I believe I was invited to my first Wheels by the Waves at Bellows Air Force Station by my buddy, Matt, in April, 2024. It was icky weather, so Matt and I were the only ones that showed up. I, in my 1997 KS3 Sambar pickup, and Matt in his totally awesome 1994 E-KK4 Vivio RX-R! That was the day l simultaneously learned I could fit in the Vivio and that I wanted one. It has the same EN07 engine, it's just this one (EN07X) is DOHC, supercharged, and intercooled. Whereas my EN07C left the factory with 38.8 hp 27 years ago, and made 63 hp @ 7,200 rpm (64 PS / 47 kW), and 78 lb/ft of torque at 4,000rpm (10.8 kg/m / 106 Nm). The redline was 9,000rpm. I can't wait 'till Matt gets the little black bean sorted out so I can hopefully take it for a spin. I'm pretty sure that's just going to set the hook further in my cheek and make me want one. Small kei car, around 1,500 lbs (680 kg), manual transmission, stratospheric redline, and angry bee noises? Sign me up! (I'd really like to find an RX-RA, which was the homologated version for motorsport. That one is going to be a bit of a quest I think.
On to photos from the June event! Met my buddy, Matt again. This time he drove his 1996 Daihatsu Move SR-XX. Turbocharged and intercooled 3-banger. This one is automatic transmission. I drove my 1995 Subaru Sambar Dias Classic (KV4, 5MT). Both Keis were a big hit! (Images below are a slideshow and if you hover over the photo you'll see the text for that picture.)
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