√Move over Ford Ranger; here comes the world’s smallest ute!

Just 2565mm long and weighing a scant 290kg, the Cony Guppy is arguably the world’s smallest ever pick-up truck. And probably the slowest too.

You probably haven’t head of the Cony Guppy. And that’s okay.

After all, just under 5000 were produced by the Aichi Machine Industry Co Ltd between 1961-62, hardly a significant number.

But, what is the Cony Guppy exactly? Well, for one thing, it’s small, really tiny.

Measuring just 2565mm long, 1265mm wide and standing just 1290mm tall, the Guppy was a genuine micro-car. For context, the original Mini dwarfed the Guppy, the British super-mini a positively gargantuan 3054mm in length, 1422mm wide and 1397mm tall. The Brit also weighed over twice as much, 590kg against the Guppy’s 290kg.

But, what makes the Cony Guppy really interesting is that it is in fact a utility vehicle, a pick-up truck, or in Aussie parlance, a good old fashioned ute.

And it’s arguably, the world’s smallest ute, the perfect antidote to the ever-increasing presence on our roads of huge pick-up trucks that barely fit our streets and on occasion fail to fit within defined parking bays.

While it might look rudimentary, the Cony Guppy was actually a pretty nifty little machine. Powered by a tiny 199cc, single-cylinder two-stroke engine, rated at a meagre 8.2kW, the light-weight ute could actually hit a top speed of around 80km/h. Allegedly.

Also, we found one claim that the Guppy took 22 seconds to cover 200 metres from a standing start and complete the benchmark sprint from 0-100km/h in never-point-zero-never seconds.

Its makers marketed the teeny-weeny ute to small business owners who needed to transport, presumably small amounts, of goods and cargo. To that end, the Guppy’s payload was rated at 100kg while a ¥225,000 (around $AU2380 in today’s money) sticker price was tempting.

Technologically, the Guppy was fitted with four-wheel independent suspension while a continuously variable transmission, like those found in scooters back in the day, made for an easy driving experience.

The engine itself, was located under the cargo area, accessed via a small hatch in the tray. Keeping this cool, small air vents just in front of the rear wheels fed air into the engine.

Styling elements included tiny tail-lights that barely look bigger than a large coin, and two comically large indicators protruding from each b-pillar.

Other features included rear-hinged ‘suicide’ doors that opened to reveal a very basic cabin equipped with two seats, a steering wheel, and a speedometer that more than resembles the dial on those 1970s kitchen scales found in your Nanna’s kitchen back in the day and that now sit abandoned and forlorn in Op-Shops everywhere. And that’s about it for interior comforts. Utilitarian all the way, baby.

Like everything else about the compact ute (except for those over-sized indicators), the Cony Guppy sat on minuscule 8-inch wheels.

Its best feature was also the Guppy’s downfall. Thanks to its tiny size and light weight, the Guppy proved a handful on Japan’s then-roughshod road system, offering a jittery and uncomfortable experience behind the wheel. It was also, for the same reasons, a touch unstable. Word got out, and buyers stayed away in droves.

Production ended in 1963 after just 4645 had escaped the production line. Aichi followed the Guppy with the Guppy Sports, a roofless two-door micro sports car.

Its true successor, however, was the Cony 360 a compact ute, larger by every measure but still sitting comfortably within Japan’s kei car regulations. Aichi produced over 100,000 of the 360 over a 10-year production cycle.

Aichi Machine Industry Co Ltd still exists today. Now known as Aichikikai, it is wholly owned by Nissan where it manufacturers, amongst other things, powertrains for electric cars including the Nissan Leaf.

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