The Daihatsu Mira Gino wasn’t inspired by the original Mini, but something Italian

Yes, you read the title correctly. The Daihatsu Mira Gino, a favourite conversion among Perodua Kelisa owners, was a retro-inspired Kei car that did not take inspiration from the classic British people’s car many thought to believe.

But before we hop on the true inspiration of the little tike, let’s take a trip in our self-made (and imaginary) Kelisa time machine back to the swinging sixties.

A Japanese Rennaissance

As post-war Japan began to step up its industrialization period by producing affordable television sets and radios, so was its automobile industry. However, Japanese cars weren’t treated in the same regard then outside of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Americans mock it for its tiny size and questionable quality. On the other hand, the Europeans were not as cynical towards the Japanese as most of the continent was recovering from the brutality of World War II, just like Japan.

So, a number of Japanese carmakers sought partnership with the Italians and the British in design and engineering respectively. Among those carmakers was Daihatsu which sought Italian coachbuilder Vignale to design a model that would introduce the brand to the world.

Also read: Hideyuki Miyakawa – Japan’s secret agent of car design you never heard of

The result of this partnership was the Daihatsu Compagno, a fitting name as it was Italian for “partner”. The Compagno was available in multiple body styles including a sedan, a wagon, a pick-up, and a cabriolet.

Its design was contemporary at the time and resembled a smaller Fiat 1800/2100 but it was a looker nonetheless.

The retro kid

Now let’s hop back into our Kelisa time machine and move forward to the 1990s. Retro became in trend among Japanese carmakers as almost every carmaker offered their own take of the past.

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

Daihatsu was already producing their own retro recreation with the Mira Classic. With the fifth-gen L700 Mira, Daihatsu decided to give the Mira Classic its own separate line. Hence, the Mira Gino was unveiled in 1999 with a grille inspired by the Compagno.

However, the Mini connotation stuck on people’s minds and there’s no denying that the Mira Gino’s design itself matched with Alec Issigonis’ creation. Especially in a three-door guise.

Daihatsu even embraced the Mini lookalike comments by introducing the Minilite Special in 2000 which featured Minilite wheels and badges.

The Mira Gino was offered with three engine options, a 660-cc engine in naturally-aspirated or turbocharged configurations as well as a 989-cc engine which was called the Mira Gino 1000. Nevertheless, the latter is one of the rarest Mira Gino variants with 1,290 units built between 2002 and 2004.

The forgotten successor

The Mira Gino continued with the second generation in 2004. Unlike its predecessor, the second-gen Gino had a completely original design that was entirely different from the sixth-gen L250 Mira (the basis for the Perodua Viva).

The styling was inspired by a MINI, the modern one if you haven’t noticed the all-caps spelling. In spite of the original design, it was not as well-received as the original Gino and some reviewers even hated the design.

It was also the only Mira Gino that was sold overseas where it was called the Daihatsu Trevis. While the JDM Gino was only offered a 660-cc engine to keep it under Kei car regulations, the export market Trevis was given the same 989-cc engine as its predecessor and the Kelisa.

Production for the second-gen Gino lasted from 2004 to 2009 when it was replaced by the Mira Cocoa. Daihatsu continued giving retro-inspired designs on some of their future models, most notably the Taft.

However, the Mira Gino still ends up as a sort of cult classic not just among Kelisa fans here but in Japan. Its light handling, especially with the 989-cc engine paired to a manual transmission, mirrored the original Mini but with better reliability.

Also read: Perodua Kelisa – The modern successor to the Mini