The 400hp, 1,000cc Drag Mira

This is probably the one car that impressed me the most at this year’s Art Of Speed.

It’s a tiny little fun project that is trying to punch way above its weight and in the process perfectly expresses the drive and craving that our Malaysian car friends have when it comes to getting themselves noticed.

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Of course, having a turbocharger sitting a foot above your engine will attract attention no matter what, but just like I was you’ll be happy to discover that this Daihatsu Mira packed serious substance.

Starting with its engine, no longer sitting at its kei car 660cc limit, but stroked and bored to 1,000cc thanks to a one-off custom iron block that the owner cast himself. Sitting within is a billet bottom end with 80mm pistons that had to be specially chosen to nail the compression ratio just right.

That’s because the HKS GT turbocharger will be supplying 3-bar (43psi) of boost, which together with the 10,000rpm redline, should yield the 400hp, which the owner believes is possible. Whether this is achievable remains to be proven, but I’ll give the guy the benefit of the doubt because I really want him to hit his goal. He’s going to be running his little boosted 3-cylinder on pure ethanol too, so that should bring a few more horsepower into the equation as well as reducing the chances of detonation.

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Like any properly engineered drag car, inlet cooling is down to a charge cooler, and the way it has been positioned has allowed the piping itself to be kept nice and short.

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The execution of the whole car was spotless, from the custom overfenders to the carbon fiber accents, the paint and the way it was all screwed together.

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The front billet wheels are shod with Hoosier drag slicks which will have the job of transmitting all the might of the compact motor to the strip.

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I really liked the radiator placement, which saw it get moved into the cabin, positioned right against the driver’s side rear fender intake.

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One peek through the polycarbonate rear screen reveals the complete setup, which even has a massive air guide to dump the hot air that has passed through the core under the car.

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A little electric water pump in the passenger footwell helps things along.

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With everything that that wasn’t necessary having been stripped and gutted out it means that this is one ridiculously lightweight car, well under the 640kgs of the stock car. With such little mass you do have to wonder if it will have issues with traction. Usually light is good, but too light can start to bring diminishing returns.

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You’d usually see skinny tires like this on the front of a drag car!

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More weight has been saved thanks to polycarbonate windows on the sides.

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The owner is still finalising the setup for the car and has just finished installing a custom straight cut gear set for the manual transmission.

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To balance the weight of the driver, the custom fuel tank has been positioned where the passenger seat once used to reside. I really hope the owner manages to get the results he has obviously carefully calculated, and needless to say we can’t wait to see video coverage of it at the track.

Best of luck Team Buraq!

Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com

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1

This is the essence of Speedhunters for me. Outside the box, built for the pure love and challenge of it.

Author2
Dino Dalle Carbonare

The passion of people/builders/owners is half of it :)

3

Wait, what?!... He cast the block himself?! Wow!
This little thing is crazy and I love it!

4

This car is a creative galaxy beyond the SH-awarded Civic. I know it's an apples-to-oranges comparison, and that the Honda is more of a multi-purpose car. But it's also a platform that is known and loved to the point of worship, to the point of being somewhat formulaic in its creation. I don't see how it wins over the show-quality racecar with an owner-created, one-off *engine block*. I understand your disclaimer about it all being entirely subjective, based on how the car strikes you...and that sometimes it's the slightly-unusual take on a familiar theme that really captures your heart. Still...

5

Exactly, we can't let a sentence like that stand alone, that man (and car) needs a deeper feature

Author6
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Yeah blew my mind....

7

*MCM intensifies*

8

MAN This little thing has 4 TIMES the horsepower than my crappy Corona. LOOOOL
Sure it will be SILLY FAST. (Hope the panels won't disintegrate during full throttle... XD)
LOVE IT.

9

Awesome
the 1st image in the event coverage got my attention and it sucked my full mental power, the more you dig in this build the more you'll find cool stuffs.

10
Jay Soh Tsu Chung

That moment when you realize the radiator intake scoop is actually a hood scoop from another car. LOL! But yes, this car got my attention too. Real showpiece with matching go as well.

Author11
Dino Dalle Carbonare

yeah and the inside air guide is probably off of a furnace haha

12
Duccio Ancillotti

This thing is insane and amazing, I wouldn't want to be the one trying to keep it on the ground....if it gets any torque steer, it's going to do a 360 spin haha. Keeping it on the ground with such brutal power onset is gona be a bitch, I reckon removable aero (especially in the front) could be a huge help on something like this.

Author13
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Or ballast

14

Stop the presses!
Is that the Cefiro that Ron featured running an RB20DET? It looks like it has a blower/Hilborn Fuel injection now??!!!
Any info, Dino?

15

Nahh man it's fake. It's just a fake blower on stacks

Author16
Dino Dalle Carbonare

lol

17

Thanks guys, I was trying to figure out which old Datsun that was... I couldn't believe it was an A31 Cefiro. The headlight conversion really threw me. I thought it was going to be something much older. I have been thinking of doing that BRE style paint job in my S13

18

Damn.

That's stunning planning and execution.

Nothing but love and well wishes to the owner for getting this one down the 1320 (or is it 1000m there?) straight and fast.

Author19
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Can't wait to see this in action!

20

I hope we can see videos of this car in action. Owner even went to the trouble of retrofitting the headlights, instead of throwing in cheapo LED "bulbs".

21

This is great I was just looking at AZ1 mazdas the other day wondering how if anything could be done to make a 1.0 or less car do anything fun and now this car is featured. THAT IS INSANE!

22

Remember this is rated in Malaysian HP, and the horses are half size. "Should reach 400hp", means more like 150hp.

23

カッコよすぎる。
400馬力のミラ。

24

well, if you're from malaysia, surely you'd see tonnes of this kei machines running around.

25

No reason 1,000cc engine can't output 400hp if good fuel is used. Wonder what the balance of a 3-cylinder is. Can they not fit a Hayabusa engine or something into this? Seems odd to have to cast a block. Entirely possible if done right I would think.

26

That cell next to the driver likely isn't for fuel, but for ice water. Pretty common in drag water to air intercooler setups. With a water pump just ahead of it to circulate the chilled water. Non bladder style fuel cells inside the passenger compartment isn't the best of ideas, and is mostly frowned upon in drag racing sanctioning bodies.

27

I'm just here for glimpses of the 944 in the background. Any more pics Dino?

28

"...no longer sitting at its kei car 660cc limit, but stroked and bored to 1,000cc thanks to a one-off custom iron block that the owner cast himself" - you really just going to casually mention this dude cast his own block and not show a picture or get more information about that? lol

29

i guess that block was from EJ-DE 1000cc engine, previously used in daihatsu coure (japan) or perodua kelisa (for malaysia model)

30

looks more like a cb23 block, and defintiely uses a single cam where the ej has the twin cam setup, hmm

31

Damn.... just when you think you've got the creativity and originality nailed someone comes out of no-where and lets you know you've got a long way to go...

32

I hope Marty sees this

33

@Dino Is there any more info on the yellow 944 next to it? Would love to know more!! Thanks.

34

Mira’s are one of the funnest cars in the world. I’ve owned and built a 64 Chev mild custom, Shakotan Datsun 1200, MX32 Cressida, German-Look 75 VW Bay Window Bus, Mazda B1600 BNA61 mini truck, an AE71 Spirit Corolla and an L200 Mira. Hands down the Mora was the best car. Unbelievably simple construction and easy to work on, without a doubt the most fun I’ve had in a car and I would own one again! It used to struggle with traction even with the standard 659 engine and 12 inch wheels.

35

why the heck would he go to all the trouble of casting a block and only use the single cam 6 valve head off an older model 993cc motor if he is chasing 400hp is what has got me buggered

36

marty mulholland likes this

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