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Local woman Holly Binkley’s Kei car, a 1990 Nissan Pao, was with 51 horsepower, by far not the most powerful vehicle to show Monday, Sept. 3 at the Coffee County Fair Open Class Car Show.

Yet the car, nestled between a pair of 70s-era Corvettes and a Model T Ford, was likely the most unique. According the Binkley, the only other one like it in Tennessee is at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville.

The Pao, a retro-styled three-door hatchback manufactured by Nissan from 1989–1991, and originally marketed solely in Japan at their Nissan Cherry Stores, was purchased by Binkley’s late husband Adam.

“He was looking up cool cars to get and went on a test drive on a little Audi,” Binkley said. “He got pulled over on the test drive.”

Adam saw that as a sign to look for something a bit slower. The Poa was sitting on the lot of an importer in Arizona, which meant the import fees and legalities were handled already, so the purchase was a breeze.

Someday when her son, Harrison, is old enough, Binkley will give the car to him. In the meantime, Binkley only drives the little convertible on weekends.

The Pao was a short, limited run on the Kai cars design. Kai cars are a style of Japanize cars that meet restrictive dimensions and engine size that allow them to qualify for lower taxes and Insurance in Japan, additionally they are exempt from a Japanize provision that requires parking space ownership.

According to Japan’s Light Motor Vehicle Inspection Association information, a Kai car must be smaller than 134 inches by 58.3 inches and can only have up to a 660 cubic centimeter (CC) engine.