1982-86 Ikeda Lunette 925RSi 1.0

Ikeda Automotive Manufacturing introduced the second generation of its FWD Lunette supermini back in 1981, with the sporting model - the 925RSi revealed together with the more "civil" versions. Originally intended to compete in the World Rally Championship, specifically in the Group B category, only 200 units were supposed to be made only for the 1982 model year to comply with the regulations and be homologated for the 1983 WRC season. The huge demand (the original 200 car batch was sold out in less than two weeks) made Ikeda reintroduce the 925RSi for MY1983. (edited)





The 925 in the name refers to the engine displacement - the car has a 925cc turbocharged inline 3, with 108hp in the roadgoing version. With the 1,4x displacement multiplier applied, it would be a little less than 1300cc (or 1.3 litres), which lands the 925RSi into the B/9 class.
That would make it compete with cars such as the Daihatsu Charade 926 Turbo and the Citroen Visa Trophee. both popular with privateer rally teams
As I said earlier, only 200 Lunette 925RSi cars were supposed to be built, but its sheer popularity resulted in more than 9000 cars actually produced, most of them being post-1982 models. Those were marked as Comfort models, that featured a cassette player, a slightly more civilized suspension tune, as well as air conditioning in some markets. The original 1982 cars are much more sought after nowadays due to their rarity.
The reason for being such a hit? A small, highly-tuned engine (remember - 108hp from less than a litre), very light weight (750kg) and a double-wishbone rear suspension setup (something found more commonly found in sports cars than hatchbacks) provided the Lunette 925RSi with a 0-100kph time of just 8 seconds and exceptionally good handling. Though for some reason Ikeda never bothered with making a version with the steering wheel on the left, so the only places it was officially sold in was its home market in Japan as well as the UK.


The car itself is heavily inspired by the G11 Daihatsu Charade - most notably the 926 Turbo and DeTomaso Turbo