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Tommykaira

, originally founded as , is a Japanese car tuning and manufacturing company founded in 1986 and headquartered in Minami-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The company was named after its two founders, Yoshikazu Tomita and Kikuo Kaira. Its parent company was founded in 1968 as . Several of Tommykaira's custom cars have appeared in the Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport racing simulation video game series.

Car tuning

In 1987, Tommykaira unveiled a tuned Mercedes-Benz 190E which was renamed as the "Tommykaira M19". The company subsequently released the M30E, which was based on the Mercedes-Benz 300E. However, from 1988 onwards, Tommykaira began to exclusively work on automobiles made in Japan, establishing successful contracts with manufacturers Nissan and Subaru. In 1988, the company tuned for the first time a Nissan Skyline R31 (rebranded as Tommykaira M30), in 1993, the turn was for the Subaru Impreza (M20b) and the Nissan March (m13) and, finally, in 1994, the first Subaru Legacy Wagon (M20tb) received attention from the Kyoto-based company. The company focused most of its efforts on mechanical and aesthetic modifications to four cars- the Nissan Skyline, Nissan March, Subaru Impreza and Subaru Legacy.

Other models modified have included the Nissan 300ZX, Nissan Silvia, Nissan GTR R35, Toyota Vitz, Nissan 350Z and several kei cars from various manufacturers. Tommykaira has consistently rebranded the cars as if they were completely manufactured by the company itself, with the consent of the parent manufacturers: for example, a Subaru Impreza is rebranded as Tommykaira M20b or a Nissan 350Z as a Tommykaira Z. This phenomenon is not unusual around the world as German manufacturers such as Ruf and Gemballa operate in a similar way with Porsche automobiles.

On the other hand, the rebranding process carried out by Tommykaira has evoked some controversy directly related to the status of the company as a car manufacturer. According to the information spot provided by the PlayStation video game Gran Turismo 2 about the Kyoto-based company, "in 1988, [Tommykaira] succeeded in introducing Tommy Kaira M30, Japan's first fully modified high performance car [...][while] in 1997, [it] manufactured and marketed its original sports car, the ZZ". In general terms, the 1988 M30 model is regarded as the first integrally tuned Japanese automobile, with tuning extensive enough to warrant rebranding the model it is based on. This fact acknowledged the capability of Tommykaira as an important aftermarket manufacturer and prepared the way for the launch of the company as a consolidated car manufacturer with the self-conceived 1996 ZZ model.

ZZ Car manufacturing and economic crisis

By 1996, Tommykaira had solely modified pre-existing models manufactured by Nissan and Subaru; nonetheless, the heavy improvements worked out by the company on the cars made it gain recognition as a brand in its own right.

The company decided to develop its own original design, the ZZ. The ZZ was produced in Ironside way, Hingham, Norfolk, England, but the factory that manufactured the ZZ collapsed due to a blunder of the Japanese Ministry of Transportation which, in 1999, switched front impact requirements from European to US standards. In 2002, the car was relaunched as the Leading Edge 190 RT built by Breckland Technologies.

Rowen collaboration

At the height of the economic crisis in 2008, Tommykaira agreed on a partnership with Rowen to make parts under the Tommykaira brand. One stipulation was that all designs must be cleared by Tommykaira brand owner, Mr. Tomita, before Rowen could sell the products. From early-on, the agreement was breached when Rowen unilaterally capitalized the name "Tommykaira" as "TOMMYKAIRA". This was found to be one of many violations cited in court and led to the breakup of Tommykaira's collaboration with Rowen. Despite losing in court, Rowen continued to sell and produce Tommykaira branded products well beyond the court decision leading to an abundance of unauthorized Tommykaira products with the logo being in all-caps.

Regaining independence

By around 2015, the dispute with Rowen had ended and the Tommykaira brand (managed by then, Threeek's CEO Mr. Tokitake) was once again independent. In a chance meeting with JDM Parts Ninja (formerly Japan Auction Parts) co-founder, Mike Wyckoff, Tommykaira once again began producing and selling products for both domestic and overseas markets.

Tommykaira brand license holder, Threeek, rebranded to GTS (Genuine Tommykaira Studio) in 2017 and sells Tommykaira brand products in Japan. JDM Parts Ninja is the exclusive distributor of the Tommykaira brand abroad.

Club international launch

In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a dwindling number of Tommykaira car owners in Japan, local chapters were disbanded in favour of a global subscription club called "Tommykaira Club International". The brainchild of Mike Wyckoff and GTS, the club, also known as TKCI, celebrated its launch in fall of 2020 and official first-year membership was 2021. The cost of a yearly membership starts at $88.

The logo was decided upon in 2020 by a group of Tommykaira enthusiasts that were asked to vote for their favourite Japanese kanji character from among a list of 5. The kanji is read "tamashi" and means "spirit" as in "Racing Spirit".

Models

(Please take note that for almost all models engine tuning was offered only as an optional and that some models also had more tuning stages available; shown here are the maximum performances available for each car.)

Prototypes and production figures

  • ZZ-S (enhanced version of ZZ)
  • ZZII ($90,000 RB26DETT-powered sports car)
  • ZZIII (planned modernized version of ZZ)
  • (total est.100-200 units produced)
  • Impreza GC8/GF8 M20b (approximately 105 units produced, actual production number is unknown, TK105 is the highest verified badge number, by Tommy Kaira Club International, of this model)
  • R32 R & R32 RL (total of 95 units produced)
  • R32 M20 (total est.100-200 units produced)
  • R32 M30 (total of 20 units produced)
  • R33 R & RL (total of 50 units produced)
  • R33 M25 (total of 400 units produced)
  • R34 R, R-S & R-Z (total of 35 units produced)
  • R34 25R (total of 199 units produced 2dr + 5dr)
  • GT-R R35 Tommykaira Edition (debuted at Thailand Auto Show 2018)

Built under Rowen

The following cars were built under Rowen's short-lived partnership with Tommykaira.

References

External links