Hino Briska
The Hino Briska was a small pickup truck built by Hino Motors, adapted from the Renault-based Hino Contessa sedan. It was introduced in 1961 and remained in production until 1968, when Toyota released the Toyota Hilux. In 1967, the Hino Briska was renamed the Toyota Briska, then the Hilux was introduced, based on the Briska. There was also a commercial delivery van, appropriately called the.
FG series (1961–1965)
The Briska was introduced in March 1961 at exhibitions in 32 cities across Japan. Called the FG10, it used a Hitachi-Stromberg carburetor on a modified version of the Contessa's engine, itself derived from that of the Renault 4CV. In March 1962, the Briska lineup added a longer version with a second bench seat for rear seat passengers. This was coded FG20P and was also available in a glazed van version, called FG20V. The Briska was built under contract by rather than by Hino themselves from the beginning.The body style with the single bench seat could carry a payload of, while the Pickup could accommodate. In September 1962 the longer FG30 arrived, now on a slightly longer wheelbase and upgraded for a payload. The Light Van and Pickup received new rear bodywork, more standardized and simplified compared to that of the earlier models. The Briska was the first Japanese produced truck to accommodate three passengers on a single bench seat, according to the Japanese Governments Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. The light delivery van was only built for two years due to lack of sales. In 1963, the engine was uprated from the original to. This also meant that top speed increased, from.
In October 1963 the original Briska was facelifted, with a new front clip with a rather ornate front grille with a row of five diamond-shaped openings across the center. This model was briefly built as the FG30V Light Van and FG30P Pickup as well; for the last year of production only the Briska truck was available. A total of 33,916 Briska 900 were built.
FH series (1965–1968)
When the Contessa entered its second generation, the Briska was also modified and received a larger 1251 cc engine with. There was only a single bodystyle available of the second generation, but payload increased to. The new Briska appeared in April 1965. Hino entered into a partnership with Toyota in 1966, with Hino focusing on large commercial trucks and Toyota focusing on lighter vehicles. The four-speed manual transmission received synchronization only on the top three gears. 15,036 Hino Briska 1300 were built; this does not include Toyota-badged cars.The second generation Briska continued to be built by Mitsui Seiki rather than by Hino themselves, until after the Toyota takeover. Toyota moved Briska production from the Mitsui plant into Hino's own Hamura factory to replace the Contessa after it was discontinued in March 1967.
As of 12 May 1967 and until the end of production in March 1968 the truck was sold as the Toyota Briska, using the model code GY10. The Toyota Briska received twin headlights and a slightly more powerful engine with. The engine modifications had originally been developed for the Contessa but only the Toyota Briska ended up benefitting from them. Production of the Toyota Briska was limited to 10,000 units in a little under a year; The succeeding Hilux was built by Hino factories for Toyota while Hino's truck sales were still low.