In the last few years, Toyota GR, short for Gazoo Racing, has introduced some of the most exciting sports cars to hit American driveways. The GR Supra revived a classic nameplate and delivered on the kind of thrills associated with the moniker, even if it’s mostly built upon a BMW Z4 platform. The GR86 has also proved to be an absolute gem of a sports car, providing rear-wheel-drive delights and adept handling at an affordable price. More recently, the GR Corolla has firmly reignited the hot hatch segment and has totally transformed enthusiasts’ connotations with the Corolla nameplate. But these aren’t the only models Toyota’s performance division has introduced.
In 2019, Toyota GR unveiled the Copen GR Sport, a sports car we are highly unlikely to get in the U.S., but one that has enough quirks and charm to span the Pacific. The front-wheel-drive hardtop convertible is not only unique for its looks and size — it’s just 11 feet long and under five feet in length — it has an almost completely exclusive standing in its classification and some legitimate sporting credentials in a much smaller package than the GR models we get here.
10 The Copen GR Sport Is A Kei-Car Sports Car
The Kei car segment isn’t exactly known for producing many sporty models, and that’s no surprise given the classification limits model size, engine output, and overall power. And the limits aren’t exactly conducive to creating a sports car. Save for some models like the Honda Beat, Suzuki Cappuccino, Autozam AZ-1, and Daihatsu Copen, most Kei cars as about as mundane as automobiles get. But as the latter of the more sporty bunch, the Copen, led to the creation of the Copen GR Sport. It (barely) meets the maximum length, width, height, and displacement of a Kei car to make it perhaps the most sporty model to ever be included in the segment.
9 The GR Sport Revives The Copen Nameplate
Like the Supra, GR revived a classic nameplate to offer a new sports car. The Copen GR Sport takes its name from the Daihatsu Copen convertible Kei car in that was in production from 2002-12. The Copen sported styling that looks like someone crossbred an Audi TT and Mini Cooper convertible and then left the resulting model in the dryer too long. It featured a rare-for-the-segment folding hardtop, and some models could be had with a detachable roof. Additionally, the second-generation featured a changeable interior and exterior parts ripe for creating a customized mini-convertible. Daihatsu recently marked the 20th anniversary of the model, and in doing so, created a limited run of 1,000 Copen 20th Anniversary Edition models based on one of its current Kei cars, the Cero.
8 The Copen GR Sport Has A Retractable Hardtop
The Kei car segment is filled with cute models that, more often than not, look like even tinier versions of subcompact hatchbacks we can get here, or even models that could be the automotive star in “Honey, I Shrunk The Minivan.” And often, they carry names Americans might find humorous, such as the Mazda Carol, Toyota Pixis Joy, the Cappuccino, or simply, the “Fellow” (another Daihatsu model). But models currently offered that provide open-air cruising are seriously limited (the Honda S660 is an exception), and that further gives the Copen GR Sport a unique standing. Its position as a convertible also puts it in the same company as some of the most well-known Kei cars to hit the road, including the Cappuccino and Honda Beat.
7 It's Powered By A 0.66-Liter Engine
To meet the Kei car classification, a model cannot exceed a 660cc displacement, and as such, the Copen GR Corolla maxes out that limit with a 0.66-liter, three-cylinder turbocharged engine. Maximum power is also limited to 47kW, and again, GR’s mini sports car takes things to the max with 64 horsepower on tap. Of course, in the U.S. and everywhere else in which car classifications don’t come with output limits, making a sports car usually involves a dose of added power, something that’s not possible in the Kei class. And for those horses to have any real impact, the model has to remain light. Such is the case with the Copen GR Sport, which tips the scales between 850-870 kilograms (approximately 1,900 pounds). But in order to make it feel like a sports car, GR had to get creative in designing the model.
6 The Copen GR Sport Has Unique Performance Upgrades
With limited power, output, and size, Gazoo Racing concentrated its efforts on maximizing the chassis and suspension performance. The Copen GR Sport was developed, using the Daihatsu Copen as a base, with an additional front brace and a revised shape of the center brace, a stiffer suspension spring rate, tuned electric power steering, and manual models are fitted with a limited-slip differential. According to GR, this allows drivers of its model to “enjoy a hard ride like a sports car, and easily enjoy sports driving.” Okay, so the translation doesn’t exactly make sense, but we get the point — the Copen GR Sport has the underpinnings to provide far more athleticism and agility on the road that a standard Kei car despite having limited power.
5 It Comes With A Five-Speed Manual And Recaro Seats
In delivering a genuine sports car experience, the Copen GR Sport can be had with an enthusiast-friendly five-speed manual transmission. And for those who don’t have a bodybuilder’s leg muscles for constantly shifting in Tokyo traffic, a continuously variable transmission with a seven-speed “Super Active Shift” feature with paddle shifters is also available. In the minuscule cabin, the little sports car is fitted with Recaro sport seats bearing an embroidered GR logo with a MOMO steering wheel and red-lighting for the “triple meter” gauge cluster. Squint your eyes and you could confuse the cabin for a customized JDM offering from a few decades ago, but again, these add to the sports car experience when the actual specs of the car are limited.
4 It's Styling Sets It Apart
If there’s anything that nearly all Kei cars have in common, it’s a cuteness that can cause even the grumpiest of enthusiast’s eyes to light up. The Copen GR Sport is no exception, particularly with its top-down, due to its tiny dimensions. But to liven up a segment synonymous with cutesiness, GR added some sport-inspired visual upgrades that make the Copen GR Sport more aggressive. Consider it more of a grumpy-but-still-adorable toddler. It sports a unique front bumper with side air intakes, a swollen front grille, a new rear diffuser, matte gray BBS forged-aluminum wheels, LED exterior lighting, and there are a total of eight exterior paint options including Tonico Orange Metallic, Matador Red Pearl, Jaune Yellow, and Clear Blue Crystal Metallic.
3 The Copen GR Sport Is Neither A Toyota Or Daihatsu
If you happened to be in Japan and came across the Copen GR Sport, you may look to its badges to help identify it, but they won’t do you much good. The model bears a c-shaped badge on the trunk and front fascia, and otherwise, it’s simply labeled with GR badging. That’s because the Copen GR Sport is not really a Toyota even though Gazoo Racing is firmly under the automaker’s umbrella. And though it’s based on a Daihatsu, it’s not really that brand’s model either as GR simply took the Copen and made it a model of its own. So, in theory, the model is essentially a combination of the two manufacturers, and that is why it is sold at both Toyota and Daihatsu dealerships.
2 The Copen GR Sport Costs Around $18,000
With tax, the Copen GR Sport costs between 2.382 million and 2.437 million yen, which is about $18,000 at the Japanese Yen to U.S. dollar exchange rate as of March 2023. There are certainly far more practical and feature-rich cars that, in most cases, carry twice the power in the U.S. like the Hyundai Venue, Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Kicks, or Subaru Impreza, and GR Sport buyers could get into another Kei car for quite a lot less. For instance, the Nissan Sakura is a four-door electric hatchback that goes for the equivalent of $14,000. But no one ever said being an enthusiast was necessarily cheap, and an argument could certainly be made the GR Sport is worth the price with its Gazoo Racing engineering, retractable hardtop, and, well, just because of its novelty.
1 The Little Sports Car Is Only Available In Japan
If all of this intrigues you and you’ve become interested in putting this mini-GR sports car in your driveway, well, you better dust off your passport or start looking for a place to live in Japan. While some Kei cars have made their way to non-Japanese markets as new models, the Copen GR Sport won’t be one of them — it’s only sold in Japan making it a JDM car. Of course, Americans can legally import and drive foreign-market models like Kei cars, but only if the model is more than 25 years old. Therefore, you’re either going to have to take a flight across the Pacific to experience this little GR Sport or be very patient for the next two-plus decades.