- This tiny kei truck is already bidding at just $2,500.
- Gran Turismo may be the reason many enthusiasts recognize it.
- With 31 hp, it offers more charm than actual utility.
There are rare cars, there are weird cars, and then there’s the Daihatsu Midget II. At first glance, this single-seat kei truck looks like something a cartoonist would sketch after being told to draw a pickup from memory.
Yet despite its obscurity outside Japan, an example is currently up for auction, and there’s a good chance plenty of bidders already know exactly what it is. They probably don’t know it from a dealership, a magazine, or even real life. They know it from Gran Turismo, where it ranks among the slowest things you can possibly drive.
More: Daihatsu Revives Tiny Japanese Legend With An Electric Twist
For an entire generation of enthusiasts in the USA, Gran Turismo wasn’t just a racing game. It was sort of an automotive encyclopedia. Alongside supercars, Le Mans racers, and JDM legends sat some truly bizarre machinery. Few vehicles embodied that better than the Daihatsu Midget II.
Photos BaT
The tiny kei truck appeared in multiple entries of the franchise and became one of those vehicles players bought simply because it existed. It wasn’t fast, competitive, or particularly useful in-game. It was memorable. Guess what? The real deal is shockingly similar.
Originally imported from Japan in 2022, this 1996 model has covered approximately 95,000 kilometers (59,000 miles) and comes finished in a two-tone gray and black color scheme. Power comes from a 659 cc three-cylinder engine making 31 horsepower (23 kW), paired with a four-speed manual transmission that sends power to the rear wheels. Somehow, this thing gets weirder when you explain what it is to other folks.
It’s a pickup truck, has a central single seat like a McLaren F1, has a spare tire on the nose like it’s going on safari, and has a floor-mounted air conditioner. The radio picks up AM frequency only. The auxiliary lights and tubular bumpers add a bit of capability.
Photos BaT
The MacPherson struts up front are paired with leaf springs in the rear, and the whole vehicle stops thanks to drum brakes. Granted, when you have less horsepower on board than many side-by-sides, drum brakes will do just fine.
The Midget II makes no sense and asks for none. At the time of writing, bidding sits at just $2,500 with nearly a week remaining. That’s unlikely to last. After all, it’s hard to put a price on a vehicle that spent decades living rent-free in the minds of Gran Turismo players. Go put eyes on the listing before someone with better taste does.
