Daihatsu never made ‘em like this, but obviously someone out there wanted it this way. It’s difficult to enumerate the many odd additions slapped on this poor car, but the most egregious is that gaping Aston-DeSoto-Buick maw, which gives this hopefully unique Copen its ravenous look. Mind your fingers, I think it bites!
In standard form, the Daihatsu Copen looks rather innocent. Its rounded ends, its circular lights and diminutive size make it look like a 21st Century Beetle variant. But this one gave me a hell of a start when I saw it out of the corner of my eye, lurking in its lair.
I approached gingerly. There was so much extra bling all over such a tiny car – it was like some sort of dare: “Betcha can’t stick a ’58 Mercury’s worth of brightwork on this thing and still be road legal.”
The “chrome” was laid on thick, and I mean really thick. From that audacious grille and front bumper combo to the moon discs and side trim, there was a lot of extra cheese on this thing. Even the wipers were contaminated.
Got to admire the attention to detail. I mean, those windshield washers? Cor blimey, guv!
Here’s the mark of a truly committed otaku Anglophile owner-customizer: for once, the madness was also extended to the interior. That handbrake is just over the top!
I have not seen anything this extreme on such a small scale. Copens are really small – they’re usually registered as keis, except this one, for some reason (the extra length of the tacked-on chrome bumper?).
I’d really like to know the thought process behind that grille. The Aston shape, though awful, is pretty evident, but that toothy trim really makes the whole thing horrendous, like an angler fish with a thyroid condition.
Mitsuokas are one thing, and kits to turn Micras into Vanden Plas 1300s are another, but nothing can come close to the sheer weirdness of this Copen. Eccentricity is a quintessentially British trait, so one can only approve, though this is a bit too much to stomach.
Related posts:
CC Capsule: 2002-12 Daihatsu Copen – Parp Parp!, by William Stopford
Curbside Outtake: Honda S660, Daihatsu Copen, and Daihatsu Move Canbus – My Top 3 Favorite Kei Cars, by Jim Brophy
CC Twofer: Daihatsu Copen / Toyota Crown Comfort – Japan, Land Of Paradoxes, by T87
Add vinyl roof, call it a brougham.
Nah, this is ’50s tacky, not ’70s tacky. 🙂
I kind of like it. Much more fun than the original.
It needs a set of curb feelers.
The hood handle plus the varicolored teeth also suggests a ’42 to ’47 Ford pickup. And a bit of Packard in the cusps.
Pretty much a Rohrschachmobile.
The rust setting in on the grill reminds me of Dr.Teeth from the muppets
I actually don’t dislike it, but then again I don’t particularly care for the unadorned standard Copen so this just gets the party started. And if Ford of all people can slap an Aston grille on half their cars, then this Daihatsu gets a pass as well. If nothing else, this is more convincing than an Aston Martin Cygnet. Hopefully you’ll find one of those soon, that would be a rare treat.
I used to see a couple of Cygnets quite regularly back when I lived in Edinburgh, I may have a couple of photos rooting around somewhere in the depths of my hard drive. They were actually quite well finished, especially compared to this Copen (though I actually like the regular stock Copen so…). But I do think it would be very hard to find a Cygnet in Japan, although they were available there I’m not sure how successful they’d have been since even the Toyota iQ wasn’t a hit there.
The tissue dispenser/arm rest is kind of interesting.
The wood steering wheel is nice.
Other someone spent a big chunk of change on this fishy conversion.
I cannot agree with the author. This thing is bloody glorious. Want!
Copen was sold in Germany and some European countries for a few years (2003–2005) with same 660cc engine and was available in right-hand-drive form only. Due to the lacklustre European sale, Daihatsu introduced a revised Copen with a large 1.3-litre engine and left-hand-drive in the autumn 2005. The sale continued until Copen was withdrawn from German and European markets in 2011.
Despite low volume, they were surprisingly common sight in large German cities such as Berlin, Munich, etc. What astounded me the most was how TINY the Copens appear amongst the vehicles.
I had to go to the previous CC to remind myself of what a stock Copen looks like. Although it would be better if the Buick-esque grille fit the contours of the opening more closely and had higher quality plating, this car, in my opinion, is a vast improvement over the simplified-imitation-Lexus look of the original. And let’s not even talk about the 2013 redesign that gave the Copen a Chevy Sonic face missing its center bar bowtie.
I like the side bling too; it adds some style to the Copen’s unfinished-looking sides. Really, the only thing I would change is I would lose the luggage rack.
Step 1. Remove steering wheel. Step 2. Discard rest. Step 3. Hang steering wheel in man cave. Step 4. Enjoy an adult beverage and admire your handiwork.
The Buick-style grille reminds me of the one that Toyota used for a few years in the 1st generation Tacoma, which to me ruined an otherwise clean shape. It’s no better here, and decidedly non-Anglo.
I don’t hate it. The current Copen has arguably 4 distinct variations, and the Cero is somewhat similar, but lovely in coupe form:
I like it. Especially the wood accents to the interior and the chrome grille and bumper.
The toothy grill is homebrew. The “teeth” are cabinet pulls.