- Powering the pint-sized Kei car is a 656 cc naturally-aspirated three-cylinder.
- Despite the van’s small footprint, it has a surprisingly spacious interior and trunk.
- The 1999 model has been driven roughly just 14,000 miles since new.
For the most part, vans aren’t cool. In fact, they might be one of the lamest body styles in existence, the automotive equivalent of a beige waiting room. If you want to drive a van and still look good doing it, though, no country pulls it off quite like Japan.
Read: Honda Refreshed The $11K Kei Car That Outsells Everything Else In Japan
Plenty of Japanese vans, like the Toyota Alphard and Nissan Elgrand, are big and expensive, but the country has also run a thriving Kei van industry for decades, and this 1999 Honda Vamos ranks among the finest of them. Up for auction now in Monticello, Mississippi, it’s an unusually low-mileage example that only reached the United States last year, which makes it something of a novelty on this side of the Pacific.
Bring a Trailer
Shortly after the current owner acquired the car, finished nin Vogue Silver Metallic, they had it ceramic-coated, and the badges were refinished in a shade of orange. It then had a retro Momo sunset graphic wrapping along the sides and across the rear fascias, making this van so much more appealing than any modern one a new car dealer could sell you.
Funky And Fresh
A new set of 14-inch wheels has also been fitted, clad in Lanvigator Fastone tires, replacing the 12-inch wheels the owner purchased the car with. Interestingly, the seller acquired the Vamos less than a year ago on Bring a Trailer, trading hands for $7,600. It’ll be interesting to see how much it sells for this time around.
Bring a Trailer
Given that this is a Kei car, even though it is a van, it’s obviously quite small by Western van standards, so it isn’t exactly an ideal family car. That said, it does have sliding side doors and offers comfortable seating for four, all while maintaining a surprisingly spacious trunk.
Positioned under the second row of seats is the engine. It’s a tiny 656 cc naturally-aspirated three-cylinder mated to a five-speed manual transmission and rear-wheel drive. Despite the Honda’s age, it’s only been driven roughly 23,000 km or 14,000 miles, so it has plenty of life left.
It’s weird, it’s tiny, and it’s the kind of thing you buy purely because your neighbors won’t get it. Go see it on Bring a Trailer here.
