Toyota · 1961–1978

Toyota Publica

The Toyota Publica (Japanese: トヨタ・パブリカ, Toyota Paburika) is a small car manufactured by the Japanese company Toyota from 1961 until 1978. Conceived as a family car to fulfill the requirements of the Japanese Government's "national car concept", it was the smallest Toyota car during that period and was superseded in that role by the Toyota Starlet, which itself started out as a version of the Publica. It was available as a 2-door vehicle only, but in a selection of body styles, ranging from the base sedan through a station wagon, convertible, coupé and even a coupe utility (pickup), which outlived the other models by a decade, and spawned other models, such as the Toyota Sports 800 and the Toyota MiniAce.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Successor: Toyota Starlet|Toyota Corolla|Toyota Corolla E10

All Toyota Publica data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Development

=== MITI "national car" concept === The origins of the Publica can be traced to the "national car" concept of the powerful Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), which was announced in 1955. The concept stipulated for a vehicle fulfilling several requirements, like maximum speed over 100 km/h (62 mph), weight below 400 kg (882 lb), fuel consumption not exceeding 30 km/L (3.3 L/100 km; 85 mpg‑imp; 71 mpg‑US) at the average speed of 60 km/h (37 mph) on a level road, but also notably the requirement that the car would not break down or require significant repairs for at least 100,000 kilometres (62,000 mi). From concept to reality. Although Eiji Toyoda was initially keen to take advantage of the, at that time innovative, FF concept (front-mounted engine with front-wheel drive), it proved technically too complicated for Toyota engineers to be able to complete within the allotted time, so the decision was made to switch to more conventional FR layout. The Publica was inspired by the successful Citroën 2CV which also used a 2-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed engine, with front-wheel drive. In spite of the fact that the government sources announced that significant tax breaks would be made for cars with engine displacements of less than 500 cc, Toyota decided that such a small engine would provide insufficient power on the highways, and increased the planned displacement to 700 cc. The resulting engine was an air-cooled 697 cc ohv 2-cylinder boxer which produced 28 PS (21 kW), and was known internally as the Toyota U engine. The tax incentives did not materialize; the displacement did qualify in the lowest annual road tax bracket, thus helping sales. In 1966 Toyota began to acquire kei car manufacturer Daihatsu. The new car was given a two-door

P10 series

The new car was given the internal designation of "UP10" and the market name of "Publica" and was sold through a new dealer network, separate from the previous "Toyota" and "Toyopet" dealerships, called Toyota Publica Store (later renamed as Toyota Corolla Store). Sales began in June 1961, with the basic price of ¥389,000. Initially, the car was very basic, lacking even such basic options like a radio or even a heater. This limited its appeal to the consumers, who perceived the automobile as an aspirational good and expected it to exude a more luxurious impression. The now defunct Central Motors produced the Publica convertible from October 1963. Further development of the UP10 series. In 1962, a two-door "light van" version was added, essentially a station wagon but classified as a commercial vehicle in Japan. A derivative model, Toyota Sports 800 (marketed initially as "Publica Sport") debuted at the 1962 Tokyo Motor Show. In 1963 Toyota added a new Deluxe trim level, denoted internally as "type UP10D", which featured such "luxuries" as reclining seats, a heater, radio, as well as some chrome decors (the original model was now called Standard). With the appearance of the Deluxe, demand finally picked up, and when the convertible model was added the same year, sales of the Publica finally reached the target level of 3000–4000 monthly. In February 1964, a coupe utility (pickup) model joined the lineup, and in September the engine got a power boost to 32 PS (24 kW), while the Deluxe trim level was also made available for the wagon version. As a first for this class in Japan, Toyota also offered a two-speed semi-automatic option, called the Toyoglide (coded as A20). These are very rare nowadays, since most mechanics of that era had little knowledge in how to repair automa

P20 Series

In 1966, Toyota launched the revised Publica range, designated UP20 next to the all-new Toyota Corolla E10. The engine displacement was increased from 697 cc to 790 cc, and claimed power output from 35 PS to 36 PS (the engine was now called 2U) while the convertible received the 45 PS (33 kW) twin carburetor engine from the Sports 800. Since October that year, the dealers were operating under the "Toyota Publica" (rather than just "Publica") brand, and the base price was reduced to ¥359,000 for 1967 - as the US dollar stood at about ¥360 at that time, Toyota marketed the Publica as the "1000 dollar car". The Publica dealerships were later renamed "Toyota Corolla Store" after the popularity of the Corolla won out over the Publica as an affordable, small car. In 1966, Toyota also launched the Toyota MiniAce cab over van, based on the UB20 Publica. In March 1968 the production of the Publica Van version was moved to Hino Motors, after that company was taken over by Toyota. 1968 also saw the launch of Publica Super version, which came with the engine of the Sports 800. The P20 Publica was replaced by the all-new P30 series in April 1969. The former Central Motors produced the Publica convertible until December 1968. Sales of the P10 and P20 Publicas:

P30 Series

In April 1969, a whole new generation of the Publica was launched. The car was effectively now a scaled down version of the Corolla, sitting on a shortened Corolla wheel-base. While the air-cooled 790 cc 2U engine was retained in the cheapest domestic market versions, the cornerstone of the lineup was now the new K-series four-cylinder, water-cooled 993 cc engine (designated 2K) with 58 PS (43 kW), a lower-displacement version of the 1,077 cc engine used in the contemporary Toyota Corolla. The Publica 800 (UP30) has 40 PS (29 kW) and a top speed of only 120 km/h (75 mph), while the 1100 SL could reach 155 km/h (96 mph). The 800 and 1000 were available with Standard or Deluxe equipment, both in Sedan and Van bodystyles. The lower-geared Van was slower, with claimed top speeds of 115 and 135 km/h (71 and 84 mph) for the respective versions. When the Corolla underwent a facelift in October 1969, the Publica SL's engine was upgraded to a 1.2-litre unit as per the Corolla. Power increased from 73 to 77 PS (54 to 57 kW). In March 1971 an even sportier version called the SR ("Sports Rally") was added, and the 1200 engine also found its way into a well-equipped variant called the Hi-Deluxe. The SR was equipped with radial tires, disc brakes up front, firmer suspension, and a tachometer. In period testing, it was criticized for the radial tires being unpredictable near the limit, with high grip but no feedback and the car threatening to roll over under hard driving. Originally a two-door sedan and a three-door wagon (called Van in Japan, as it was intended for commercial use) were available. The pickup version, added in October 1969, was now officially known as "pickup". The pickup was originally only available with the 1.0-litre engine, although the 1.2 was made available after

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Toyota Publica
aka: Shinjin Publica (신진 퍼블리카)
Manufacturer: Toyota
Production: 1961–1978
Successor: Toyota Starlet (Hatchback), Toyota Corolla (Sedan)
Class: Subcompact car
Layout: FR layout
Body style: 2-door sedan, 3-door station wagon, 2-door coupé, 2-door convertible, 2-door coupe utility (pickup)
Related: Daihatsu Consorte, Toyota Sports 800

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q786708CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_PublicaCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1333017716 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1961_Toyota_Publica_01.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Mytho88 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.