This time not a classic in ‘In the Wild’, but a car that we simply never see here. This WiLL Cypha was spotted by Techzle reader Guido Bakker. You can immediately see that it is something special.
The WiLL Cypha obviously needs the necessary explanation. Now be honest, have you ever encountered one of these in the Netherlands and did you also remember what it was? The chance is small. WiLL was a joint venture of several Japanese companies, including Toyota, which specifically targeted the Japanese market. The company made everything from fax machines to air fresheners and from chocolate bars to beer. You can hardly imagine whether the chance is that WiLL made it for the Japanese. So it also had a car department, in which Toyota of course played the leading role as one of the companies involved.
WiLL Vi
After the retro Citroën Ami-like WiLL Vi and the slightly more conventional design of the USA, this Cypha was launched in 2002. The Cypha was the successor to the Vi, but was given a completely different design. Not necessarily less noticeable, that’s one thing for sure. The Cypha, like the Vi, shared its basis with compact Toyotas, including the well-known first generation of the Yaris. So although they work with other classes in Japan, you could pretty much place it here in the B segment. Under the carriage unknown to us, it is a better-known story because of the affinity with the Yaris. In the nose of the Cypha is an 86 hp 1.3 four-cylinder with sixteen valves and VVT, a block that was also available in ‘our’ Yaris at the time. Although the Cypha does not look particularly dynamic, the Japanese weighing 987 kilos was therefore smooth enough.
The copy here on the photos is the second Cypha known to us in the Netherlands. More than four years ago we already had a blue one in front of us. It was a bit sportier than this. This Cypha, which was only registered in the Netherlands this year, has to make do with simpler bumper work and hubcaps, which are somewhat reminiscent of those of Jaguar from the same period. If the fact that the car is right hand drive did not reveal that it is a Japanese, then the Japanese emblem and the sticker on the back of the car will. This Cypha is far from home, but nice to see it.