GT5 Transcripts/Daihatsu Copen

First shown at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show, the Daihatsu Kopen, the company's first attempt at a convertible 2-seat kei car, was unveiled to positive reviews by the public and media alike. Their response helped push it into production in June 2002 as the Copen.

The Copen was a very different beast form its kei car predecessors of the 1990's that included the likes of the Mazda AZ-1, Honda Beat, and Suzuki Cappuccino. While most kei cars were merely inexpensively built yet efficient runabouts, the Copen was a well engineered sporty machine.

It featured a rigid, lightweight body, a well-tuned suspension and upscale features like a stylish MOMO steering wheel and five coats of paint. Additionally, the Copen made use of an "Active Top" electric roof, the first ever for a production kei car as a standard equipment. Developed by Webasto of Germany and famed Italian automotive design in firm Pininfarina, this retractable hardtop could open or close in just 20 seconds. Also adding to the Copen's appeal was an automatic transmission that attracted a new range of buyers that helped propel Copen sales beyond the 40,000 unit mark in 2007.

So popular was the car that Daihatsu began exporting it to oversea markets, including the United Kingdom and Australia, in 2003 in its original form. There the Copen received an engine upgrade to 1300 cc in 2005.