The F10/F20/F50/F60 series is an

off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle (ORV), also known as an off-highway vehicle (OHV), overland vehicle or adventure vehicle, is a type of transportation specifically engineered to navigate unpaved roads and surfaces. These include trails, forest roads, and ...

built by

Daihatsu is a Japanese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. One of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers, the company was known for building three-wheeled vehicles and off-road vehicle ...

between 1974 and 1984. It was also sold as the Wildcat in Australia, and Scat in Germany and some other European markets. The Taft is similar to the

Suzuki Jimny The is a series of four-wheel drive off-road vehicle, off-road Mini sport utility vehicle, mini SUVs, manufactured and marketed by Japanese automaker Suzuki since 1970. Originally belonging to the Kei car, kei class, Japan's light automobile t ...

, although a bit larger. The name "Taft" stands for "'Tough and Almighty Four-wheel Touring Vehicle". The first Taft was the F10 model, introduced in 1974. It was equipped with a 1.0 L (958 cc)

petrol Gasoline (North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When formul ...

engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission with a two-range transfer case. The F10 model is available in short wheelbase (SWB) softtop and hardtop versions. Around 1977, the F10 was replaced with the F20 series with a larger 1.6 L (1587 cc)

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

'' 12R'' petrol engine. Around the same time the F50 with a 2.5 L ''DG'' diesel engine was introduced. Both models had an improved transmission and were available in SWB softtop and hardtop versions, either as four- or six-seaters. In 1979, trayback/ute versions of the F20 and F50 introduced as the F25 and F55 models. In

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, these models were sold with a locally manufactured dropside cargo tray from 1980. Around 1983, updated F20/F25 models were introduced with an optional Deluxe version and optional five-speed transmission. At the same time the 2.5-litre F50/F55 models were replaced with the F60/F65 with a 2.8 L ''DL'' diesel engine, with the same Deluxe model version and optional five-speed gearbox. In Indonesia, the radiator grille material was changed from steel to plastic, along with plastic fender flares. The interior also had a redesigned centre dashboard which included 4 dial meters (clock, ampere meter, engine temperature meter, and fuel meter), optional air conditioning switch, and stereo head unit. The tachometer dial is placed side-by-side with the speedometer. In Europe,

Giovanni Michelotti Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph Motor Company, Triumph marques. He was ...

marketed a luxuriously equipped version of the Taft, a version echoed by the later Bertone Freeclimbers. Daihatsu revived the " Taft" nameplate in Japan in 2020 as a

kei car Kei car is the smallest category of Japanese expressway-legal motor vehicles. The term ''kei'' is a shortening of , (kanji: ), which translates to English as "light vehicle" (). With restricted dimensions and engine specifications, owners ...

competing with the Suzuki Hustler.

Toyota Blizzard

Between 1981 and 1984, Toyota sold a

rebadged In the automotive industry, rebadging (also known as badge engineering, an intentionally ironic misnomer in that little or no actual engineering takes place) is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. T ...

Taft known as the . Fitted with a 2.2 L '' L''-series diesel engine, the LD10 Blizzard had the same optional Deluxe model variant as the Taft. In 1984, the Taft models were replaced with the F70 series Rugger (also called "Fourtrak" in the United Kingdom, "Rocky" in Australia and most European markets). In Indonesia, the succeeding Rugger/Rocky/Fourtrak still used the "Taft" name among many others.

Gallery

File:Daihatsu Wildcat.jpg, Daihatsu Wildcat File:1982 Daihatsu Scat (F50JV) hardtop (2015-12-27) 01.jpg, Daihatsu Scat File:Daihatsu Taft F50.jpg, 1983 Daihatsu Taft (F50)

References

{{Daihatsu timeline pre-1980 Cars introduced in 1974 1980s cars Mini sport utility vehicles Off-road vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles Taft (F10)