Daihatsu’s booth at the Tokyo Motor Show was the only one that had any sort of nostalgia factor. They even brought out a classic Midget and classic Compagno to sit prominently on stage beside the concepts they inspired. Unfortunately for the latter, they brought the wrong car.
Don’t get us wrong, it was very cool to see a vintage Compagno on a major stage at the Tokyo Motor Show. However, it didn’t quite explain why the new DN Compagno concept had silver roof rails, the sloping roofline, or a “coupe” body style (even though it was a four-door sedan).
What they should have brought was the Daihatsu Compagno Sports Coupe concept from the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show. It’s likely that the original no longer exists, but a photo of it wasn’t even included in Daihatsu’s press kit. The DN Compagno’s grille is clearly taken from the production 1963 Compagno, but the rest seems to have been inspired by this long forgotten show car. We hope the original is still lurking somewhere, waiting to be reunited with the car it inspired.
For that matter, the DN Compagno’s four-door-coupe roofline looks off, like it would work a lot better if the tallest point of the roof continued a foot or so further back before sweeping down in just as gentle a slope to a Prius-like fastback hatch.
they shall have taken inspiration from the Compagno berlinetta concept from the same year, way sleeker in my opinion 😉
https://www.allcarindex.com/auto-car-model/Japan-Daihatsu-Compagno-Berlinetta/
It’s probably long gone, but what a little beauty… I love these little 3 box coupes 🙂
Style these days has gone the way of the DoDo. The stylists don’t seem to have any idea of balance or proportion. I think they need to go to Italy for their holidays and spend some time at Maserati or Ferrari even if they only talked to the production line workers!
I take exception to that … 😛
Nissan needs to drop the Versa Note, Sentra and Juke, GIVE USE THE IDX Coupe’,Sedan and Wagon. Remember when car companies use a model and made a family of cars. RWD,inline-4,Manual for the coupe’. This could be a good thing. Corolla Coupe’,Hatchback,Saloon,wagon. Simple,cool and can make money.
Indeed but Versa Note is a hatchback….IDX doesn’t have a hatchback form…..you didn’t mention that and also it’s a subcompact and not a compact
You’ve made my week
So what really was the reason given to not produce the hottest concept, probably since the Viper?