The Daihatsu Copen is a two-door convertible kei car. It first appeared as a concept at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show and went on sale in 2002 with a 660 cc turbocharged engine and a motorised folding hard roof. A second generation followed in 2014 with a body made of interchangeable resin panels.
Daihatsu Copen at a glance
| Maker | Daihatsu, Japan |
|---|---|
| Class | kei car, two-seat convertible |
| First generation | L880/L881, 2002–2012 |
| Second generation | LA400, 2014–2026 |
| Roof | electric folding hard top, “active top” |
| Kei engine | 660 cc turbocharged |
| Export engine | 1.3-litre naturally aspirated, from 2007 |
| First generation built | over 56,000 |
| Second generation built | about 57,000 |
| Shown first | 1999 Tokyo Motor Show, as a concept |
Based on one source.
History of the Daihatsu Copen
First generation
The production Copen of 2002 was designed around a 660 cc turbocharged engine to fit Japanese kei car rules. That engine did not meet emissions standards in several other countries, so from October 2007 export cars received a more powerful but cleaner 1.3-litre naturally aspirated unit. The styling was inspired by the Nissan Figaro and the Audi TT Roadster. The car’s leading feature was the active top, a motorised hide-away hard roof; a detachable-top version, about 30 kg lighter, existed from 19 June 2002 until the middle of 2007.
The first four model years were right-hand drive only. The 660 cc car was officially sold in Germany and some other European countries from 2003 to 2005, and after lacklustre sales there Daihatsu introduced a left-hand-drive 1.3-litre version for export, announced at the 2005 Frankfurt show with a new ZZ trim level. Sales rose to 802 units for the 2006 model year. A right-hand-drive 1.3-litre model was added in 2007 but was never sold in Japan, and sales fell sharply until the Copen was withdrawn from Germany in the summer of 2011, when 60 Farewell Edition cars were offered.
For Daihatsu’s 100th anniversary the Copen Ultimate Edition II Memorial appeared in 2007, with clear tail lights, a black grille, BBS 15-inch wheels and Recaro seats. In January 2011 Daihatsu announced it would leave the European market, and in April 2012 that production would end that August with a 10th Anniversary Edition of 500 cars. More than 56,000 first-generation Copens were built.
Second generation
The car returned at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show as the Kopen, with the tagline “Future Included”; the spelling changed from k to c for convertible. Production began on 19 June 2014. The new model was more angular and used a monocoque structure called D-Frame, which let owners choose interior and exterior designs. The body panels are 13 separate resin components, 11 of them interchangeable, and the car had a new 660 cc turbo three-cylinder with variable valve timing. Grades were the Copen XPLAY, the Copen Robe and a special S; XPLAY sales ended in August 2024. A Dress Formation option from June 2015 allowed the car to be changed into the Cero or Robe look by swapping exterior parts.
Toyota, which sold the car under an OEM agreement as the Copen GR Sport, announced in September 2025 that it would end that version in August 2026. Second-generation production stopped on 26 August 2026, when the last car, a Copen Robe in Jaune Yellow, left the Copen Factory in Ikeda. Daihatsu put output of the L400 at around 57,000 cars.
Design and features
- Active top: motorised folding hard roof on the first generation.
- Kei dimensions: a 660 cc turbo engine for Japanese rules.
- Export 1.3: a cleaner, larger engine for left-hand-drive markets.
- D-Frame and resin panels: the second generation’s changeable body design.
Daihatsu Copen versions
- Copen 660 (2002–2012): the original kei version.
- Detachable-top Copen: about 30 kg lighter, sold until mid-2007.
- Copen 1.3 (2007–2011): left-hand-drive export model with ZZ trim.
- Ultimate Edition II (2007): anniversary model with Recaro seats.
- 10th Anniversary Edition (2012): the final 500 first-generation cars.
- Copen Robe, XPLAY and Cero (2014–2026): second-generation grades.
The Copen is the smallest car in the Daihatsu collection, alongside the Mira kei hatchback and the larger Sirion.
Sources
- Daihatsu Copen, English Wikipedia: generations, engines, export history, production figures
