Why the Copen is my dream car. #blogpost

I like many cars in this world, from classic chargers to smart cars to the Mclaren P1, but there’s 1 car that has been taking my heart for the past few years, and it’s the Daihatsu Copen. More specifically the 1st generation JDM version. Crazy, somehow this 63hp 660cc kei car can take my heart with it. To some, the Copen is just a tiny underpowered “gay” ( according to Clarkson ) car. But there are good reasons why I love the Copen so much.

1. Cute design

First of all, my first impression on the Copen, the design. About 10 years ago, I started liking the Copen, with its cute design, with round front and rear lights. The happy face makes it super adorable. I know it’s not a manly design, it’s not ferrari sexy, but it has its own appeal. The first generation Copen’s design can appeal even if you put it next to supercars. The original Daihatsu Spoiler also fits very well on the car and it makes it cool.

2. Small and agile chassis.

The second is the chassis. This is probably the reason I love Kei cars in general. No matter what performace Kei car you want, Alto works, beat, S660, AZ-1, Cara, Cappucino, Mira TR-XX Avanzato, nearly none of them have a wheelbase longer than 2.3 meters, that makes it very agile. I know putting lots of power in a small chassis will pake it undrivable, that’s why I won’t. I never expect a V6 to fit in it, maybe not even something over 1 liter. Give it the right amount of power, around 120-150hp, high revs, proper suspension setup, a bit of weight reduction, and it will be happy on twisty roads.

3. Potential, lots of em.

This is the main reason, which not many of you may know, the Copen has a lot of potential beneath it. Which also relates to point number 2, agility. Unlike most kei cars which have 3 cylinders, the Copen has 4. Also unlike other manufacturers, which decreased the bore to maintain torque and lower the displacement, Daihatsu decreased the stroke. Yep, the Copen is a short-stroker, 56.4mm to be precise. The result? 9000 revs even with a turbo. Hell, you can even go to 9500 with D-Sport ECU ( no mods ). I know the Copen’s output isn’t much. I know, 63hp sounds embarrassing, but the Copen has a lot of mods. HKS tuned the Copen to 120hp with their turbo kit. There are lots of aftermarket parts for the Copen, mostly made by HALFWAY, KC-Technica, and D-Sport. There’s even a 760cc bored piston kit. And that’s not all, and this is the best part. The Copen’s JB-DET engine has a bigger brother, the JC-DET. Same engine, longer stroke. 713cc may not sound much, but the Copen’s bored pistons can fit in the JC-DET, and HALFWAY did it once. The result? 140hp from a 822cc engine, and still revs to 9000. It still doesn’t sound much even if you compare it with a miata. But let me remind you that the copen weighs 830kg. A 140hp car carrying 830kg with lots of agility will put it against the base model elise, which is quick. To show you what a 140hp Copen can do, I’ll show you a few videos.

The drawbacks

Like every other car, the Copen isn’t perfect, so I’ll start with the drawbacks. First of all, it’s small. It’s good to have a small car, but there are lots of drawbacks. The headroom is small. I’m 176cms and I only have 5 cms left of headroom when I get into a Copen. The boot will be very small if the roof is down so you can’t take any luggage with you, unless the passenger seat is empty. Second is its price. In Indonesia, it’s not cheap. 12.5k GBP just for a 13 years old 660cc car. I can just but a new Jazz for it, but it doesn’t appeal as much as the Copen. Also Copens are very rare, it’s getting harder and harder just to find one.

Conclusion

Time for a conclusion. Well the Copen is a small, agile, full of potential, tiny roadster that I love. It has lots of compromises to own but it’s worth compromising for. Being small and light, it should be good on economy and track. Which means it can be both a daily and a weekend car, unless you need to carry lots of stuff daily, you may need to look elsewhere.