Daihatsu is known as Japan’s oldest engine manufacturer, the master of small cars, and a favourite among Perodua owners looking to trade their P2 logos for the D. However, did you know that it also has a commendable rally heritage?

Yup, Daihatsu was once very much into rallying and competed in various rallies around the world in the 1970s and 1980s. These days, they’re more focused on the grassroots level and at the ongoing 2023 season of the Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) Rally Challenge, a team is competing in a Daihatsu Rocky.

The team behind the rallying Japanese twin to the Perodua Ativa is D-Sport Racing Team, the motorsports and tuning arm of Daihatsu. The team has competed in circuit endurance races in Daihatsu Copens and various other kei cars as well as participating in a few rally races in the little sports car but this will be the first time the team has chosen to compete in a Rocky.

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The TGR Rally Challenge is an amateur-level rally tournament that initially began as the TRD Vitz Challenge in 2000. As the series is organised by Toyota’s motorsports arm, there are a few specialised categories for specific models including the Aqua (Prius C), Yaris TNGA, Vitz, and the GT86 but there is also an open category for non-Toyota models.

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D-Sport Racing Team is competing the Rocky in the Open-E class category and based on the A210S code in the results table, the rallying Rocky appears to be powered by a turbocharged 1.0-litre 1KR-VET with 4WD.

Based on the rules, the cars competing aren’t allowed to have any changes or modifications to the engine’s performance so it should be making the same power figures as the standard Ativa which is 98 PS and 140 Nm.

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So far in the first 3 rounds, the rallying Rocky’s best finish was 29th overall in the first rally held at Miyoshi in Tokushima Prefecture. It also took the top position in its class across all 3 rally races so far.

It might seem unexpected for Daihatsu to compete in rallying but the brand once found glory off-road. A Daihatsu Charade famously took fifth overall at the 1993 Safari Rally with the top 4 spots all held by the iconic ST185 Toyota Celica Turbo.

While Daihatsu’s presence in rallying is now only confined to a domestic grassroots level, the Rocky rally car is proof that even the unexpected can be phenomenal. Would you like to see Perodua make its return to rallying like in the 1990s?

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