Just a short post for this second installment of “JDM Rarities Week,” but it’s one that really took me by surprise. I assume some of you might have heard about the Tommykaira ZZ, but until I chanced upon this one on one of my regular Sunday strolls at the Jingu Gaien, I certainly had no idea this even existed.
Kyoto-based Tommykaira is chiefly a tuning outfit, working their magic on a variety of models, such as the Subaru Impreza, the Mercedes-Benz 190 E or the Nissan March. Circa 1991, they (i.e. Yoshikazu Tomita and Kikuo Kaira) decided to try their hand at developing a genuine sports car from the ground up.
The vision being quite close to Lotus, with an emphasis on lightness and a 4-cyl. engine, work on developing and manufacturing the car would take place in Britain, with a few ex-Lotus folks supervising the job. By 1992, a prototype monocoque aluminium chassis with a front and a rear subframe and all-round double wishbone suspension was ready for testing.
Though built in the UK, the Tommykaira was destined for Japan, so the engine Tommykaira picked was (arguably) the best 2-litre 4-cyl. Japan had to offer then: Nissan’s SR20DE. In stock form, the DOHC motor produced 150hp, but Tommykaira squeezed an extra 30hp from it, chiefly by fitting four carbs in place of the EFI. Given the car’s featherweight nature (670-700kg, depending on who you ask), the cocktail would be potent enough, yet remain affordable and simple to fix if need be. The fiberglass body was designed by Takuya Yura, again with a hint of Lotus, though the ZZ actually predates the Elise. Not sure who did the logo, but that looks like a nod to Gordon-Keeble.
The use of cutting-edge chassis technology and an extremely good power-to-weight ratio made for a thrilling combo, according to all the folks who tried one. This completely analog machine would propel its occupants from 0 to 100kph in four seconds and could reach 240kph – if said occupants could handle that without windows.
Launched in 1996, the Tommykaira ZZ was always meant to be a limited production experiment, but its maker was perhaps a bit surprised by how well it was received: around 450 orders poured in, so now the onus was on Tommykaira to deliver. With a monthly production of about a dozen cars at best, that would prove rather a long tedious affair, especially when a combination of currency fluctuations and regulatory changes always kept the car’s future in jeopardy.
Finally, in 1999, the Japanese authorities announced that they would tighten safety standards, which spelled the brave little ZZ’s untimely end. The last car was shipped to Japan in 2000, for a grand total of 206 units made. But a British firm called Leading Edge bought the tooling and made an extra 275 (somewhat modified) cars in the early naughties, so the ZZ was not without issue. And the marque did leave an overall favourable impression in its home country, so much so that a new “second generation” Tommykaira EV roadster was made from 2014 to 2021. Episodic carmakers are a strange phenomenon, but they sure make the automotive landscape more interesting.
Has a certain charm with heavy kit car vibes.
I mainly know about this car because of good old Gran Turismo 2 on PlayStation 1, some 25 years ago
I love the logo, otherwise…does it come with a pair of Vin Diesel’s underwear?
What an impossibly inept-looking thing, done as if one’s inherently unreliable 7 y.o. were entrusted to design the next super(ish) car, but I am pleased that Lotus was helped to the next lifebuoy by the commission.
And, who knows, it may even drive in a manner inverse to its aesthetic desecrations, but still, I am, as ever, grateful for the new – and carefully researched, as ever – learning about it from Our Professor In Japan, T87.
I give credit to the UK for being able to maintain cottage industry auto production. Luckily there are now many individuals with a high enough income to support their products. Cars built this way are always going to be expensive. This type of two seat, mid engined, fully developed, sports car was also built by Toyota. It was called the MR2.
My first thought from the entry picture was that this was Renault Sport Spyder derivative of some sort – whoops!
The aluminium chassis does have heavy Lotus vibes, but as yous ay, predates the Elise. Interesting offset to the seating
Thanks; but could you please feature the scooters in the background? And other weird and wonderful two wheeled contraptions…… Cheers
sure thing
They were certainly worth a look.
Love those scooter nutters there was a convoy of under 50cc scooters doing a run I encountered recently dozens or hundreds I didnt count winner to me was the scooter abd rider dressed as a witch on a broom closely followed by the one done as a bumble bee rider and machine in yellow black stripes.
Shades of Quardrophenia.