Goo-Net: Best Kei Ever Edition

"PanchoVilleneuve ST" (PanchoVilleneuve)
09/26/2014 at 22:04 • Filed to: Goo-Net, Minica Dangan ZZ-4

I have not made my love of the Mitsubishi Minica Dangan ZZ-4 a secret here. It's a monster. The combination of a 660cc 3-pot with 5 valves per cylinder that revs to 9500 rpm and the computer-controlled AWD system that later appeared in the Lancer Evolution stuffed into a car the size and weight of a lunchbox produces the only thing that could out-rad the kei-sports trifecta of AZ-1, Beat and Cappuccino.

Here's a 91 example with a mere 30k kms on the clock. It's a car you Canadian sons of bitches can drive right now and us gun-totin' cattle-rustlin' cowboys in the US can drive in two years. And if you don't want it, the Jalop police will be arriving at your house shortly to void your hoon cards.

Look at those instruments. Have your mind blown by how they aren't from a motorcycle. Tingle all over as you realize how much untapped potential has to lie within this engine.

Like any kei car, you have to look for clues to how small this thing really is. Look at the steering wheel. Look at the front seat. Understand this thing weighs about 1500 pounds. Realize that 65 horsepower is a whole lot in a car that is that light. Remember that this has Lancer Evolution AWD and independent suspension all around. Embrace the hoonshoe. Love the hoonshoe.

See how all this milage-so-low-it's-practically-new awesome will only cost you $5,820 plus shipping from Japan. Lose sleep over how you don't currently own this pile of awesome.

http://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/MITSU…

DISCUSSION (70)

Kanaric > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/26/2014 at 22:06

I wonder how much I could get one from pacific coast jdm and auctions. Might be even less.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Kanaric
09/26/2014 at 22:09

Do it! I'd go to wherever you are and touch your butt.

Kanaric > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/26/2014 at 22:13

I plan on going on a import spree once I get promoted to my next job level which is another $20k a year. Already have a skyline, but it's non-gtr. I want 3 JDM cars. Might be able to fit this one between two of them in my garage lol.

I have seen a kei in person, a honda beat, they are hilariously tiny. IDK what people would think of it if I drove this to a cars and coffee. I would have to autocross it too at least once.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Kanaric
09/26/2014 at 22:18

I live in the liberal paradise of Connecticut, in Fairfield County, the wealthiest county in America, full of people with more money than sense and a desire to appear like they totally care more than anybody else. Most of them traded in their Mercedes S-Classes for Teslas.

Those who want to live that dream without having the funds to do it seem to have bought every single Mitsubishi i-MiEV imported to the United States. Every time I see one, my thought process goes from "that's a weird Smart" to "how did they get a Tata Nano" to "oh yeah, you can get an electric i here".

Kanaric > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/26/2014 at 22:22

I'm in Las Vegas so I see all kinds of weird things. Especially if I drive through the summerlin area and that side of town where all these celebrities live. That and we have two Air Force bases here and people come from Japan and Europe and sometimes bring things back with them. Sometimes I wonder how they do it because of the Pulsar GTIR and Honda Beat i've seen which are not 25 year legal yet.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Kanaric
09/26/2014 at 22:26

There is somebody here in Stamford who daily drives a GTI-R. One of these days I'll intentionally bump into him at a stoplight just to ask him HOW DID YOU DO THIS WONDERFUL THING?!

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/26/2014 at 23:10

It's also Clarkson Approved!

I'm sure I've made it known that I'm a Kei Car fanatic. I would love one of these. It also doesn't hurt that I'm Canadian so I could get it now.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
09/26/2014 at 23:15

The high performance Keis are amazing, since holy god they are detuned to an absurd degree.

You can take a Suzuki Cappuccino, and thanks to the venerable F6A engine being mounted longitudinally and having tons more room for cooling, take it up to ~120-130 wheel horsepower with an intake, exhaust and ECU reflash.

And even the non-sports Keis are awesome. They are a great example of what happens when you give a competitive market super-strict regulations. Everybody went nuts engineering the most car out of the smallest possible space. They are all masterpieces of packaging.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/26/2014 at 23:24

Kinja'd!!!

The owner of this 100whp Suzuki Alto Works was kind enough to take me for a spin in it. Lets just say it fucking flies!

you can read more about the car here:

http://www.speedhunters.com/2010/02/guest_…

The fact that Clarkson @ 6'4" can fit no problem lets you know that it really is a packaging marvel.

Telumektar > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/26/2014 at 23:53

Man, I lustfully long for one sporty kei-car.

Here in Uruguay we mostly got/get the normal versions, which aren't bad but are not nearly as awesome.

Nowadays most small Japanese cars don't come with engines under 950-1000 cc, so technically not even the Celerio/Alto is a kei-car. (at least outside of Japan).
But JDM lineups are totally different. Daihatsu is an excellent example of that, they produce a number of kei-cars for the JDM but none of those are offered globally... we only get the Terios.

1337HPMustang > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 00:58

Reminds me of my favorite "micro" car from japan. While not awd or an actual kei car, the Micra SuperTurbo is probably one of the coolest cars ever made with a super and turbo charged 930 cc engine with an lsd and, get this, twice the power of that Minica while, get this, weighing 1400 lbs.

Kinja'd!!!

PanchoVilleneuve ST > 1337HPMustang
09/27/2014 at 01:07

One of the cars in my ultimate dream garage is a Nissan Pao with the engine out of the March Superturbo.

I love the Superturbo, though. It's rad in all the ways cars built simply to homologate an engine, like the Superturbo and the MA09ERT inside of it, was built for.

It would be the best "just bigger than a Kei car" hatch Japan had ever produced if Hirotoshi Honda hadn't had the desire to show his dad that he was worthy of the Honda name and put both himself and Mugen on the map with the City Turbo.

Kat Callahan > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 11:35

I drove a Minica once. It was never this cool.

DarleneTWhite > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 11:37

Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail

www.jobs700.com

Busslayer > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 11:38

I saw ZZ4 and thought maybe it had one of these in it - http://www.chevrolet.com/performance/cr…

Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 11:49

shooting brake? Sure, I'll give it shooting brake status.

Now let's find us a new ecu and a turbo and crack this bitch up to 90!!!

Honesty > Kat Callahan
09/27/2014 at 11:57

Hipster alert. :P

Just Cars for Joe Bryant > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 12:03

I found out about this when I found out about the Skyline GT-R (Nissan was building R32's at the time), when Car & Driver did a article on cars we couldn't have. I have been in love with both ever since (although Nissan is really testing it with the R35, because it really is ugly as sin).

Conan > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 12:05

That looks like a lot of fun. I wonder how much you could get it to in the horsepower department? That AWD means you'd put most of it down.

TheStigsGermanCousin > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 12:16

I adore this car. One we can have it in the states I will definitely try to get one. And with a top speed of about 86 I wont get in any huge trouble.

Canofminus > Kanaric
09/27/2014 at 12:17

I'm in Henderson and I've seen my fair share of RX-7's with the steering wheel on the wrong side and two GTIR's.

IIRC there is a loophole that allows active military to bring over cars they purchased while stationed over seas but the caveat is that its a temporary thing and they have to either destroy the car or get out of the country once the exemption is over.

Maxaxle > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 12:27

Kinja'd!!!

S2000 owners are probably raging about this.

AnnSDavis > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 12:47

www.jobs700.com

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 12:55

9500 rpm... mmmmm....

syaieya > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 13:07

My little sister wants to bring over a Suzuki Cappuccino in a couple years when they're legal.

Importing is going to get very interesting very quickly.

Stuttgart Shuffle > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 13:09

All of those little awd turbo monster kei cars are badass, The Alto Works RSR, Daihatsu Mira Tr-XX, Subaru Vivo. Up the boost and they're monsters.

200hp, stripped to less than 1500lbs, awd. That's called insanity. I need one of each.

feather-throttle-not-hair > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 13:13

I'm sort of obsessed with the idea of low cylinder count turbocharged cars.

I mean look at the CLA45 AMG. That's got what...a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine making 355hp? Is it weird that I really want to drive a car powered by a 1.5L 3-cylinder making 266 hp? Or how about a 1.0L 2-cylinder making 177hp? How fucking badass would that be in something like a Fiat 500?

Anyway back on topic. Yeah, i want that. It ticks all the boxes and then manages to squeeze into one of those boxes after you're done ticking it. Rad.

Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 13:24

I have always had a soft spot for the little car, but it isn't what you make it out to be, theres better cars on the market, but this is one of the best.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > feather-throttle-not-hair
09/27/2014 at 13:24

Don't forget the Evo FQ400, that got 400hp from 2.0L 4-pot.

Wirenfeldt_Jr > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 13:25

pardon my ignorance.. but i thought all Kei cars were limited to 63 HP, is it a typo in the article, a slightly upgraded car or something else?

Rykros the Disdainful - Supposed Petulant Capitulant Junkie > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 13:48

http://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/NISSA…

Yes please. I know it isn't a Kei car, but my goodness that site...

Kinja'd!!!

Jorge Marrero > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 13:48

:( why would you show me this? every car i get into will never live up to this standard.

Cblahblah > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 14:02

I'm currently obsessing over the Suzuki Mighty Boy (not sure if that's a Kei, but I think it is)

I love these things. I want one so bad. Everybody looks at me like I'm crazy, but a sub 2000lb car with 100+ horses is orgasmic. It's a flying shoebox

EvoTme/StiRar > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 14:12

As much as I love Japanese cars (owning two myself), driving a right hand drive car on left hand drive roads will always make you look like a douch (there are a few limited exceptions). Just my two cents.

EPH > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 14:30

I... Yeah, I can get on board with this. In a strange way.

The World of Vee > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 14:57

Kinja'd!!!

I lived the JDM YO dream for a little while. Meet humphrey.

1990 Toyota Sprinter Cielo, 5 door, 5 speed, AWD, 4aGE (86 anyone?) and actual usable space for your crap. Thing FLEW, I now own and have driven some truly spectacular cars, but this one takes the cake hands down most fun car I've ever owned.

I fully plan on eventually getting another one or buying a Geo Prizm Hatchback . But I won't treat it like a rust bucket like I did in the caribbeans (super reliable though, just push it down the street and it'll start!)

Ben C > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 14:57

Fuck me. I remember having a Tamiya build-it-yourself kit model of this car when I was a small kid. Damn that was fun.

Fond memories.

Ben C > 1337HPMustang
09/27/2014 at 14:58

Love the name, SuperTurbo. As Japanese as Japanese does.

Bad72AMX > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 15:04

Goo Net makes me hate the import laws and my lack of ability to mothball cars in a secure facility in Japan until they turn 25.

John The Race Fan > Kanaric
09/27/2014 at 15:10

I would have to autocross it too at least once.

You get a star just for this.

Saf1 > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 15:23

I've noticed some kei cars have relatively high ride heights why's that?

avens > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 15:28

Finally someone with good taste around here :P . Props.

avens > Wirenfeldt_Jr
09/27/2014 at 15:32

One of the truly magic things about Kei cars is that they come de-tuned from factory, plus sometimes producing some more power than advertised. With some effort and knowledge, you can have a really unique car for a really cheap price; the MCM dream.

e36-burger-lord > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 15:40

This is the very definition of a pocket monster.

Gotta catchem' all!

Tani Vickson > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 16:28

My Ami is 4 times as big as this, weighs only 1,400 pounds, and has 54-ish horsepower to boot with suspension that has much in the way of a bouncy castle.

Your move, Kei community.

Fl1ngstam > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 16:54

Mitsubishi UK brought over a Minica Dangan ZZ back in the day to evaluate if they could justify importing them. In the end, they couldn't, but it made for some very interesting magazine articles. Fast Lane even got Mitsubishi WRC works driver Pentti Airikkala to take one for a spin. He liked it too. I wanted one then, and I still want one now.

Spoon II > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 17:43

I would very much love a hoonshoe! I've gotta get one of these over to Canada stat!

FriskyDingo > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 18:03

One of these with a sport bike engine BOOM!

SnowBallin > Honesty
09/27/2014 at 18:20

Kei Car = Gay Car

BigGatorChris > Saf1
09/27/2014 at 19:11

It's not high. Its tiny little wheels are throwing your perspective off.

Dadu > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 21:42

HOLY CRAP! Had one of those at Misawa AB....couldn't figure out a way to get it state side....

secretagentstv > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 21:51

But can you put a 4g63 in it?

secretagentstv > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 21:51

But can you put a 4g63 in it?

secretagentstv > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 21:51

But can you put a 4g63 in it?

secretagentstv > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 21:51

But can you put a 4g63 in it?

secretagentstv > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/27/2014 at 21:51

But can you put a 4g63 in it?

Flavien Vidal > Rykros the Disdainful - Supposed Petulant Capitulant Junkie
09/27/2014 at 23:19

Automatic only...

bariki > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/28/2014 at 00:10

Uh, sorry, no. You can buy an RX-7, GT-R, Silvia, Supra, STi, or an ACTUAL Lancer Evolution for $5,820 in Japan if you know where to look. Buying a kei car if you don't live in Japan is stupid; they were designed PURELY for tax benefits (including sacrificing safety). Further, Goo-Net is for suckers (take that price and add $2000 to it, because it's what every dealer charges for the driveway price).

Also, motorbike gauges my arse; the speedometer only goes to 80 MPH. 65 HP is NOT a lot of horsepower in a car that size, 150 HP is.

If you live in Japan and want to drive a fast kei, the Suzuki Alto Works 4WD before the safety standards were revised (meaning, when it was the lightest) are faster as they have over-engineered four cylinder engines and will make 150+ HP with a bit of cajoling. And you can buy one for less than $1000 if you know the right people.

On another note, if you live in Japan and want to have fun without breaking the bank (tax, tires, gas), nothing beats a Toyota Starlet GT, which weighs barely more than a Kei car and has a turbocharged 1.3 liter good for 200+ HP. You can buy them for a song and a dance (~$500). The only difference between this and a kei is that you'll pay $150 more a year in car tax.

minica > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/28/2014 at 00:20

OH MY GOD ARTICLE ON JALOPNIK WITH MY NAME ON IT WHEEE! ahem..

having seen one when i was a kid, and subsequently have it as my numero uno diecast (hence the screen name) i really liked the car :D

*fun fact on Minica, if you Google it, google will change it to Monica*

Saf1 > BigGatorChris
09/28/2014 at 04:48

I think maybe the tiny car is throwing my perspectve off; the wheels seem to be small relative to their arches

AwFukBye > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/28/2014 at 06:08

Kinja'd!!!

30 000km or 130, 230, etc. The odometer rolls back to zero after 99 999km

blacksapphire08 > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/28/2014 at 09:24

It might be fun to drive but its just too damn small for me. Also why 2 years in the U.S.?

Omnislash79 > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/28/2014 at 09:33

Auctions>Goo

Rykros the Disdainful - Supposed Petulant Capitulant Junkie > Flavien Vidal
09/28/2014 at 10:10

There's Auto and Manual options both for this car. Sadly most of the MT examples seem to be lower-spec 1.5/1.6 models

ythostiress65 > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/28/2014 at 15:27

www.Jobs7000.Com

TinFoil Knight > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/28/2014 at 17:08

9/10. love it. would hoon hard.

BenLikesCars > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/28/2014 at 21:44

I like all the little beasts.

Alto Works ought to be paired with Alto Hustle for Best Garage.

And yet, I am drawn, to the Honda Today.

Honda Today

Honda Tomorrow

Honda FOREVAH!!!

Okay, just kidding. We are actually currently sans Hondas. (It feels weird.)

I could use one of these to address that.

Kinja'd!!!

dan-japan-brooklyn-vermont > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/29/2014 at 00:53

That looks like a fun Kei car. I have driven a few of them mostly borrowed from the garage when my GTI needs servicing. They all suck in comparison to a decent VW. but the small engine size does allow for some revs. Kei trucks looked like more fun, until I drove one. The driving position is so uncomfortable. you can hardly move the seat back an inch. On the other hand they are very versatile and perfect for the city. Interiors are amazingly roomy and they are super economical. No wonder 50% (?) of the cars here in Japan are kei-class.

Mattbob > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/29/2014 at 08:13

it's these kinds of things that make me actually hate US import laws. I couldn't care less about old skylines, but this would be so fun to beat up on some dirt roads.

Count Smorkula > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/29/2014 at 13:16

Kinja'd!!!

What is with the lack of Daihatsu Copens in this post? Come on now, folks.