Here at low profile we see that most drivers prefer to go for bigger and better. We have seen crx drivers switching to skylines and renault 19 drivers that move to lancia delta's. But what if you do exactly the opposite? It might appear that 'less is more' might be more accurate than 'bigger is better'.
First of all we discuss the size. According to the last laws of 1998, Kei cars are allowed to have a maximum size of 3.4X1.48X2 meter with an engine of max 660cc en 63 horsepower. This might sould like not much but if you realise that those cars are arouns the 600 kilo it makes it a whole different story.
No doubt that bigger cars are faster on the track and it wouldnt be much of a surprise if an S13 will get a better time. However, low profile is known for not using circuits to race on. A car like the unknown might be able to get high speeds on the public roads but with a with of 2 meter it gets pretty difficult to overtake other cars on the narrow roads of rural Holland. When you drive a Kei car, this would hardly be a problem.
The low weight of a Kei car has as advantage that it can take corners pretty quickly without over or understeer. This in combination with with the fact that they can use the road better makes kei cars having a big advantage on the twisty roads of Low Profile. Except that there are a lot of 4wd Kei cars. Even though this is not a race oriented 4wd makes it a pretty cheap way to have a rear wheel drive beater.
As always the Japs have figured this out a long time ago. There is a vast amount of companies that trade in performance parts for Kei cars. Suspension, engine, bodywork, everything can be found for these cars. There are even companies that make turbo-kits and have swap mounts for K20 swaps. This means that you can make a car that can give the bigger cars a run for its money without much trouble.
Finally we have the price. Everybody will have noticed that it gets cheaper and easier to import from Japan. When importing a kei car you will save a lot of money. Driving the car is cheaper as well because the 0.6 liter engine will consume a lot less fuel in comparison to an RB26 or 2JZ. Also the decreased size and weight are a lot better for the taxes you have to pay for your car. Buiten dit zijn is het motorformaat en het gewicht een stuk beter voor de wegenbelasting. You will also have less troubles insuring a car as small as this. Even if you want to take it drifting you will probably spend not that much money because the tires are way smaller. All this money you can put in actually driving the car, which is always better than just looking at it.
So Kei cars are smaller, cheaper and more practical in some cases and can be just as much fun as the bigger versions. It is a surprise that the dutch Kei car scene hasnt grown that much yet. But that can still happen.
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