As the motors division of Akamine Heavy Industries, the relatively new Sunny Motor Co. got its start in 1982 producing small engines for motor scooters and lawnmowers. Eventually, they would go on to produce cars in 1990.
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Sunny Pandion
When Sunny Motors Co. emerged from the Japanese economic crisis of the 1980s, they saw a niche that they could fulfill in the auto market, and, quite desperately, they rushed the production of a new, fairly inexpensive two-door coupe.
The Sunny Pandion premiered in 1994 to little fanfare, boasting a paltry 145hp for its RM602B flat-6 engine. However, for its lack of initial power, the RM602 engine soon proved to be a highly capable engine in the aftermarket scene.
Sunny would continue to make incremental improvements with the Pandion from 1995 to 1999. However, they would quickly find success in the 1997 JGTC series with their NIJIMA-TOMY Pandion GTF race car, skyrocketing the popularity of the model in the eyes of the Japanese car community.
Several factory-tuned variants would emerge from their successes in motorsports, from the Pandion ZZ to the Pandion Silphantom.
In 2000, Sunny would declare the end of production for the Pandion, and as a final farewell, they produced the Pandion Silphantom SpecA, which possessed an AWD drivetrain instead of its original RWD layout, and the improved RM602BZ sequential turbo engine would go on to produce 320hp.
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2018 Sunny Ophelia
When Hideki Nagano stepped down from his position as CEO of Sunny Motors in late 2012, Mamoru Aizawa was elected to replace him, and with the change in leadership came a change in philosophy. Sunny had found itself in a position of weakness in the late 2000s-early 2010s, producing unremarkable cars with middling performance, and while they sold well, they did little to invigorate the global car community. Aizawa sought to change that with the Mirai/O concept revealed at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show. Touting it as a ‘new wave’ in affordable performance and luxury, Aizawa outlined his plans to reorient Sunny as a leading force in the industry.
The 2018 Sunny Ophelia was built on an entirely new platform designed from the ground up, and boasts an engine tuned by Rhiannon Motorsport due to the proper acquisition of the performance brand in 2016.
The Ophelia R’s is the flagship model of Sunny’s new lineup; its EN703L turbocharged inline-4 engine producing a respectable 320hp paired with an intelligent suspension system make it a class-leader in performance, reliability and comfort.
When the Ophelia R’s was finally released in 2017, Aizawa said that Sunny Motors’ new mission was to move ‘at the speed of life,’ producing cars that suit every occasion.
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2020 Sunny Pandion
Mamoru Aizawa made a surprising move during the 2018 Tokyo International Auto Show when he revealed the Mirai/C Concept, along with the promise that Sunny Motors was to expand into new markets. The Mirai/C was a mid-engine luxury grand tourer, though its low-slung, swept-back body suggested a sportier core.
Largely unchanged, the Mirai/C would debut wearing the esteemed Pandion nameplate, much to the dismay of fans of the original Pandion.
Utilizing the expertise of Rhiannon Motorsport in the wake of their acquisition by Sunny, the 2020 Pandion R’s was designed from the ground up to posses two distinct but reconcilable identities. Using a hybrid-electric drivetrain derived from Rhiannon’s very own K1 supercar, the Pandion can change from a gentle, smooth city driver to an unrelenting force of nature at the push of a button.
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