Japanese Day at Brooklands Museum – 20 Cars, Great People and Unexpected Interest in the Copen XPLAY
20 cars from the car club "130R Yokohama GB" were on display
On June 21st, "130R Yokohama GB Car Club," which we support, participated in the "Japanese Day 2026" event hosted by the Brooklands Museum.
We are grateful to the organisers for providing our club with a prime display space, as they did last year.
To meet the organisers' expectations, our club exhibited 20 superb vehicles. The excellent display location and the superb cars naturally resulted in a large turnout, which we are very pleased with.
Our club is a "club connected by shared values," so while it comprises vehicles from various manufacturers, styles, and ages, we believe that when we gather, people feel an invisible but powerful connection.
One of the most surprising discoveries of the day was the level of interest shown in our Daihatsu Copen XPLAY.
An extremely hot day - Temperature and Atmosphere
The weather that day was so warm that the UK Health and Security Agency issued a heatstroke alert, making it feel like a summer day in Tokyo, Japan.
The venue featured a large display of classic Japanese cars, modified cars, kei cars, and the latest sports cars, and as soon as the doors opened, a huge crowd filled the Brooklands Museum grounds.
A reporter from the Brooklands Museum channel visited our club and gave us an interview (we don't know if it will be broadcast, though!), making it a truly exciting day in that sense as well.
The reaction to the Copen XPLAY exceeded expectations
This time, we exhibited two LA400K Copen vehicles. These were our company-owned demo car, a 2015 Daihatsu Copen Cero, and our stock vehicle, a 2015 Daihatsu Copen XPLAY.
The demo Cero is a truck-style vehicle with a vibrant blue colour, lowered suspension, and wide tyres, while the XPLAY for sale is a rare khaki/black two-tone colour with a high-lift suspension, creating an adventurous look. We brought two vehicles with completely opposite styles.
Initially, I thought the demo Cero would attract more attention. This was because I had previously heard someone in the UK say they disliked XPLAY's style. However, to my surprise, people's attention was focused on the XPLAY. The points of interest must have been its colour and the high-lift styling. Of course, its rarity played a role, but the demo Cero was in the same position. As someone trying to introduce the LA400 Copen to the UK market, I found this reaction particularly interesting, even for people who know nothing about the Copen.
Polishing a 2015 model with approximately 45,000 miles on the odometer to a like-new shine requires considerable time and effort. But seeing the attention it has received makes all that effort worthwhile. I almost don't want to sell it! (lol)
Well, I stop writing this article here. Thank you for reading this blog, and to everyone who visited our booth!
Our next club meet is on Saturday, the 4th of July, and our next event is at Simply Japanese at Beaulieu on 19th July. You can check future dates here.
Are you interested in the new Copen? We have all four second-generation Copen models in stock, so if you are interested, please consider making a reservation to view them. Go to the Showroom.
See you next time!
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