The Daihatsu V series (''Japanese: ダイハツ・Vシリーズ'') is a series of
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 a ...
trucks, manufactured from 1958 to 1970. The V series was Daihatsu first four-wheeled vehicle since the Hatsudoki FA truck in 1937 (Daihatsu's former company name).
The V series' main rivals in the medium-weight four-wheel truck segment were
Toyota Dyna
The Toyota Dyna is a light to medium-duty cab over truck for commercial use. In the Japanese market, the Dyna is sold alongside its twin called the Toyoace. The Toyoace was a renaming of the Toyopet SKB Truck as a result of a 1956 public competi ...
,
Nissan Caball The Nissan Caball is a light commercial truck manufactured by Nissan Motors from December 1957 until December 1981. The Caball was mainly sold in Japan, Hong Kong, South East Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and few European countries and ...
,
Isuzu Elf
The is a medium duty truck produced by Isuzu since 1959. Outside Japan it is known as N series and Q Series. The range was originally mainly available in Japan and other Asian countries. Australia was another important market for the Elf and ...
,
Prince Homer
The Prince Homer was a small commercial vehicle manufactured by the now integrated Prince Motor Company. It was available as a van, called the Homy, a double cab, or regular cab truck. The first model was known as the T64, and was sold as the P ...
and
Mazda D-Series.
The first Daihatsu V series truck was known as the Daihatsu Vesta.
This 2-ton class truck was released in 1958, competing in the same weight class as Daihatsu's own RKO three-wheeler truck. The engine was a 1.5 L
v-twin engine
A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
Although widely associated with motorcycles (installed either transversely or longi ...
shared with the Daihatsu RKO. In 1960, the engine was replaced with a new 1.5 L ''
FA''
inline-four engine
A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft.
The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...
and renamed to Daihatsu V200.
In 1962, the displacement was increased to 1.9 L ''
FB'', the power also increased to and a new 2.3 L ''
DE'' diesel engine was added; this diesel model was marketed as the Daihatsu D200
In 1964, a smaller 1.25-ton class was added with the 1.5 L ''FA'' engine, known as Daihatsu V100.
This was followed by the 3-ton class Daihatsu V300 with the 2.4 L ''
FD'' petrol engine and the Daihatsu D300 with the 2.5 L ''
DG'' diesel engine.
In 1968, two new models were available, 1-ton and 1.5-ton class. This new 1-ton model also used the V100 name as did the 1.25-tonner, which caused some confusion in the market. The 1.5-ton was known as Daihatsu V150 and was also powered by the 1.5 L ''FA'' engine.
There was also medium-sized bus series based from V series truck chassis, known as the
Daihatsu Light Bus.
In October 1970, as a result of the business agreement with Toyota in 1967, the V series was replaced by the
Toyota Dyna
The Toyota Dyna is a light to medium-duty cab over truck for commercial use. In the Japanese market, the Dyna is sold alongside its twin called the Toyoace. The Toyoace was a renaming of the Toyopet SKB Truck as a result of a 1956 public competi ...
-based
Daihatsu Delta
The Daihatsu Delta is an automotive nameplate that has been used on a variety of Japanese Daihatsu trucks and vans between 1970 and 2010. They have usually been Toyota-based, or otherwise based on models from the Toyota-owned Hino Motors. The t ...
.
References
{{Daihatsu timeline pre-1980
Daihatsu vehicles
Cab over vehicles