Japanese kei cars aren’t exactly swift, but they invariably come across as cozy and stylish vehicles best suited for everyday urban use. Unfortunately, the 5th generation of the Daihatsu Mira Gino (L700/710) fell short in both respects when it came out in 1999. Nozomu Yamamoto, of Yamamoto Works, has decided to do something about it.
For starters, he swapped the stock wheels out for a set of 15-inch OZ Racing F1R alloy rims, installed wheel arch extenders and replaced the hood cover with a different one sporting a huge motor dome (more on that later).
He then stripped the interior of his Mira Gino of all the unnecessary clutter, instead leaving it with a set of shiny new bucket seats, a roll cage, a sports steering wheel with a steering column extended by a further 310 mm (12”), and a new gear selector.
Of course, this wasn’t the limit of his ambitions. He proceeded to remove the stock 0.66-liter Gino engine and replace it with a far more impressive 1.8-liter Mazda MX-5 NB Eunos Roadster unit churning out 160 hp (120 kW). If this doesn’t sound impressive enough for you, consider the fact that the car now weighs around 900 kilograms (less than 2,000 lbs.).
Nozomu Yamamoto said he was going to use his tuned Daihatsu Mira Gino as a drift car and an advertisement for his workshop.
Photo: pleasurism.com