part 8 | The Phantom Sportscar

The most complete story behind the groundbreaking old school sportscar that never got its chance.

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In 1999, with ZZ production tangled in homologation red tape, Tomita and Kaira weren’t ready to pack up and go home. Propelled by the warm reception to their first all-original creation, they set about building the car they’d always dreamed of — no compromises, no shortcuts.

The concept was simple in theory, if rather ambitious in execution: a road car engineered to be race-ready with only the basics swapped — tyres, pads, discs, clutch — plus a wing and an engine change depending on the ruleset. Anything from a humble two-litre to a fire-breathing V12 could, in theory, be bolted in. And this time, it wasn’t just for Japan; they had their sights firmly set on Europe and the United States.

By favouring aluminium over carbon fibre and standard components over exotic ones, the target price was to be kept under 10 million yen — about $95,000 at the time, or $180,000 in today’s money. With a less spartan cabin than the original ZZ, the new car was intended to be more complete — and less compromised.

They called it the ZZII. More of a new chapter than an evolution, it was meant to debut at Frankfurt in 2001, though that didn’t happen — most likely because it wasn’t ready yet. It finally broke cover a few months later at the 2002 Tokyo Auto Salon.

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Beneath the skin, the extruded aluminium chassis remained, but the original four-cylinder had been binned in favour of the twin-turbo inline-six from the R-Z, turned up from its proven 530PS.

On paper, in 2002 it promised 550PS, sub-tonne weight, 0–60 in 2.8 seconds, and a top speed of nearly 330km/h.

To put that in context, the Nismo Z-Tune — with a similar engine — claims to manage the same top speed while lugging 500kg more mass, 50 fewer horses, and the aerodynamic profile of a garden shed. The ZZII, lighter, sleeker, and angrier, surely would’ve gone quicker still.

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The ZZII naked chassis

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