Start Them Young

For many sports it’s possible to go pro after starting from a middle school to even a high school level. The same can’t necessarily be said about motor racing. Racing is unique in the fact that the parents in most cases need to make the decision before their kids are old enough to decide for themselves. Dylan Murry is 12-years-old and reminds me of more than one of Formula 1′s many World Champions.

I don’t suspect this is the last time we’ll see Dylan doing amazing things behind the wheel of a race car.

Video courtesy of DRIVE.

The Fast And The Furious Scandinavia

The Fast and the Furious films. Love them or loath them, you’ll be paying to see the next one in theaters.

In the meantime, some folks in Sweden have offered their own take on the franchise.

Hilarious!

Video courtesy of boomblaster9470.

 

Throwback Thursdays: Drift X30

There are plenty of JZX100 drift cars out there. We see them all the time, but it’s not so often you see an X30 in drift trim.

This particular Chaser alludes to it’s boso roots: massive over fenders, deep dish wheels and external oil cooler, check.

It really is a family affair.

Garage Sale, Car Blogs & Team Orange

I’m doing a bit of a garage sale, to get rid of some used WRX parts. The list of things I’m selling can be found here. I’ve gotten a tone of flakers and low ballers, in the 2 weeks this post has been up. If you’re not seriously interested, please don’t waste your time sending e-mails. All of the parts are for local pickup, but I am willing to ship certain items domestically.

I’ve been kind of bummed to see how many car blogs have fallen off the map this year. Unfortunately, for every good blog that has shut it’s doors, a new fitment/stance blog has emerged. Why do we need so many fitment blogs? There will be a point, where there are no cars left to feature. The cross posting, on these flavor of the month blogs, is already bad enough. Instead of wasting time looking at people’s wheels, do yourself a favor and head over to Axis of Oversteer. It’s one of the few blogs I still actually read and focuses heavily on motor sports. Their Formula 1 banter is particularly entertaining and beats half witted car features any day.

I won’t leave things without a photo. A little engine bay porn from the folks at Team Orange.

Some people could look at certain cars all day long. I definitely have my favorites. But I could also stare at these JUN engine bays, on the Team Orange drift cars, all day long. I had the chance to see one in person, at D1GP USA a few years ago and it was a thing of beauty. I hope my WRX looks like this someday.

Throwback Thursdays and Spanish Grand Prix predictions tomorrow.

Throwback Thursdays: X30 Chaser

Is there a more versatile car, than the Toyota sedan? It is as much beloved as it is loathed by so many. Here in the states, it would be nearly impossible, not to see a Camry out and about. Fortunately, we’re not talking about watered down, ex-pat Toyotas; we’re talking about quite possibly, the most important Toyota sedan of all, the Chaser.

The Toyota Chaser was introduced in 1977, as a competitor to the Nissan Skyline. It was an every man’s car, offering the Japanese an attainable, luxury sports sedan.

It came as both a coupe and a sedan, powered by economic 4 and 6-cylinder engines.

While the X30′s following may not be as prominent as the Celica 2000GT or the Hakosuka, it’s still a unique looking platform, with plenty of potential. The round headlamps fit the front end perfectly, as do the gaping grill and fender mirrors.  It’s a relatively simple looking car, almost generic from the certain angles. But while other Japanese cars of the time, were mimicking American muscle styling, the Chaser remained Japanese. Painted black, you could even call it a noble.

The long, sweeping body lines have been carried through the line, since the days of the X30.

While most will immediately recognize the Skyline, as the most important Japanese car, it’s hard not to include the Chaser, as part of the conversation. Especially from a tuning perspective, the car has done it all. It’s been a drifter, competed in time attack and circuit racing, even had a steady foot in the VIP scene, before there was a VIP scene. It was the original car that was “too big” to slide and that made it beloved by the drifters. There are few sites more pleasurable, in the sport, than seeing a massive, JZX100 going sideways.

So there you have it, the X30 Chaser. Cetainly not the most popular, but one of the most interesting and definitely a classic.

The Good Old Days: JDM Insider

I’ve had an absolutely horrendous sore throat since I got home from Hong Kong. Swallow some razor blades and that’s about where I’m at. No doubt, it’s a lovely parting gift from my 13-hour flight.

That’s kept me cooped up at home, drinking tea, watching basketball and JDM Insider.

It’s a bummer Toshi and the 360VM crew aren’t making these anymore. Option and Hot Version are the essentials, but JDM Insider was always special because it came from the perspective of American enthusiasts, looking in. They were the best window, many of us had into the Japanese tuning world. JDM Insider is also what in many ways, inspired me to visit Omori Factory and Top Secret back in 2007.

My particular favorites are Volumes 2 and 5. Most of today’s fan boys probably have no idea what these DVD’s are. It’s a shame because they really are a shining example of how things were back in the good old days 7-8 years ago, when YouTube hadn’t revealed all of Japan’s mystique and people had money to burn on cars, man I miss it.

Six Days

There’s no shortage of drift videos on the internet. I typically avoid posting them because they’re all the same; shot on a DSLR, with lots of fancy color correction and a mediocre soundtrack. But if there’s one you should watch, it’s Stephen Brook’s coverage of the 2011 Maxxis British Drift Championship, Six Days.

This video is well shot and beautifully edited. It’s taking the same formula we’ve all seen and tweaking it. Drift events are as much about the atmosphere and culture, as they are about the cars. Six Days captures that beautifully.

Video production, on a consumer level, is more accessible than ever. I think it’s fantastic. Never would I have imagined that a DLSR could capture cinematic quality video. But with all of this technology comes a problem. It gives the consumer a false confidence, that they too are a professional director and cinematographer. The reality is that a majority of these videos fail to execute the foundations of shot structure and proper editing. Filmmaking is not photography. You can’t just capture a decent shot, bump up the contrast and call it a day. It’s about storytelling and bringing the viewer along for the ride. Six Days does that and does it well.

Video courtesy of Stephen Brooks.

Gymkhana 4

You can’t deny that Gymkhana has transcended into something far greater than it’s original concept. But despite all the Hollywood glitter, the driving still takes center stage.

Video courtesy of DC Shoes.

Seriously

I haven’t bothered to go on the forums in over a week. Nothing is really happening in the Subaru community or any car community for that matter. Japan is a wreck and rightfully so. I’m pretty tired of hearing about the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants. There’s so much else happening in Japan and it seems all the news is interested in doing, is reporting on another disaster that hasn’t even happened yet. What about the Japanese people, how are they holding up?

It’s unsurprising that the guys from Team Orange are my favorite drifters. Kumokubo in particular, would have to be at the top of my list. I used to read his editorials in Subiesport years ago. He was always so positive and excited about sharing the sport and bringing it to new audiences outside of Japan. Well if you know anything about Kumokubo, then you know his family owns Ebisu Circuit, which was unfortunately hit by last week’s earthquake. To my knowledge, no official statement of how bad the damage is, has made it’s way out yet. If this picture is any indication, things aren’t the greatest.

What I’ve found most interesting about the Japanese is their attitudes towards the whole situation. They’re not sitting around asking for help or giving interviews about how terrible things are. They’re moving forward. It’s a long road ahead and not an easy one, but they’re on their way. Their ability to maintain social order is also what’s astounding. To many, what seems like the perfect justification for complete chaos, is not happening. You don’t see stories on the news about the Japanese robbing and murdering each other. They’re sticking together and living with civility. It’s something we can all take note of. What’s done, is done and they’re moving on. Yes it’s a very fatalistic mentality, but not a bad one to have; especially if you believe everything you read.

Top Secret: Part III

Any JDM fanatic could easily spend an entire afternoon checking out all the cool things to see at Top Secret. Besides being one of the most famous tuning shops in Japan, Top Secret is also one of the largest. It’s the main reason why I wanted to break my visit into 3 separate posts, because there’s just that much to talk about. I’ve saved what is in my opinion, the best for last. If you’ve ever looked at Japanese car magazines then you’re probably all too familiar with the entrance to Top Secret’s shop. The light blue sliding doors, the black and gold sign and that small driveway packed with some of the fastest domestic cars in Japan. Since we decided to visit Top Secret on a weekday, the shop was buzzing with activity. It being the middle of June, meant the front doors were open to reveal all the cool stuff happening inside the shop. When we pulled into the parking lot, this was the first car that caught my eye.

Top Secret isn’t typically known for working on classics but they should definitely do more of them. The pristine RA25 Celica 2000GT looks and sounds every bit as good as the shop’s more high-profile builds. I had known about the 2000GT build before visiting the shop, but I didn’t expect to see it in person. It was quite a nice surprise as we pulled into the parking lot.

An interesting sight at Japan’s premier Nissan and Toyota tuner, an FC RX7. The midnight purple was similar to the shade typically seen on GT-R’s. However, the color looked right at home on the RX7.

A look into the shop’s primary workspace. Unfortunately we weren’t permitted to walk around inside the actual shop. Due to the fact that they were so busy and all of the liabilities that could result from us being overly excited in the first place. All the famous faces were present including Youichi Imamura’s ORC/Top Secret Z33 D1 car in the foreground. I was amazed at how focused all of the mechanics were. It’s probably not everyday that a couple of Americans show up to have a look around, but typical of Japanese culture, the task at hand is of the upmost importance.

Lurking behind the shop’s door is one of Smokey’s more interesting creations, the VQ35-powered R32 Skyline. Many of you are probably familiar with the car’s bright orange individual throttle bodies, a setup that’s been tuned around 355hp. This has always been one of my favorite Top Secret cars. It’s eye-popping graphics, exquisite attention to detail and unique power plant embody everything that makes Top Secret stand out from the rest.

Out of all the cars that day, this was the most exciting one to see firsthand. It’s Smokey’s final incarnation of the JZA80 Supra with a custom-built V12 twin-turbo. During the time of our visit, this was the shop’s crowning achievement and had just debuted at Tokyo Auto Salon earlier that year. I’ll admit, I was never fond of this cars looks, until I saw it in person. It’s presence is undeniable and parked there, the car looked every bit as fast as it is on the track.

Well that about wraps up my posts on Top Secret. It was a truly amazing and inspirational experience and I still have to reassure myself it wasn’t all a dream. If you’ve got the time and the money, I would highly suggest putting down the magazines, turning off the computer and seeing these places for yourself. Apart from all the car stuff, Japan is an amazing country with so much to offer. If anything, the tuning culture is a bonus to the rest of it all. I hope to get back there very soon because there are many more shop visits on my list. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.

-Chris

Top Secret: Part I

Top Secret: Part II