Europe’s acceptance of minicars has allowed Daihatsu, Japan’s specialist of small, to thrive. Whereas they packed up their subcompacts (possibly in suitcases) and left the US and Australian markets in 1992 and 2006, the Old World still gets the new stuff.
2007 marks Daihatsu’s 100th year in business, and the company is offering Centenary editions of many of its cars. In the UK, you can get a Sirion (Daihatsu Boon/Toyota Passo in Japan) Centenary Edition that comes in silver and has alloy wheels, power mirrors and Y-axis driver’s seat adjustability. The Terios (Daihatsu Be-Go/Toyota Rush) micro 4×4 comes also in silver and alloy wheels, but receives a leather steering wheel, fog lamps and roof rails. Just 100 of each will go on sale in September.
In Germany, you can get also get a 100th Anniversary Copen (pictured), the kei-sized hardtop roadster, which comes in either silver or gray with a red interior or dark green with a beige one. Extras include an upgraded head unit, aluminum trim and a Momo steering wheel. The Deutsch special edition Sirion comes in black.
Check out Daihatsu’s 100th Anniversary sites in the UK and Germany. Earlier this year, Daihatsu opened a museum in Osaka.
Source: [Daihatsu]
insides. Gunmetal finish wheels, a new engine cover, shift knob, and requisite fender badge further differentiate it from the standard RX-8. Performance-wise, urethane was injected into the rear suspension, front crossmember and rocker panels, working with Bilstein dampers to stiffen up the chassis. In other words, the same Japanese package except for the color of its duds.
