Nine quirky Japanese concept cars we wish were built

Nissan MID4 Type II Concept – 1987

Looking head-on you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a first-gen Honda NSX, but you’d be wrong. This is in fact a Nissan, and it pre-dates the original NSX by three years.

First shown at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, the MID4-II was mind-engined, four-wheel-drive, and the second Nissan concept to follow the same recipe, hence the name. It used double-wishbones at the front, a multilink set-up at the rear, and was powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, supposedly with around 330PS (325bhp). It looks production ready, and we really wish it had made the cut.

Toyota EX-III – 1969

If you were wondering if the ‘III’ suffix meant that this was the third Toyota EX concept then you’d be hitting the nail on the head. This sleek, bonkers coupe was unveiled at the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show and, unlike many other concepts at the time that were penned in Italy by Pininfarina, Bertone and the like, the EX-III was designed in Japan. It was the McLaren Speedtail of its day, its long, aerodynamic body designed for high-speed, cross-country cruising. There were rumours it was gas-turbine powered, but Toyota failed to give even the slightest whiff of a powertrain hint.

Isuzu Bellett GT-II – 1969

Another car from the 1969 Tokyo show, the Isuzu Bellett GT-II was designed by Tom Tjaarda, a man who created numerous concepts for Ghia, Pininfarina and Italdesign throughout the 1960s and ‘70s. When you think of the name ‘Isuzu’ today you’ll likely conjure up images of a rugged pick-up ploughing its way through a deep, muddy puddle, but back in 1969 Isuzu wanted a sportscar.

The Bellett GT-II was mid-engined, with a 1.6-litre engine bolted behind the two seats, and rear-wheel-drive. Sadly it never made production, but Mr Tjaarda did go on to design the De Tomaso Pantera which, from some angles, isn’t a million miles away from the little Isuzu…

Honda J-VX – 1997

A Honda with scissor doors that looks a little like a squashed Lamborghini? Yep, we’ll take that. The J-VX was revealed to the world at, you guessed it, the Tokyo Motor Show. It was the world’s first hybrid sportscar concept, using a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder VTEC petrol engine connected to a supercapacitor. This bonkers concept never became a reality (although it later become the Honda VV concept, a pre-production concept of the Honda Insight) but Honda’s engineers obviously kept the idea of a hybrid supercar in the backs of their minds…

Mitsubishi HSR-II – 1991

You want cool? We’ll give it to you. The Mitsubishi was one of a string of six concepts shown biannually from 1989 to ’99 to at – once again – the Tokyo Motor Show. The meaning of ‘HSR’ changed several times, standing for ‘Highly Sophisticated-transport Research’, ‘Hi-speed Running Research’ and ‘Human Science Research’, but the underlying theme was that these vehicles should be the most advanced machines Mitsubishi could conjure.

It had a 3.0-litre, twin-turbo V6 (V6s were all the rage) but it also had four-wheel-drive, four-wheel-steering, and electronically controlled independent suspension – think of it as a pre-cursor to the Mitsubishi GTO. It even had ‘Active Aero Control’, with a moving rear wing and under-floor flaps.

Mazda RX-500 – 1970

We’ve written about the Mazda RX-500 before, but if we’re talking about the quirkiest Japanese concept cars of all time then it really can’t be ignored.

Only ever seen outside of Japan once (at the 2014 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, no less) the RX-500 was supposed to be a mobile advert for road safety. Its rear-lights, for example, would change colour depending on if the car was speeding up, cruising or slowing down. It didn’t weigh much, either, tipping the scales at 850kg as Mazda’s engineers used a lot of plastic in its construction… Safe by modern standards? Probably not, but cool? Absolutely. It even had a double-rotor Wankel engine.

Yamaha OX99-11 – 1992

Yamaha builds motorcycles, right? Well yes, it does, but back in 1989 Yamaha became an engine supplier in Formula 1. The wild guys at Yamaha subsidiary Ypsilon Technology teamed up with English engineering company IAD and decided to build a sportscar that would use not just the F1 engine but other F1 tech, too. And so, the OX99-11 was born.

It had a 3.5-litre V12 Formula 1 engine, detuned to around 400PS (395bhp) but that revved to 10,000rpm. It also had two seats (the passenger sat behind the driver, as you would sit pillion on a motorcycle), a single canopy door, a carbon-fibre chassis, a six-speed manual gearbox and weighed just 1,150kg. Formula 1 car for the road? Near enough.

Honda Sports EV – 2017

Developed in just six months, the Honda Sports EV Concept was unveiled in Tokyo in 2017. The all-electric Honda Urban EV Concept had been shown for the first time just one month earlier in Frankfurt (the Urban EV went on to become the Honda e), and the Sports EV, as the name suggests, was a sportscar sister to the little electric hatch. Short overhangs, a beautiful body, and a torquey electric powertrain. The only detail Honda failed to mention was if it would be rear-wheel-drive, but seeing as the new Honda e is we can only assume so… Come on Honda. Build it.

Suzuki Waku SPO – 2019

The youngest of our Japanese concepts, the Suzuki Waku SPO is a wacky, retro-styled plug-in hybrid hatch with short overhangs and some gloriously flared wheel arches. Revealed alongside the barmy ‘Hanare’ (Suzuki described it as “an autonomous driving mobile room where everyone can use transportation time and comfortable space effectively”), the Waku SPO was pitched as an everyday compact and a fun car for the weekend. In concept it isn’t a million miles away from Honda’s Urban EV concept, so maybe this little Suzuki will make it to the real world yet…