It was one of those time when you do a genuine double take. I saw this car go past me – didn’t notice anything articular about it, just another 2002-08 Suzuki Lapin, a very common car here. Then it reversed into that parking lot, thereby revealing an unusual front-endecotmy that warranted further investigation.
I went around the block to allow the driver time to disembark and walk off – this seemed too good to pass up. So here, in all its monumentally incongruous glory, is a new BMW that I’m sure not many of you will have seen before: the BMW 660cc 3-cyl. “306i” Lapin. Love that rear spoiler, too.
Here is a regular issue 1st generation Suzuki Lapin for comparison. These were very popular kei cars aimed at women, hence the cutesy moniker (which is French for rabbit) and the generally cuddly and pastel-coloured appearance of the beast. This particular one has alloys and black paint, so it might have been ordered by a man – though not all Japanese women have fallen victim to the kawaii craze, thank Shinto.
Anyway, the Lapin, based on the Alto, came in several trim levels, including the “performance-oriented” SS version, which seems to have provided its distinctive front bumper for this BS-W. Try as I might, I haven’t been able to trace anything about this particular transformation or body kit online, nor have I seen any in the streets apart from this one.
There are body kits out there to turn your Lapin into a Renault 4. Those are a known quantity and, though I haven’t seen one in the streets myself as yet, I’m ready for that eventuality. This BMW kit, if it is a kit, is pretty amazing and very weird. It’s not too much of a stretch to turn the Lapin into a Renault 4, which is why the kits were made. But turning it into a Bimmer?
The interior seems like standard-issue Suzuki Lapin, though I’m not much of a connoisseur of those particular vehicles. The column shifter indicates an automatic gearbox – some SS models could get a floor-mounted 5-speed manual. The ample amount of “wood” finish smacks of a different kind of car than a BMW – Rolls-Royce, maybe? Stranger and stranger.
Could this be the work of a private individual, whose desire for all things Bavarian and Motorwerkerized compelled him to undertake this mammoth roundelification and double-kidney transplant? But why start with a Suzuki Lapin then, of all things? Why the Breyton advertising, when it’s obviously got nothing to do with that company? (Surely an “Alpina” would have made a better “Lapin”?) And what’s with the “306i” nameplate? So many questions.
This is possibly the most hilarious car I’ve seen in vivo. The square fog lamps in the round housings, the huge alloys (which might be Breytons, if they do them in 12 inches), the sheer chutzpah of the whole endeavour – this deserves some sort of award.
Some car kits actually look good, like say, something from Brabus. But this is not one of those kits. To me, it looks like whoever it is handmade this particular monstrosity. If you thought you’ve seen bad replica cars before, like a Honda Accord turned into a Bugatti Veyron, they are nothing compared to this. This is the ultimate bad replica. Also, I have a feeling that whoever killed this car wasn’t a woman. 🙂
If that’s Handmaid’s, the maker has some pretty good skills.
Not a deadly sin. Unlike Mitsuoka, this isn’t trying to BE a Beemer. It’s more like a homage to a Beemer or a “tribute act”.
If the fog lights are on at all hours of day and night, no matter the weather, then the builder has truly done their homework. I kind of like it, it looks better than the original 1-series hatchback did. And those seats are wonderful, if there are two, they’re probably worth more than half the original Lapin. There’s even a touch of the “kink” at the rear!
I wonder if the owner ever cruises the lot down at Tokyo Bay BMW?
Knock-off or no, that front end is much more attractive than the stock setup. The bottle-caps look better on a newer car than I would have expected too.
I know I shouldn’t, but I really like it. I give it an A for effort & creativity.
PS- Don’t Kei cars all have yellow plates? Curious why the stock Lapin has them, but the “BMW” has regular white plates.
Kei cars with the requisite engine have the yellow plates from what I understand. However there are Kei car bodies with larger engines, those get white plates. This likely has a larger engine than the 660cc Kei limit (or whatever it is)
Ah, okay. I did wonder if maybe he “hotrodded” it, and swapped in too big of an engine & they check up on that. I didn’t even think about some cars coming with optional larger engines, ie sold in Kei & regular forms, from the manufacturer.
The Lapin only came with the 657cc engine.
Here’s my theory: they paid extra for white plates in order to maximize the visual impact of the BMW charade. Can’t let the effect be spoiled by kei car plates! 🙂
Especially if he went through the trouble of badging it a 306i for the 0.6 liter engine. I guess it should round up to 07, but he’s closer than BMW these days…
Few years ago I wanted to buy this little gem:
A chinese DongFeng MiniBus (this is a GM product btw).
Well that’s different. I like the “Mooneyes” sticker on the fuel fill door of the comparison vehicle. A bit off topic, but I frequently saw stickers on fuel fill doors, on cars in China. One that sticks in my mind had a little boy and a little girl, both in diapers, with the girl pulling the front of the boy’s away and peering in. One of them had a frown, the other was laughing –
Amazing.
Those wheels are bigger than the 12″ ones on the Lapin. I suspect they’re off an old 3 Series.
I’m pretty sure the wheels, kidney grilles, turn signals & fog lights are all off of an E30 3-series.
I can’t tell if the whole grille/light assembly is as well & custom fit, or an aftermarket piece. The badge on the grille looks like it’s for Breyton wheels, as is the windshield banner. But no actual Breyton wheels.
A lot of questions still
Since BMW themselves have decided to go with FWD, can we really criticize this effort? When I see the current 1 and 2 series I see cars that are wide but short, I am not sure if this narrow copy is all that bad from a styling standpoint. Of course, it would all really rest on the engine, the “right” Suzuki engine could make this a pretty good car.
He he its cute, a BMWuki and its actually quite well done, BMW themselves went FWD but they did it the easy way using someone elses floor pan and running gear and putting a Mini styled body onto top to begin with, now theyve figured it out and are building it themselves, maybe this is a prototype 1/2 series.
I drive a Honda Civic Si Hybrid AWD. How many of you have seen one of those?
IMHO, better looking than BMW’s own, and dreadful, effort.