The Toyota Publica, the original small but great domestic mass-market car

In this feature, 19-year-old female racing driver Rami Sasaki, who loves old cars, is asked to test-drive various old cars to give her honest impressions from a young person’s point of view. This time, with the cooperation of ENDLESS 130 Collection, we took a ride in a great popular car, the Toyota Publica.

Test drive a fully restored Publica by ENDLESS

Rami, who made her 4-wheel racing debut in the 2023 season in the KYOJO CUP, a women-only motorsports category held at Fuji Speedway, is such a deep-rooted old car enthusiast that she posts about her participation in old car events on SNS. In recent years, many racing drivers have said, “I like racing, but I don’t care that much about cars.

In addition to being a racing driver, Rami usually works for MSC Corporation, the company that manages Formula Drift Japan, and she leads a car-soaked life both in her private and public life.
Rami is such an old car enthusiast, and this time she test-drove a 1968 Toyota Publica, a vehicle on display at the Endless 130 Collection.

The Endless 130 Collection is a facility opened in March 2021 by Endless, a parts manufacturer famous for its brakes and suspensions, and includes a café, a museum with exhibited vehicles, and a racing garage where race cars are maintained. The opening of this facility was made possible by the founder of ENDLESS, who is also the founder of the company. The opening of this facility had been a longtime dream of the late Isao Hanazato, the founder and chairman of the company.

Surprised at its size, as compact as a modern Kei-car

With a body size of 3,620 mm (length) x 1,415 mm (width) x 1,380 mm (height), the extremely compact Pablica is not much larger than a modern minicar, even though it is a regular car. When she first saw it, Rami was surprised at how small it was.

“I was surprised that it was a family car at that time with this size. Also, maybe because of the small body size, the lights look bigger and more impressive. Also, the edges of the roof panel joints are kind of cute, as if it were wearing a hat!”

And when she sat in the driver’s seat, she seemed surprised at how many things were packed into the compact space.

“The pedal layout is very narrow! When accelerating, my right foot might hit the tire house if I am not conscious of it, and there is no footrest, so I am unsure where to put my left foot. The other thing that surprised me was the interior door knob. I was surprised at how small the handles are to use the small space effectively. It shows ingenuity in securing space for passengers.”