First published in the August 2026 issue of Street Machine

At Meguiar’s MotorEx in May, the new All Japan World was added to the ever-growing list of attractions at Melbourne’s biggest car show. Along with hero-model Skylines, GT-Rs, Supras and the like, there was plenty of variety on show from all parts of Japanese car culture – including Kei cars! One of those was Tristan Hart’s turbocharged, 660cc four-cylinder Daihatsu Copen, which some of you may recognise.

It’s a cool little car, mate! Is this the one that was on Mighty Car Mods?

Thanks, and it sure is! The boys went down to Tassie on the Spirit of Tasmania to shoot that film, and on their way back, they sold it to a guy in Geelong, where the Spirit docks. Then, it came up for sale in February this year, and the timing was right, so I figured why not?

They’re quite rare; did you have a Copen on your radar before that?

Not necessarily, but I’ve been following the MCM boys since they started on YouTube all those years ago. I have an admiration for their content, and I grew up in the Gran Turismo and Need for Speed era, so I’ve always been drawn to Japanese cars. I was also keen on a car I could take to the track, and this one already had a fair bit of set-up done on it. For the price, to me it was a really good deal.

What has been done to it?

The engine and turbo are still standard, but the boys fitted an HKS intercooler, intake pod filter kit and exhaust on the show. They also did HKS coil-overs and the Sparco alloy wheels, put in the factory-option Recaro bucket seats, which are very cool, and fitted a D Sport ECU. I got the GARLIC plates for Victoria like they had on it when it was NSW rego, because they reckon it looks like a loaf of garlic bread. The name seems synonymous with the car, so when I saw they were available here, I had to get them!

Have you done much to the car since you’ve owned it?

Not a heap, because it came fairly well set up as it was. I changed all the silicone joiners to black ones from the blue they originally were, and a few other small changes. I took it to a Nuggets & Friends day at Haunted Hills, and it was a load of fun! If I was to do more to it in the future, Garrett has released a new range of GBC turbos for small engines like this, so that could be an option eventually.

Do you have any other cars?

I do – who doesn’t! I’ve got a Nissan Stagea 260RS wagon that I’ve had for a long time, which for those who don’t know is basically an R33 Skyline GT-R put underneath a wagon body. I’ve also got an old LN106 HiLux, which is nothing special, but I love having a proper 4×4 ute I can just throw stuff into the back of with no worries – it does everything. More recently, I got myself a BMW E30. It’s a two-door 318i, but I’ve got a ZF five-speed manual for it from an E46 330Ci, and my plan is to build a solid driveline from the engine back until I figure out what motor I want to put into it long-term – ideally, a Honda K20A with ITBs!

What is Pitloon? We can see it advertised on the car.

I’m a software developer, and as you can see from my car list, I have a lot of projects to keep track of. During COVID, I decided to make the Pitloon website/app, where you can document your car builds. Whether it’s just simple tracking of servicing, part numbers, or future plans, you can log it all there. You can track your progress with pictures, and others can view your cars and builds like the old forum days. It also has a social aspect to it as well, because I’ve grown a bit of a dislike for the ‘pick me’ social media aspect of car culture these days. So, I work on that a bit when I’m not doing my full-time work.