Daihatsu Shows A Fantastic Van Concept With A Ridiculous Name And “Turbo Bastard” Wheels

If there’s one thing that I feel like I can rely on in these uncertain times, it’s that Daihatsu will always motherclamming bring it to any concept car situation. Now they’ve done it again, at the 2025 Gaikindo Indonesia Auto Show in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the company showed a variant of their Gran Max light commercial van but modified to be more like their off-road vehicles like the Taft, and so the ruggedized one-off van concept gets the name Gran Max Taft Guy, which is a truly remarkable name for a car.

This concept was done in collaboration with Indonesian car tuner  Gofar Hilman and Indonesia’s National Modificator & Aftermarket Association (NMAA). The goal seems to be to transform a workhorse utility van into a fun, go-anywhere overlanding van, albeit one that also manages to be plucky and kind of adorable.

I know the name has “Taft” in it, after the Daihatsu Taft off-roader that was sold in Japan and other markets (sometimes as a Toyota Blizzard) but the look of the front end is really far closer to the Taft’s replacement, the Rugger. Here, look for yourself:

That’s pretty much an exact re-creation there, even down to the indicators and bumper design. It definitely feels like the Rugger design vocabulary applied to a van, which, I suppose, is exactly what it is.

I really like the feel of this thing, the color, the character, the fun, pluckiness, all of it. Plus, based on these walk-around videos, it seems to have wind-up windows and pleasing upholstery that looks a bit like houndstooth? Ignore the awful AI voiceover:

Jeez, I guess they all have translated AI voiceovers:

Still, it’s fun. Here’s what Daihatsu has to say about it:

The Daihatsu Gran Max Taft Guy, a collaboration between Daihatsu, Gofar Hilman, and NMAA, combines modern toughness with classic Taft styling. Featuring a retro off-road style, the car can be won through a raffle for any Daihatsu car buyer from July 1–September 30, 2025. The winner will be announced at the peak of the IMX 2025 event.

Look at that! If you can get to Indonesia and buy a Daihatsu before September 30, you can actually win this one-off concept van! You’ve been wanting to go to Indonesia to buy a car, haven’t you? Sure you have.

The van’s normal taillights have been removed and simpler ones have been relocated into the rear bumper bar, a nice classic touch. The spare wheel on the rear door also adds a lot of off-roader character to the van, and since we’re talking about wheels, we may as well note that the Gran Max Taft Guy uses Turbo Bastard wheels:

I’m not familiar with this brand of aftermarket wheel, but they do seem to be A Thing, at least in Indonesia, and likely elsewhere. I just like to imagine almost any other OEM putting an official concept car on the stand with “bastard” written somewhere on it, because I feel like that’s pretty unlikely to happen.

This is a fun concept, and once again I salute Daihatsu for keeping things fun.