It mightn’t be the most production-ready concept at the 2025 Tokyo motor show, but the Daihatsu Midget X is arguably the cutest.
The original Midget was launched in 1957 as a three-wheel delivery ute. It had just a single seat, a handle bar for steering, and no doors. It was powered by a 250cc single-cylinder two-stroke engine making 6kW.
Subsequent versions gained a bit of extra length, up to 10kW of power, and a door.
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Daihatsu revived the Midget in 1996. This time around it had four wheels, a single seat and, due its short and incredibly narrow body, a bonnet-mounted spare wheel. A 660cc three-cylinder making 25kW drove the rear wheels.
The Midget X revealed at the Tokyo motor show brings the style of the original into current era with round LED headlights and an airy, glassy cabin with reverse hinged doors on both sides.
Like a McLaren F1, the driver sits in the centre, and is flanked by two seats that are set backwards a few inches. Given the Midget X’s narrow body, the two passenger seats are specifically designed for smaller children. Indeed in the interior door trim resembles playground climbing holds.
The driver controls the car via a yoke-style steering wheel, and there are two small displays near the door that display battery status and other vital info, as well as imagery from the door-mounted cameras.
Although the version pictured here has a small backpack-style storage unit at the rear, other variants shown in the introductory video are equipped with a longer open tray or a cargo bay with a canvas cover.
The Midget X has an all-electric drivetrain, but Daihatsu hasn’t revealed any details about the motor or battery. There likely won’t be much power, but at least there will be a wallop of instant torque.
Koji Sato, Toyota’s CEO, describes the concept as the “Midget of the future”, but didn’t outline any plans to put it into production.
Instead, he noted: “Making small cars is incredibly difficult. As someone who has been involved in car-making, I can say that from my heart. But Daihatsu continues to take on such challenges.”
