AC Donington
A very rare Mini based small car AC Donington was made in the UK in 1982. It had a fiberglass open body. Only...
Small Cars of the 1980s: A–Z List
In the 1980s small cars moved in two directions: compact kei cars and city cars on one side, licence-free voiturettes and early electric prototypes on the other. This page lists models from the 1980s in the Small Cars Club catalog.
Models appear here when the catalog gives a production or presentation year (or a decade tag). Models without a known year are not listed, so use the catalog A–Z for the full list.
Other decades: Before 1950, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s.
49BRANDS
70MODELS
A
ACAM Galassia
A.C.A.M. was the Italian company produced microcars with Piaggio engines. The ACAM Galassia is a 3-wheel...
ACOMA Comtesse Berline Type 810E
In 1980, Super Comtesse was replaced by Comtesse Berline Type 810E with a quite strange exterior design. It...
ACOMA Comtesse Coupe Type 800E
ACOMA Comtesse Coupe Type 800E was another version of company’s microcar, produced since 1980 to 1984....
ACOMA Comtesse Sport Type 800E
ACOMA Comtesse Sport was a quite similar to Comtesse Coupe, but had a simplier targa body. Instead of a fully...
ACOMA Star / Starlette
In the early 1980s, ACOMA met some financial difficults. In 1982 the company presented the latest models...
Ad-Hoc / Arie Hopi
Small French manufacturer Ad-Hoc / Arie produced Hopi cars from 1983 to 1985. This was the extremely simple...
AEM Scout
The AEM (Automotive Engineering & Manufacturing Company) Scout is a Welsh-built Mini Moke based microcar...
AIXAM 325 D
AIXAM 325 D become the first microcar made by a newly formed company AIXAM. The production started in 1984....
AIXAM 325 i / 325 GLi
In 1987, AIXAM presented a new generation of its smallest microcar which was called AIXAM 325i. It has the...
AIXAM 400 D
AIXAM completes the range шт 1985 with the launch of its first TQM (speed: 75 km/h – licence: A1, A4,...
AIXAM 400 i / GLi & 500 i / GLi
AIXAM presented another addition to its range – the 400 i / GLi model – in 1987. Exterior design...
Alcar 400
The Alcar 400 urban car project, characterised by high technical and design standards, was launched in...
Alto Duo
Alto was a British car brand. David Gornall founded the company Alto Component Cars in 1985 in Preston,...
Aper City Compact 3/5
Aper City Compact 3/5 project was presented at the 1985 Essen Motor Show in West Germany. For city shopping...
Arola Compacity
The pickup Arola Compacity was to type 14, what the SP was to type 12. It is not clear if the Compacity saw...
Arola Minoto
Appeared in 1980, the Arola Minoto used the same name and body shape as an earlier prototype microcar from...
Arola Type 18
The new 4-wheel Arola Type 18 was introduced in 1981. It is somewhat larger and has an even more squarish...
Automirage S3R
In 1982, a larger body with side-by-side seats Automirage’s new S3R came to replace the Automirage 3....
B
Bajaj PTV
Two decades before Tata launched its Nano people’s car, Bajaj Auto had very much the same idea with the...
Bamby
Hull-based Alan Evans was a microcar enthusiast who loved his Peel P50 so much that he made a modern...
Biscuter 2000
The Biscuter 2000 project was born in 1984 with the help of Juan Andreu Socas, who at the time was the...
BMA Nuova Amica
BMA’s Nuova Amica of 1980 had rather more normal-looking bodywork than the original Amica and could be...
C
Csaszi
József Császár, the car mechanic from Pilisszentivan (Hungary) drew its first vehicle at the age of 14,...
D
Daihatsu BC-7
This electric three-wheeled microcar debuted at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show as a compact vision of future urban...
Daihatsu BCX-5
The 1985 Daihatsu BCX-5 Concept was an early vision of an electric urban commuter, conceived long before...
Daihatsu Hijet Dumbo
The 1989 Dumbo was a boxy concept van derived from the production HiJet microvan, yet despite sharing its...
Daihatsu PAC by Michelotti
The Daihatsu PAC (Project Automotive Commuter) was a one-off city car concept created by Italian designer...
Daihatsu Sneaker
Daihatsu Sneaker was a quirky concept microcar notable for its unusual fifth wheel mounted at the rear,...
Daihatsu Trek
The Tokyo Motor Show has always been a magnet for ideas that would look wildly out of place at most European...
Daihatsu Urban Buggy
The Daihatsu Urban Buggy was a concept car presented at the 27th Tokyo Motor Show in 1987 as part of...
E
Ergash Taishev’s Hommade Car
Ergash Taishev’s homemade car with an engine from a Ural motorcycle was made in the Soviet Kazakhstan...
F
Ford Cockpit
Ford Cockpit was created in 1981 by the American company Ford Motor Company. The car was presented in 1982 at...
Ford Econocar
In the wake of the fuel shortages of the late 1970s, Ford Motor Company created this two-seat concept as a...
Ford Ghia Trio
Italian coachbuilder Ghia has a long-standing reputation for creating some of the most elegant and desirable...
Ford Pockar
The Ford Pockar—short for “pocket car”—was a compact, narrow, yet surprisingly tall vehicle finished...
G
General Motors Lean Machine
If you’ve seen the 1993 futuristicaction movie Demolition Man, you might be familiar with General Motors’...
GM TPC
The TPC, or Two-Person Commuter, was the lightest vehicle ever developed by General Motors, tipping the...
H
HMV FreeWay
The 1970s reshaped the auto industry. As fuel prices soared and the economy stumbled, massive V8-powered land...
Hodgep Puli
The story of the Puli microcar from Hungary is novel and spiced with typical elements of the enterprise of...
Hope Whisper
The Hope Whisper was a Danish prototype electric city car developed in 1983 as an early attempt at clean,...
I
Ikarus Tecoplan Leo
Ikarus. This famous automobile brand is known for its buses that most of us have had the chance to ride on,...
J
Jephcott / City Mobile Micro
The Jephcott Micro is a single-seat, fully enclosed microcar. With this 1987 prototype it was representing an...
Jiangbei JJ710 Prototype
In 1986, the State Operated Jiangbei Machinery Works in Jilin City, Jilin Province, began developing two...
Jiangbei JJ720 / JJ7060
The Jiangbei JJ720 was produced by the State Operated Jiangbei Machinery Works located in Jilin City, Jilin...
L
Ligier JS4
Guy Ligier—Formula One team owner, motorway construction tycoon, and confidante of French president...
M
Matra P28
Matra returned to the spotlight in 1982 with one of Jean-Luc Lagardère’s concepts: the P28...
Mazda Pair
The Mazda Pair Concept debuted at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show as an unusual micro-van and trailer prototype...
Melex 152 / 252
The Melex 152 and 252 models, both with all-metal bodies, were introduced in 1985 and were made up until...
Mercedes-Benz NAFA
The Mercedes-Benz NAFA was a forward-thinking 1982 concept car designed as a compact, highly maneuverable...
Mini (Industrial sample no.22620)
Designer Gunārs Glūdiņš was born in 1938. After primary school Gunārs Glūdiņš studied at the Riga...
N
NAC Charly III / Charly ES
In 1984, the newly formed company NAC (which means New All Cars ) made an attempt to start producing of 2...
Norimono-ya Cydes Car
Electric kick scooters, which have recently become common in the city, are quickly becoming popular as a...
O
Opel Junior
The 80s were a time of tries and errors when it came to various concept cars. Companies were not afraid to...
P
Peppi
According to an approximate statistic, in Pskov, Russia, every second inhabitant owns a car, which in this...
Peugeot Agades by Heuliez
Unveiled in 1989 at the Paris Salon, the bright blue Agades was conceived as a compact four-wheel-drive...
Plymouth Voyager III
In the 1980s, carmakers were grappling with new pressures that often ran counter to what buyers actually...
Q
Qinchuan / Beifang SX720 / QCJ7050
The Qinchuan SX720, produced by the state-owned Qinchuan Machinery Works Automobile Sub-Factory in...
R
Renault Piccola
The Renault Piccola was a remarkable city-car prototype unveiled in 1982, created by Marcello Gandini shortly...
Renault Vesta
Renault Vesta was conceived as a research and development study focused on the future of small subcompact...
Robix 500 W / 1000 W
In the 1980s, the Robix Mezőgazdasági Gépgyártó Vállalat, which was formed from the Veszprém-based...
S
Sinclair C5
Consumer electronics tycoon Sir Clive Sinclair had long considered making silent, emissions-free electric...
Suzuki Elia
The Suzuki Elia concept debuted at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, immediately standing out thanks to its compact...
T
Takeoka Abbey 3
Takeoka Abbey 3 was a very unusual and rare 4-wheel single-place which was introduced in Japan in 1986. It...
Toyota EV-30
The Toyota EV-30 was a two-seat electric concept car powered by zinc-bromine batteries and first unveiled at...
Trabant 601 WE II
Trabant 601 WE II was created in the early 80s as the replacement to Trabant 601 manufactured by the East...
V
Volkswagen Scooter
This Volkswagen Scooter concept was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 1986. A more ambitious attempt at a...
Volkswagen Student
The Volkswagen Student is a 1982 concept car created as Volkswagen’s second attempt at producing a low-cost...
Z
Zagato Milanina 2
The Zagato Milanina is a striking example of forward-looking design and experimental thinking, conceived in...
#
‘Kolobok’ Home Built Microcar
The Kolobok was created in 1985 in the USSR by Victor Gorbunov, engineer of AvtoVAZ. Victor Gorbunov worked...