The Tommykaira ZZ Is The Japanese Lotus Elise, Only Cooler

Plenty of intriguing and little-known cars have been built in Japan over the decades and few are more eye-catching than the Tommykaira ZZ. Now, one of these lightweight sports cars has been listed for sale in the U.S.

Tommykaira is a tuner formed back in 1986 and is best known for working on high-performance Nissan and Subaru models. In the early 1990s, it decided to build its own sports car and after four years of development, unveiled the ZZ. The first-generation model was built between 1996 and 2000 while the second-generation was available from 2014 to 2021.

Read: We Imagine An Affordable EV Revival To The 240SX

This example is a first-gen car that was sold new in Japan and imported to the U.S. last year. It is powered by a mid-mounted 2.0-liter Nissan SR20DE inline-four with quad Keihin carburetors, coupled to a five-speed manual transmission driving the rear wheels.

As you can guess by looking at photos of the ZZ, it is incredibly sparse, much like an early Lotus Elise. It features a lightweight fiberglass body, which was recently resprayed, rocks a removable hardtop, and sits on 16-inch Volk Racing VE37 wheels. One of the most impressive things about the ZZ is that it has double-wishbone suspension with adjustable coilovers at all four corners and we’re sure it’s an absolute joy to drive along a twisty mountain road.

The cabin rocks a three-spoke steering wheel, analog gauges, and grey microsuede trim across the dashboard. It also features fixed-back bucket seats clad in black.

The Bring a Trailer listing notes the car has been driven just ~27,000 km (~16,700 miles). While the engine has inevitably lost some grunt over the years, it was good for 178 hp and 143 lb-ft (195 Nm) back in the day, allowing the car to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 4 seconds.