The vehicle was originally developed by the Hope Motor Company of Japan in 1967 and available as the HopeStar ON360 from April 1968. It used a Mitsubishi 359 cc (21.9 cu in) air-cooled, two-stroke ME24 engine which produced 21 PS (15.4 kW; 20.7 bhp). Brakes were Daihatsu units, the rear axle was sourced from the Mitsubishi Colt 1000, and the wheels were sourced from the Mitsubishi Jeep.