- The Tommykaira ZZ is a super lightweight roadster that is little known outside Japan.
- Thanks to the DOT’s 25-year rule, the entire first-generation production run is now importable.
- It is lighter than a Lotus Elise and has no less than 197 hp, but is really fast.
The Department of Transportation’s rolling 25-year exemption for importing vehicles that do not comply with federal law is the gift that keeps on giving. This year, formerly forbidden fruit that can suddenly be brought in legally includes crazy things like the Renault Avantime, a minivan-sized coupe that is France’s quirkiest grand tourer.
But what if you want something lighter, something with the weight of a box of Pocky?
Well, good news everyone, because 2026 marks the year in which the entire first generation took off the Tommykaira ZZ are all now legal for import. This little frog-faced roadster is the kanjiscript Lotus Elise that you never knew existed (unless you played Major tourism as a child; more on that later), ultra-lightweight with a punchy four-cylinder engine mounted amidships. It is very rare, very agile and well worth the wait.
Tommykaira is a combination of the names of the two founders, Yoshikazu Tomita and Kikuo Kaira. The latter was a Formula 2 driver with engineering experience, the former was an importer of European sports cars, and they worked together to overlap these two areas of expertise in building their own car.
But first the Tommykaira company had quite a bit of success tuning production cars, which would come in handy later. There were officially licensed Tommykaira versions of the Impreza, Skyline and Sylvia, and it was the link with Nissan that would provide a powerplant for the ZZ and ZZ-S.
To bring up Renault again, the ZZ looked a lot like that company’s Sport Spider. However, the Tommykaira is a whopping 700 pounds lighter than the Renault. That’s like riding around with a small riding gun. The ZZ weighs just over 1,400 pounds, making even an Elise look like well-marbled Wagyu beef.
And it doesn’t lack power either. A Nissan-sourced SR20 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with quad carburetors produces 178 hp in the ZZ and 197 hp in the ZZ-S. Tommykaira also produced an R34 Skyline GT-R with 530 hp from its turbocharged inline-six, and the ZZ has about the same power-to-weight ratio as that car.
There are, of course, some trade-offs. Although most of the mechanical parts are Nissan products, these cars are built under contract in Britain, so some spare parts will be readily available. You will want to become friends with your local manufacturer. And as far as weather protection goes, this car comes with the same disclaimer as the splash zone at Sea World: you’re going to get wet.
Finding one will also be difficult, as only 220 were made. However, that rarity makes it collectible, and his appearance Major tourism series of games since Gran Turismo 2 means hardcore fans will know what it is. It would be quite a talking point at your local show and possibly provide the best riding experience going to that show.
There was also a second-generation battery-powered car, but it cannot be imported until 2039. So go hunting. Parking a Tommykaira ZZ next to a Renault Avantime certainly gives you the opportunity to claim the strangest and most satisfying two-car solution ever.
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Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. He grew up on British cars, came of age in the golden age of Japanese sports compact performance, and started writing about cars and people in 2008. His special interest is in the intersection between man and machine, whether it concerns the racing career of Walter Cronkite or the half-century-long obsession of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to constantly buy Hot Wheels.
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