1976 ミニドライブ・マークII (Mini Drive Mark II) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

Name: ミニドライブ・マークII (Mini Drive Mark II)

Year: 1976

Manufacturer: 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

The Mini Drive was again released in 1976, this time as Mini Drive Mark II.  There is no longer any shifter on the dashboard.

Game Machine 1976-08-15

The price to play is now 30¥.

The new backglass is reminiscent of the 1958 type-M backglass.

This lovely video shows all of the parts inside, including the 8-track player used for music:

The Mini Drive series:

1958 ミニドライブ M型 (Mini Drive M type) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1961 ミニドライブ アクセルつき [MA型] (Mini Drive with accelerator [MA type]) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1972 ミニドライブ (Mini Drive) [15 year version] by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1976 ミニドライブ・マークII (Mini Drive Mark II) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1972 ミニドライブ (Mini Drive) [new version] by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

 

Name: ミニドライブ (Mini Drive) [new version]
Year: 1972
Manufacturer: 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

This version of Mini Drive is much more common than then 1958 version.  It has a "striped" backglass and a gear shift on the left-hand side to let players go fast or slow.  Slow speeds would be better for younger children.  The "Kasco" brand logo can be seen.  Kasco is a brand of Kansai Seiki.

This model also adds dials by the steering wheel, and now costs 20¥ to play.

The first reference I have to this version is in the 1973 Machine Directory, which was published in late 1972:

This advertisement says the original came out 15 years ago, so 1972 seems like a good guess for the date of this game.  I am just going to call it the "[new version]" since I can't find any official title.

backglass

inside the back

playfield and car

The Mini Drive series:

1958 ミニドライブ M型 (Mini Drive M type) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1961 ミニドライブ アクセルつき [MA型] (Mini Drive with accelerator [MA type]) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1972 ミニドライブ (Mini Drive) [15 year version] by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1976 ミニドライブ・マークII (Mini Drive Mark II) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1958 ミニドライブ M型 (Mini Drive M type) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

Name: ミニドライブ M型 (Mini Drive M type)
Year: 1958
Manufacturer: 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

The most iconic Japanese arcade machine ever made.  1958 is always listed as the date for Mini Drive, but I am unsure if the original Mini Drive of 1958 is different than what I'm showing here.   The M-Type Mini Drive does not have a gas pedal, that would come later in the MA-Type.

This is actually the second version of the backglass:

2nd revision backglass

According to this article, the original backglass showed a journey from Kobe to Tokyo.  This was changed, to "Kitakyushu to Sapporo".  We do not know when the backglass was changed.

Amusement Journal

First version of the Mini Drive:

original backglass - to identify it quickly, look for the tall building on the left

from the 1969 Machine Directory

This photo shows even another alternate backglass, with what looks like fish along the bottom.

These 2 machines have the original backglass in 2 different colours:

this is the revised backglass

The Mini Drive series:

1958 ミニドライブ M型 (Mini Drive M type) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1961 ミニドライブ アクセルつき [MA型] (Mini Drive with accelerator [MA type]) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1972 ミニドライブ (Mini Drive) [15 year version] by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1976 ミニドライブ・マークII (Mini Drive Mark II) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

~1960s ミニドライブ アクセルつき [MA型] (Mini Drive with accelerator [MA type]) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

Name: ミニドライブ アクセルつき [MA型] (Mini Drive with accelerator [MA type])
Year: 1961
Manufacturer: 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

The "MA" type has a pedal on the bottom right of the machine.  All of the pictures I have seen show a backglass with two "dials" graphics.  The two "MA type" machines in the photo below seem to have different shades of backglass.  The front panel of the machine on the right also seems darker.

entry in 1969 Machine Directory

This advertisement is from 中村製作所 (Nakamura Seisakusho) but they also distributed machines for 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki).  Note the company name at the bottom of the flyer.

The year for Mini Drive is given in ミニドライブ大百科 (Mini-Drive Encyclopedia). 

The Mini Drive series:

1958 ミニドライブ M型 (Mini Drive M type) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1961 ミニドライブ アクセルつき [MA型] (Mini Drive with accelerator [MA type]) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1972 ミニドライブ (Mini Drive) [15 year version] by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1976 ミニドライブ・マークII (Mini Drive Mark II) by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)