Scrolling through my archives does throw up some interesting pictures I never knew I had taken. More often than not, they don't exist here anymore just like this 2001 Mitsubishi Minicab!
First released in 1966 to replace the Mitsubishi 360, it was initially available only as a pickup truck. A van version came in 1968 and has been produced till this day. The 'minicab' name refers to a cabover truck with a small body and wide cargo bed. For the 6th generation Minicab, it appeared in 1999 with unevenly-shaped headlights and 2 round taillamps. In 2004, vans were equipped with front and passenger airbags as standard. There was a facelift in 2007 with a redesigned front grille and headlights. An electric version known as the Minicab MiEV was launched in 2011 and remains in production.
The Minicab was powered by a 657 cc Mitsubishi 3G83 engine, though as a commercial vehicle its speed was limited to 60 km/h. Its dimensions of 3395 x 1475 x 1940 mm puts its firmly as a kei car, and its fuel consumption of 4.3 litres / 100 km made it an economical commercial vehicle.
Production of the 6th generation Minicab ended in 2014 (for the gasoline version) with more than 419,000 made. Minicabs were sold in Singapore between 2000 to 2006, though it is noted that some vans were recalled in Taiwan and Malaysia over a defective transmission part. None of the pre-facelift vans still exist as all have passed the 20-year mandatory lifespan. When I saw it back in 2019, it never occurred to me that I would not have the chance to see it here again. At least, you still have this blog post as proof that it existed!
No comments:
Post a Comment