Once upon a time, retro-inspired JDMs were popular in futuristic Japan

You might see Japan as this fascinating nation that is built on the future but there was a period of time when Japanese carmakers were fascinated by the past. And yes, we’re going to focus on that weird van in the recent Honda HR-V spyshot.

We identified that van as a 1997 Daihatsu Atrai Classic, a retro variant of the Daihatsu Atrai, which was a more luxurious version of the Daihatsu Hijet van. The thing is, this is an official model from the factory, not some aftermarket kit.

In the 1980s, business in Japan was booming which culminated in a period known as the Bubble Era. The automotive industry wouldn’t escape this fever dream and at the same venue where Nissan launched its AWD supercar concept, it also introduced a series of whimsical retro-inspired cars, known as the Pike cars.

Unlike the MID4, Nissan greenlit a limited production of these cars which were based on the K10 Nissan March at Pike Factory in Japan. Since then, the Nissan Be-1, Nissan Pao, Nissan S-Cargo, and Nissan Figaro became style and cult automotive icons.

Seeing the success of this, other manufacturers tried to copy Nissan’s approach but unfortunately, Japan’s Bubble Era was about to burst. As a result, rather than building a brand-new model from scratch, most companies took existing models and gave them a "retro" makeover.

For example, carmakers like Daihatsu and Subaru did this makeover on the Opti and Vivio respectively by slapping on an interesting-looking grille. Make no mistake, even in their attempts to make it old-school, they're at least more reliable than their Western inspirations.

While the retro look was mostly seen on Kei cars and vans, there were a few attempts on regular cars like the Subaru Impreza (the Casa Blanca) and the Mitsubishi Pajero (the Flying Pug) to varying degrees of hideousness.

Toyota even produced a limited-edition sedan that was inspired by the Toyopet Crown called the Origin. Meanwhile, another brand called Mitsuoka decided to go retro on all of their models.

Eventually, these retro editions were phased out as variants. While the 2000s saw European and American automotive manufacturers began to embrace the retro looks, Japanese buyers grew tired as the quirkiness aesthetic became unironically mainstream.

However, this retro aesthetic isn’t really dead. In fact, it just became a niche thing among car enthusiasts. There are a few aftermarket companies in Japan that produce retro-inspired body kits, mostly restricted to Kei cars and vans.

Oh, and Mitsuoka? It still runs to this day, launching a Toyota RAV4 with retro body panels with a three-year waiting period. As cute and unique as these designs are, they also showcase how designs can evolve over time.