Toyota might be single-handedly responsible for reviving Japan’s sports car market, if a whirlwind of rumors prove true. The latest says that Suzuki is working on resurrecting the legendary Cappuccino with Toyota’s assistance. The car might even spawn two other versions wearing Toyota and Daihatsu badges.
According to Best Car, the Cappuccino will be the third car riding on the platform shared by the Toyota S-FR and Daihatsu Copen. Those two cars have already been rumored to be under development with a turbo 1.3-liter twin-cam making around 150 horsepower. It would be the same engine used in the also rumored Toyota Starlet. However, whereas the engine would be mounted transversely in the FF Starlet, the S-FR and Copen are purportedly FR. That’s a big change for the Copen, which has only existed as an FF car until now.
Of course, it would mean that the Cappuccino, like the Daihatsu Copen, no longer qualifies as a kei car, which have a 660 cc displacement limit. It would also exceed the physical dimensions that kei cars are restricted to.
It almost seems as if Toyota, Daihatsu, and Suzuki have the ND Miata directly in their sights. Best Car reports the Cappuccino will have a footprint of 4000 mm (157 inches) long, 1730 mm (68 inches) wide, and 1230 mm (48 inches) high. That’s around the size of an ND Miata. For comparison, a kei car is limited to 3400 x 1480 x 2000 mm. The article also lists a curb weight of about 2,425 pounds, which is pretty close to an ND’s 2,345 pounds.
Speaking of Toyota collaborations, a report from Australia’s CarsGuide says more partnerships are likely in the company’s future. They spoke with Gazoo Racing head Tomoya Takahashi, who said via a translator,”The sports car market is shrinking in the future. We cannot maintain sports cars as one brand, Toyota.”
Toyota appears to have found a format that works, having successfully spread development costs with Subaru for the GR86 and BMW for the A90 Supra. “It’s not for one manufacturer to survive, but to protect car enthusiasts,” Takahashi explained. “Our mission is to make car guys smile, so we need to collaborate sometimes,” he said, but also made clear that for now, “We don’t know with whom we’re going to collaborate.”
It sounds like the Toyota S-FR, Daihatsu Copen, and Suzuki Cappuccino will be more than just badge engineering. The Copen in particular will likely have unique sheetmetal that recalls its predecessor. If we had to guess, we’d wager that the S-FR will be sold with either a fixed roof or targa top like the Sports 800, while the Copen will feature a folding hardtop, and the Cappuccino will be have a traditional soft top. According to Best Car, the Cappuccino will debut in 2027.
Mazda AZ1 came to be from the help of Suzuki, now a new Suzuki is coming out with Toyota Partnership. I believe Suzuki to be in the forefront of all small cars, they are the best selling in Japan. So it maybe a Suzuki product with sports car knowhow from Toyota (I dont want to say that Suzuki doesnt have sports car knowhow, but Toyota has been very successful with their new GR models). I still think the Suzuki might come with the Kei car engine and dimensions.
I think that Suzuki has the knowledge to make a kei car of economical cost and good quality, after all it was the link they had with VW to share “clean” diesel technology in exchange for the way of making vehicles light, resistant and With a contained cost, Suzuki showed what it had but VW was reluctant, the link was cut a few weeks before Dieselgate broke out. and the swift sport is not a bad platform, a lot of that unknown experience for us in the Asian markets will be key, as will the sales volume (I looked for migthy car mods when they went to compete in Malaysia) apart from providing a rear-wheel drive platform It puts it in the same neighborhood as the Honda S660 but with more power, the rumored 1000 engine, I think they never made it for markets outside of Japan.
If the Cappuccino name is resurrected, it would need to be a Kei car in Japan. I think Suzuki will design the car with Toyota input, and of course money.
No matter WHICH concept, it won’t be available here … until 2049!
There is no market for a small roadster in the US. It will never be sold here.
I am conflicted over this, if a Cappuccino comes back, I’d like it to be as a kei car like Honda did with the S660, but if that happened, it would not be available anywhere else than Japan…
The MX-5 is probably as small as a sports car could get in order to be taken seriously in north america. It is sad, but in our land of huge SUVs, pickup trucks and inattentive drivers, vehicles are getting bigger, and that includes sports cars. And while 150 horses are a lot for a very small sports car, it probably is right where it needs to be in order to be playful while being weighted down by modern safety systems.
But after all, Suzuki cars left our market, and Daihatsu never came here. So it is not intended for our market. Why make it as big as an MX-5 then?
Well now, Daihatsu did come to America for a brief period. That sold a small car called the Charade. They may have also sold a small truck let called the Rocky, though I’ve never seen one here in the states. They were sold mostly on the west coast and possibly didn’t sell too well mostly due to the price they Daihatsu we’re asking for them.
No just bring back the Honda Del Sol Transtop yo the US market and give it 160hp standarded lowered to the ground with six headlights fir under $15,000, and you will have a winner!