The is a small car manufactured by the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese

automaker The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % suc ...

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

from 1961 until 1978. Conceived as a family car to fulfill the requirements of the Japanese Government's "national car concept", it was the smallest Toyota car during that period and was superseded in that role by the

Toyota Starlet The is a subcompact car manufactured by Toyota from 1973 until 1999, replacing the Publica, but retaining the Publica's "P" code and generation numbering. The first generation Starlet was sold as the Publica Starlet in some markets. In Japan ...

, which itself started out as a version of the Publica. It was available as a 2-door vehicle only, but in a selection of

body style Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for various purposes including regulation, description, and categorization of cars. The International Standard ISO 3833-1977 ''Road vehicles – Types ...

s, ranging from the base sedan through a

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

and even a

coupe utility A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

(pickup), which outlived the other models by a decade, and spawned other models, such as the

Toyota Sports 800 The is Toyota's first production sports car. The prototype for the Sports 800, called the Publica Sports, debuted at the 1962 Tokyo Auto Show, featuring a space age sliding canopy and utilizing the powertrain of the Publica 700, a Japanese marke ...

and the

Toyota MiniAce The Toyota MiniAce was a small utility vehicle built by Toyota from November 1967 until November 1975. It shared many parts with the Toyota Publica, especially the Publica P20 Pickup. In Japan, it was sold through the ''Toyota Corolla Store'' and ' ...

Development

MITI "national car" concept

The origins of the Publica can be traced to the " national car" concept of the powerful Japanese

Ministry of International Trade and Industry The was a ministry of the Government of Japan from 1949 to 2001. The MITI was one of the most powerful government agencies in Japan and, at the height of its influence, effectively ran much of Japanese industrial policy, funding research and ...

(MITI), which was announced in 1955. The concept stipulated for a vehicle fulfilling several requirements, like maximum speed over , weight below , fuel consumption not exceeding at the average speed of on a level road, but also notably the requirement that the car would not break down or require significant repairs for at least .

From concept to reality

Although

Eiji Toyoda was a Japanese industrialist. He was largely responsible for bringing Toyota Motor Corporation to profitability and worldwide prominence during his tenure as president and later, as chairman. He was succeeded as the president of Toyota by Shoi ...

was initially keen to take advantage of the, at that time innovative, FF concept (front-mounted engine with

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitu ...

), it proved technically too complicated for Toyota engineers to be able to complete within the allotted time, so the decision was made to switch to more conventional

FR layout In automotive design, a FR, or front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one where the engine is located at the front of the vehicle and driven wheels are located at the rear via a drive shaft. This was the traditional automobile layout for mos ...

. The Publica was inspired by the successful

Citroën 2CV The Citroën 2CV (french: link=no, deux chevaux(-vapeur), , lit. "two steam horse(power)s", meaning "two ''taxable'' horsepower") is an air-cooled front-engine, front-wheel-drive, economy family car, introduced at the 1948 Paris Mondial d ...

which also used a 2-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed engine, with front-wheel drive. In spite of the fact that the government sources announced that significant tax breaks would be made for cars with engine displacements of less than 500 cc, Toyota decided that such a small engine would provide insufficient power on the highways, and increased the planned displacement to 700 cc. The resulting engine was an

air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...

697 cc

ohv An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located be ...

2-cylinder boxer which produced , and was known internally as the

Toyota U engine The Toyota U engine is a series of flat engines produced by Toyota. The original version of this engine was produced in the 1960s and 1970s in flat-twin configuration. The engine series was extended in 2012 for the engine derived from the Subaru f ...

. The tax incentives did not materialize; the displacement did qualify in the lowest annual

road tax Road tax, known by various names around the world, is a tax which has to be paid on, or included with, a motorised vehicle to use it on a public road. National implementations Australia All states and territories require an annual vehicle registra ...

bracket, thus helping sales. In 1966 Toyota began to acquire kei car manufacturer Daihatsu. The new car was given a two-door sedan body, which was intended to accommodate four people and a significant amount of luggage in the

trunk Trunk may refer to: Biology * Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso * Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure * Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy * Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant Computing * Trunk (software), in rev ...

, thus fulfilling the projected expectations of the customers. The car had a

double wishbone suspension A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckl ...

in the front and semi-elliptical

leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, i ...

s in the rear. The name "Publica" was chosen with reference to the English phrase "public car", referring to the car's intended attainability and popularity. Due to lack of distinction between the "l" and "r" consonants in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

the name can be sometimes misinterpreted as

paprika Paprika ( US , ; UK , ) is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers. It is traditionally made from '' Capsicum annuum'' varietals in the Longum group, which also includes chili peppers, but the peppers used for paprika tend to be milder ...

. The name is transliterated as "パブリカ" in

Katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived f ...

, literally ''paburika''.

P10 series

The new car was given the internal designation of "UP10" and the market name of "Publica" and was sold through a new dealer network, separate from the previous "Toyota" and "Toyopet" dealerships, called ''

Toyota Publica Store Toyota vehicles in Japan are distributed to numerous dealership chains throughout the country. Up to May 2020, each dealership chain had a different product offering, with some models restricted to one chain to maintain exclusivity. Since May 2020 ...

'' (later renamed as ''Toyota Corolla Store''). Sales began in June 1961, with the basic price of . Initially, the car was very basic, lacking even such basic options like a radio or even a heater. This limited its appeal to the consumers, which were perceiving the automobile as an aspirational good and expected it to exude a much more luxurious impression. The now defunct

Central Motors Central Motor Co., Ltd. was a Japanese manufacturer of cars within the Toyota Group. It was founded on 4 September 1950 by Ryuichi Tomiya. The company operated five plants, all located in Japan. It was one of the biggest export vehicle manufactu ...

produced the Publica convertible from October 1963.

Further development of the UP10 series

In 1962, a two-door " light van" version was added, essentially a

but classified as a commercial vehicle in Japan. A derivative model,

(marketed initially as "Publica Sport") debuted at the 1962

Tokyo Motor Show The is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show ...

. In 1963 Toyota added a new Deluxe trim level, denoted internally as "type UP10D", which featured such "luxuries" as reclining seats, Combustion heater or radio, as well as some chrome decors (the previous base model was now called Standard). With the appearance of the Deluxe, demand finally picked up, and when the

model was added the same year, sales of the Publica finally reached the target level of 3000–4000 monthly. In February 1964, a

(pickup) model joined the lineup, and in September the engine got a power boost to , while the Deluxe trim level was also made available for the wagon version. In November 1964, it was introduced in Canada as one of the first two Toyota models available in the country, the other being the S40 Crown. 1963 Toyota Publica 02

P20 Series

In 1966, Toyota launched the revised Publica range, designated UP20. The engine displacement was increased from 697 cc to 790 cc, and claimed power output from 35 PS to 36 PS (the engine was now called 2U) while the convertible received the twin carburetor engine from the Sports 800. Since October that year, the dealers were operating under the "Toyota Publica" (rather than just "Publica") brand, and the base price was reduced to for 1967 - as the US dollar stood at about at that time, Toyota marketed the Publica as the "1000 dollar car". The Publica dealerships were later renamed "Toyota Corolla Store" after the popularity of the Corolla won out over the Publica as an affordable, small car. In 1966, Toyota also launched the

cab over Cab-over, also known as cab over engine (COE), cab forward (U.S.), flat nose (Canada), or forward control (UK), is a body style of truck, bus, or van that has a vertical front, "flat face" or a semi-hood, with the cab of the truck sitting ab ...

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

, based on the UB20 Publica. In March 1968 the production of the Publica Van version was moved to

Hino Motors Hino Motors, Ltd., commonly known as Hino, is a Japanese manufacturer of commercial vehicles and diesel engines (including those for trucks, buses and other vehicles) headquartered in Hino, Tokyo. The company was established in 1942 as a corpo ...

, after that company was taken over by Toyota. 1968 also saw the launch of ''Publica Super'' version, which came with the engine of the Sports 800. The P20 Publica was replaced by the all-new P30 series in April 1969. The former

produced the Publica convertible until December 1968. Sales of the P10 and P20 Publicas: File:Publica-truck.jpg, Toyota Publica 800 Truck (UP26) File:Toyota Publica Convertible.jpg, Toyota Publica 800 Convertible (UP20S) File:Toyota Publica 800 Van DeLuxe (UP26V-D).jpg, Toyota Publica 800 Van DeLuxe (UP26V-D) File:Toyota Publica 800 Van DeLuxe (UP26V-D) rear view.jpg, Toyota Publica 800 Van DeLuxe (UP26V-D) rear view

P30 Series

New model, new engine, new image

In April 1969, a whole new generation of the Publica was launched. The car was effectively now a scaled down version of the

Corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name *Corolla (headgear) A ''corolla'' is an ancient headdress in the form of a small circlet or crown.K-series four-cylinder,

water-cooled Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and n ...

993 cc engine (designated 2K) with , a lower-displacement version of the 1,077 cc engine used in the contemporary

Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in ...

. The Publica 800 has and a top speed of only , while the 1100 SL could reach . The 800 and 1000 were available with Standard or Deluxe equipment, both in Sedan and Van bodystyles. The Van was somewhat slower, with claimed top speeds of for the respective versions. Originally a two-door sedan and a three-door wagon (called Van in Japan, as it was intended for commercial use) were available. The pickup version, added in October 1969, was now officially known as "pickup". The pickup was originally only available with the 1 liter engine, although the 1.2 was made available after the January 1972 facelift. The situation in the Japanese market changed, as demand developed rapidly, partially fuelled by the post-WWII ''

baby boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. ...

'' coming of age and gaining their

driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a publi ...

s. Having the Corolla firmly established as the family car offering, Toyota did not market the Publica as the "popular car" anymore, but rather as an entry-level vehicle for first-time young buyers. Many of the commercial iterations of the Publica were built by

at their

Hamura is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 54,622, and a population density of 5500 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Hamura is approximately in the ...

plant, beginning in 1970. Daihatsu also built Publicas, starting in September 1969. In 1969, the Publica dealerships were renamed "Toyota Corolla" dealerships.

Publica SL and Daihatsu Consorte

The most powerful version was the ''Publica SL'', which featured the 1.1 L K-B twin carburetor engine also offered in the ''Corolla SL''. In September, after only half a year, this engine was replaced by the 1.2 L 3K-B unit in both the Corolla and Publica SL's. At the same time, the Toyoglide automatic transmission became available in 1 litre Publicas. As Toyota had just started its relationship with

Daihatsu , commonly known as Daihatsu, is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers. The company's headquarters are located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. Historically, Daihatsu was ...

, in 1969 the latter launched the

Daihatsu Consorte The Daihatsu Consorte is a small sedan sold by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu from 1969 to 1977. It was based on the Toyota Publica, and its name, meaning ''"consort"'' in Italian, reflected Daihatsu's newly established affiliation with Toyota. ...

, which was essentially a mildly restyled P30 Publica. It was, however, powered initially by Daihatsu's own 1.0-litre "FE" engine, which had already seen service in the previous Daihatsu model, the Compagno.

Facelifts and Starlet

October 1970 saw minor changes to the range, including a new instrument panel, and a new ''High Deluxe'' version featuring the single-carburetor version of the 1.2 L engine and front

disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to h ...

s. A more substantial facelift took place in January 1972, when the KP30 Publica was given new front and rear fascias and a new "semi-fastback" style. The U-engine model was dropped at this time, as the boxer unit could not clear emission standards anymore. 1973 saw the introduction of the Toyota Publica Starlet (designation KP40), a

version of the facelifted Publica. The last new version of the sedan was the KP50, a sedan version which featured the de-smogged 3K-U engine with . In June 1976 a five-speed transmission became available in the P50, the first Publica to be thus equipped. The facelifted sedan continued in production until February 1978, when it was replaced by the KP60, marketed as the

. The Van (sometimes referred to as a Utility Wagon by Toyota) was built until June 1979, while the Publica pickup was not withdrawn until August 1988. Later pickups were fitted with the desmogged 1,166 cc 3K-HJ (from November 1975) and then the 1,290 cc 4K-J engines (from June 1979), although export versions retained the 1-litre 2K engine. The pickup also received a five-speed gearbox from August 1985. ;Models: *UP30: 790 cc (2U-C/2U-B) sedan *KP30: 993 cc (2K) sedan *KP30-S: 1,077 cc (K-B) sedan, 1969.04-1969.09 *KP31: 1,166 cc (3K/3K-B) sedan *UP36V: 790 cc (2U-C) van *KP36/V: 993 cc (2K) pickup/van *KP37/V: 1,166 cc (3K, 3K-H) pickup/van *KP38: 1,166 cc (3K-HJ) pickup, emissions controls for commercial vehicle *KP39: 1,290 cc (4K-J) pickup *KP50: 1,166 cc (3K-U) sedan, emissions controlled engine (1976.01-1978.01)

Toyota 1000

The P30 Publica with the 993 cc 2K engine was known as the Toyota 1000 in most markets outside Japan. With a DIN rating, the engine had in export trim. The Toyota 1000 continued to be the only offering smaller than the Corolla in most export markets even after the Publica replacement (the P40

) was introduced for Japan in 1973. Branded as the Toyota 1000, the car was launched on the West German market, at the time Europe's largest national auto-market, in the fourth quarter of 1974. It had an unusually lavish list of included features that included radial tyres, front headrests, tinted windows, a heated rear window and even a radio. In some European markets such as Switzerland and the Netherlands, it was marketed with the additional name "Copain". In Belgium it was sold as the "Toyota Osaka" for a while. The pickup version was sold in Finland as the Toyota Timangi. The Toyota 1000 sedans and wagons were replaced by the P60 Starlet in 1978 but the Toyota 1000 pick-up continued to be sold next to the Starlet sedans and wagons.Toyota Vehicle Identification Manual, Toyota Motor Corporation, Overseas Parts Department, Catalog No.97913-84, 1984 The Toyota 1000 range included a two-door sedan, a three-door wagon, and a two-door

(pickup). In South Africa, the Toyota 1000 range also included a pick-up with the 1,166 cc 3K engine.

References

External links

Toyota Publica（1st generation）Gazoo.com
(Japanese)
Toyota Publica（2nd generation）Gazoo.com
(Japanese) {{Toyota road cars timeline, 1955-1984

Publica VEB Typoart was the only type foundry of East Germany. It was a state-owned enterprise (" Volkseigener Betrieb") located in Dresden. The foundry's most influential art directors were Herbert Thannhäuser (until 1963) and Albert Kapr (until 1987) ...

1960s cars 1970s cars MITI projects Subcompact cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1961 Cars powered by boxer engines Cars powered by 2-cylinder engines