I'm inspired by this Kei's Truck Drifting around hehe... enjoy

CAR FEATURE >> SHANE LYNCH JAPSPEED STOBART MAXXIS S15

The colours you see are more commonly found on a Ford WRC car, or on one of many of Eddie Stobarts haulage trucks. But for 2009, Japspeed, Stobart and Maxxis Tyres have come together to prepare this Silvia S15. The car is driven by Irishman Shane Lynch and will compete in the British Drifting Championship and the Prodrift Super Series. However, what is amazing is that not only have Japspeed prepared this car ...

... But they have prepared it's identical twin which will be piloted by another Japspeed driver, Danny Eyles.

Some of you may remember the horrific crash the two old Japspeed R33 Skylines had at Silverstone last year. Well those R33's have been offered up to compliment both these S15's. I'll go into that a little bit later on ...

The car's are clad in a Vertex body kit, painted white inside and out with a carbon bootlid and bonnet. They are differentiated by their graphics, Shane's car is in the Japspeed/Stobart colours, whilst Danny's is in the full Japspeed colours.

The wheels are Rota Torques, with D2 brakes behind them providing the stopping power, 8 piston calipers on the front and 6 piston units on the rear.

The car sits slightly higher than would be aesthetically better, but this is a competition car and excessive lowering will have a detrimental effect on the vehicles handling. The car uses Skyline front and rear subframes, with a Skyline steering rack, Kaaz differential, Japspeed coilovers and adjustable arms with Driftworks front and rear lower arms.

SPOTLIGHT>> FRENCHIES S14 T-CAR

We got some requests from the Wall Rubbin' post for some more shots of the car, so thought it would be cool to pull Martin and the car aside for a quick spotlight ! The car is Martins T-Car, that is, it's his backup car whilst the Altezza is being completed. It's the same S14 you may remember from last year but with some minor and even major differences. The front bumper is Works 9, matched up with some URAS sideskirts and rear bumper.

The rear wing is a custom buit Wexican Motorsport one. Martin reckons it may not be to everyone's taste but at least it's a bit different to the usual big GT style wings. He also reckons it's perfect for rubbing on or over walls ...

... and as you can see, it's exactly just that he does with it !

The wheels are quite similar to the Volk GT V, but are just wheels he had lying around at home. The front tires are Toyo R888, the rears are usually Champero or Federal.

The man himself, Martin Ffrench.

Frenchie doing what Frenchie does best; Lock stops and 110%. The car is powered by a completely standard redtop SR20 motor developing around 350bhp thanks to a Greddy T517Z Turbo.

The most impressive part of all this is that the car was put together in a day. Mapped, kitted and assembled in 24 hours for the first round of the Irish series. The car wasn't even four wheel aligned and he still managed to qualify first ! We definitely can't argue with this Speedhunters style !

- Paddy M

MOUNTAIN DRIFT CIRCA '95

A nice look back at the days of wheels no larger than 15 or 16 inches and horsepower numbers no higher than 200. Look closely and you'll even see a guy out there with a brand new R33 Skyline.

-Mike Garrett

IS-F Evolution

In an age where auto-makers around the world are drastically cutting production, closing factories and focusing on greener more economical cars, one company is going against the grain. Cue the Lexus and the IS-F. This four door 5.0l super sedan released back in 2007 was originally slated for only 500 units per year, but its success here in Japan has seen waiting lists grow and now, building off its success, Best Car reports that a face lift is in line for this ‘family sedan’. Albeit an all black carbon lighter wider one.

• Carbon Four Door Sedan
  

Earlier last year Lexus had been busy working on a higher spec version of the IS-F with initial reports then pointing at increase in overall power up to 435ps and some carbon parts to go along with it. Unfortunately, due to the worsening economy and poor car sales this was put on hold, until now. Fast forward to 2009, post new GTR, and Lexus have stepped into high gear with 2 test mules already been completed and currently going through testing.

• Lighter, Better Handling

Sticking to the trustworthy and reliable image, Lexus has decided to stay with the current engine setup and instead focus more on handling and weight loss with the revised version featuring an all carbon updated front bumper, rear bumper and larger rear ‘over-fenders’. Remaining panels will also be ‘carbonized’ to match the revised parts. Continuing the carbon theme and possibly taking cues from the new Spec V GTR, the car will also be complemented with carbon ceramic brakes, again reducing weight and improving brake performance. Putting all of this to the ground new ‘special color sport design wide wheels’ wrapped in 245/35/19 front and 275/30/19 rear tires will come as standard issue. Body colors will vary, but there is a high possibility that the car will come in an all carbon version for all carbon lovers out there.

• Inside Brush Up

Sources also point to a re-hash of the interior with front seats getting the carbon leather Recaro bucket treatment and leather being clad onto the buckets in the rear. An all carbon console will also be employed to reduce weight. Total weight savings from these changes are said to add up to around a 140kg weight saving all round. Whilst this may all sound like the ultimate family ride to church on Sunday morning, it will all be coming at a cost. Initial estimates hovered around the US$100,000 mark, but final estimates for the car will be climbing past the Spec V’s US$170,000 territory and chances of getting change from a cool US$200,000 are slim. As with the current IS-F though, production numbers will be limited to only 500 per year, so maybe its time to start saving and lining up.

Words: Peter Horniak

Image: Best Car

VIDEO: Wacky children’s tv show filmed at Motegi shows Japan is starting kids off right

Here in America, gearheads tend to think that we start our young ones off right, introducing kids to the joy of automobiles through Hot Wheels, Automoblox, racing video games, bumper cars, and the like. Japan apparently has a better idea.

Apparently taken from a Japanese children’s show called Hirake! Ponkiki, the hilarious footage after the jump shows some unidentified costumed characters (think: Sesame Street) taking to Japan’s fabled Twin Ring Motegi in a Honda S2000 and a Integra to showcase the joy of spirited driving. The show segment including portions covering gymkhana, drifting, and high-speed work. In the tradition of many Japanese gameshows, it’s colorful, zany stuff that has our inner child wishing that someone would have had the good sense to slap some Nomex and a brain bucket on Grover, handed him the keys to a Corvette parked in the pits of Laguna Seca, and said “Have at it, my furry friend.”

NEW 370Z by BEST CAR?

Best Car the Japanese magazine have always been the ones to release spy shots or the creation of renders of upcoming cars. Instead of publishing more renderings this time Best Car went ahead and done a 1:1 scale replica of what is soon to be seen as the 2009 Nissan 370Z. Based on the 350Z, Best Car have commissioned Mad House in Shizuoka in the creation of the new 370Z. Built with a custom fibreglass body kit for both front and rear ends the coupe was almost complete as till they worked towards replicating the 370Z headlights. Since creating the headlights was too much of a task a simple Mad House alternative took place where we now see a completed 2009 370Z replica with the headlights converted with custom-made vinyl stickers!

Images from 7tune.com

Wangan Midnight The Movie, Summer 2009

Earlier today, the official website of Kodansha Comics¹ has confirmed that a Wangan Midnight live action movie will be open in theaters over the summer. Similar to the manga / anime plot, the theatrical release will be focused on a high school student named Akio Asakura who salvages the "Devil Z," a custom-tuned Datsun Fairlady S30Z with a supposedly cursed history.

The movie is going to star Yuichi Nakamura, Ryōko Kobayashi, Kazuki Katou, Megumi Matsumoto, and Yoshihiko Hakamada. More information on the movie will be available at the official homepage soon. - http://www.wangan-movie.com²

• ¹ Kodansha Comics is the publisher of Wangan Midnight manga series.
• ² Courtesy of Michiharu Kusunoki / Kodansha, Wangan Midnight The Movie Production Committee.

WANGAN MIDNIGHT MOVIE

I'm sure just about everyone knows about Initial D. So what about Wangan Midnight? If you don't know by now, Wangan Midnight is an extremely popular comic from Japan, which features an S30 240Z (instead of the AE86 panda Trueno in Initial D) and wangan/highway racing.

So I was browsing through one of my favorite AE86 forums, Club4AG, and found this thread, which says that they are making an actual Wangan Midnight movie! Cool! I'm very interested in seeing how this movie turns out, I'm sure it will be fun to watch.

I know that not everyone is a fan of the Chinese "real-life anime" films like the Initial D film with Chinese actors... however, I honestly like the Initial D live movie. Sure, I was annoyed by some things, like how they called Takumi "Tok-hoy" or something, and for sure I wanted to strangle the guy who played "Iggy" (rolling my eyes) by the time the movie was over... but all in all, it was a pretty good movie, in my opinion. Sure they could have improved on many things if they wanted to keep it real to the original Japanese manga/anime... however, for people who aren't die hard Initial D fans, then I think the Chinese action Initial D movie was pretty good.

I'm thinking possibly the live action version of Wangan Midnight will be kinda similar. Parts of the original story will be retained, like finding the Z in the junkyard (below)...

However, other details from the story will most likely be different and/or inaccurate... like the car! The Wangan Midnight 240Z should have a different chin spoiler, and fender mirrors instead of door mirrors, for instance... and RS Watanabe wheels instead of those wack fake banana-spoke wheels!

Cool photo of the movie's cars running on the highway at night... this is actually a pretty difficult photo to take, because of the glare from the oncoming headlights and the low lighting conditions. However, the photographer, Chester Ng, pulled it off very well! Great job, Chester!

Here's a rear shot of the lead car, but this time, it has graphics (from the video game maybe?) laid on top of it... although, when I played the Wangan Midnight arcade game in Shibuya during my last trip to Japan, I don't remember seeing any anime face graphics on the side of the screen...

What kills me is the fact that there are a pair of real RS Watanabe Type R wheels in that stack (with the XR4s and Falken Azenis RT215 tires), but the wheels on the car... what the heck are THOSE?! Lol

I'm looking forward to seeing this movie! I'm sure it will be fun to watch!

For more info, you can go to the link below:

Wangan Midnight thread on Club4AG

Drifter Profile: Yasayuki Kazama

This look like Ros hahah....

If you have watched drifting videos from Japan, by now you have probably come across that crazy driver named Kazama. The name might not sound familiar, but you can instantly remember that one guy who does crazy stunts while drifting such as hanging out from the door of the car and so on.

Yasayuki Kazama was born in 1970 in Japan, and ever since he got his driver’s license the age of 17, he has devoted his life to drifting. Although he is popular today for driving many Nissan Silvias (known in Europe as the 200sx and in the USA as the 240sx), Kazama started his drifting career in a Toyota Corolla (the famous "hachi-roku"). In his early years, he practiced and learned drifting in the mountain roads of Japan, affording it with his job at a local gas station. Once he joined the circuit tracks for drifting, he became incredibly popular. At the time, he was driving a Nissan Silvia S14. He was also credited with being one of the first ones to drift the following Silvia model, the S15 chassis. He almost drove himself bankrupt in debts when Kei Office picked him up as a fully sponsored driver. Kei Office is run by Keiichi Tsuchiya, the popular drift-king. He also provided Kazama with a job at Kei Office as a mechanic. He was fairly successful ever since he joined the D1 Grand Prix at the end of 2000. However, his first victory would not come until 2005, at the season opener at Irwindale Raceway, in California. That same year he earned his first championship title with three victories. But what Kazama is mostly known for is his wacky attitude as somewhat of a rodeo clown, entertaining the crowds with his own style of drifting. He became infamous for doing donuts and even attempting drifting while hanging out of the car, controlling the car with nothing more than one hand for steering and one foot for gas. His performances became so popular that he is even allowed to demonstrate them as part of a half-time show during the D1 Grand Prix:

Drifting’s Big in Canada Too!

When drifting stormed into America’s race tracks and parking lots a few short years ago, enthusiasts on both sides of our border took notice.

It was September 2003 when Japanese sanctioning body, the D1 Grand Prix, held the first stateside drifting event in Irwindale, California in front of a frenzied packed house. Formula Drift (a.k.a. Formula D) soon joined the party with a competing series of its own – this one featuring more homegrown talent than the D1 – that’s fast growing into an American powerhouse with five televised events, including one that overlaps with a Champ Car World Championship event. There’s also the Falken Tire Drift Showoff series and it too has been gaining steam along with the U.S. Drift Nationals, which is backed by the NASA. In addition, “learn to drift” schools are popping up everywhere and clubs such as Club4AG have even begun hosting drift clinics to help hopefuls go from average Joe to serious Pro.

Drifting is also attracting all kinds of drivers from many different motorsport backgrounds. In 2006, the Kasey Kahne Foundation hosted a freestyle demonstration in Irwindale called “Nascar vs. D1.” Although drifting already had a strong foothold in the U.S., this exhibition match between some of the D1GP’s best drifters and some rising American and European drift stars against a stacked team of Nascar superstars was a key turning point for the sport as not only did the thousands of new-to-drifting fans in the seats like what they saw, but the national media coverage it received virtually cemented drifting’s presence over here.

In Canada where progress has been slower, but steady thanks to a deep passion for this new form of ’autotainment,’ the past few years have seen drifting ease its way into Northern tuner culture with exhibitions and clinics taking place more and more. Edmund Manasan, owner of Racemode Media Inc. and longtime ambassador to the Canadian tuner scene, believes “...the sport of drifting is the now and future of Canadian motorsports.”

A few years ago, a group of hardcore Quebecers saw the potential for drifting and created a grassroots-type series called Drift Mania. It caught on so quick that Castrol jumped into bed with them last year to conceive the Castrol Drift Mania Canadian Championship.

Now in it’s second season, the Autodrome St-Eustache (which is about halfway between Montreal, QC and the Ontario border) will host three out of five events this season; however, the drift maniacs are looking forward to an important stop at Downsview Park in Toronto, ON for round four on August 18-19. Due to its close proximity to the downtown core, the event will likely be the biggest of the season, and many people have high hopes it will be the Canadian equivalent of the Nascar vs. D1 event with respect to impact. The 2007 Castrol DMCC wraps up the following weekend back at the autodrome.

The season-opening DMCC event on May 20th is proof that drifting in Canada should be taken seriously. More than 3,000 fans turned out to take in the fire-breathing, smoke-throwing, car-crashing entertainment from the edges of their seats despite a whole lot of rain. But series sponsors Castrol, Toyo Tires, Yokohama, General Tire and Kumho Tires were surprised and impressed by the strong turnout. Brands such as Mazda, Shell V-Power, Bully Clutch, Snyper Brakes and Rocawear, to name a few, have also pledged their support to the DMCC.

The panel of judges the DMCC has selected for the season is quite possibly another good indication of good things to come. They are none other than Formula D pro drifters Tony Angelo and Chris Forsberg.

Over 30 vehicles were registered to compete in round one and compete they did. After the puddles had all dissipated and the tires stopped ground to a halt, the solid performance of returning competitor Frederic “Steady Freddy” Girard and his R32 Skyline had impressed the judges enough to claim his first ever first place finish. Second and third places went to the hometown favorites Haig Kanadjian and Marco Santos. Not only are they teammates for the freshman General Tire/Automotion Drift team, they faced off in the final with Kanadjian’s red Infiniti G35 fending off his Santos’ Nissan Silvia S13 for the win.

With the growth of drifting in Canada happening rapidly, there were also a few new (to the DMCC) drivers and sponsors on hand. Yokohama, for instance, teamed up with Onderground Designs to unveil a pair of blue Silvias belonging to JF Chiasson and Kevin Grenier. Even Kumho Tires (a newcomer to drifting) has hooked up with Road Motorsport to make a statement with a brand new team consisting of a JDM Fairlady Z of Domenic Desrosiers and a ’91 RWD Toyota Soarer of another top prospect Carl Nadeau.

Overall, the first Castrol DMCC event of the year was a big hit despite the wet welcome. The sideways action (à la modèle Canuck) resumes on July 8th for round two. Here’s to getting some better weather because what drifting fan doesn’t enjoy the aroma of smoking tires under a hot sun?

Another Lamborghini destroyed

Have you noticed that the number of crashed Lamborghini increased pretty badly lately? After we saw the LP640
crashed in Russia, this time we see a Murcielago crashed in Poland

You have to understand if the reasons of the crash aren’t quite accurate, but Polish is not our fluent language. Apparently the driver wanted to guy to a petrol station to refuel, but before that he wanted to test the power of his engine. The problem is he lost control of his car and stopped into a tree. Fortunately the driver suffered only minor injuries. We can’t say the same about the car though!

D1 driver profile: Ken Nomura

Ken Nomura may be one of the oldest drifters hanging around the D1Nissan Skyline ever since. Unlike most drifters that prefer lightweight agile machines, Nomuken (as he is also known) prefers to celebrate the larger four-door skyline and is best known for his big smoke technique and comedic antics. He is also the reason why the aftermarket parts manufacturer Greddy made a high performance intake manifold for Nissan’s RB25 engine. paddock, but that doesn’t mean he is a step behind the competition in this youth oriented competition. Nomura made his professional drifting debut back in 2001 and has been piloting the same Blitz sponsored

Continued after the jump.

As an amateur Nomura got his fix from late night drag racing and later progressed to touge racing in the mountains of Japan. In 1992 Nomuken was the runner up in the “All Japan Ikaten,” a driver’s search competition, which got him recognized in the realm of competitive drifting. In 1996 he opened the drift specific tuning shop Uras, the name come from the Japanese word for monkey (saru) and has earned him the nickname Monkey Man. Aside from being seen on the professional drifting circuit Nomuken can be seen in front of the camera providing comic relief in many of the Option Video titles.

D1 driver profile: Nobushige Kumakubo

The Japanese drifter Nobushige Kumakubo is praised for his efforts behind the wheel as well as his contributions to the sport and is considered a pioneer of drifting. Kumakubu was fortunate enough to inherit a large parcel of land in the Fukushima countryside where he gave back to the drifting community by constructing the acclaimed Ebisu Circuit. Aside from being a track owner he is also the founder of Team Orange, one of the most successful drifting teams in D1history. He also founded Big X, a motorsport spectable that combines drifting with freestyle motocross, supermoto and other extreme automotive activities.

Continued after the jump.

Team Orange got their name from the exterior finish common amongst all their cars. He began with an orange bodied Nissan S15 Silvia with mixed success until noticing the abilities of the all wheel drive Subaru WRX. Kumakubo commissioned the Japanese super tuners JUN to convert a GDB STi into rear wheel drive drift car for the 2005 D1GP season. With that same orange STi he won the D1GP Championship a year later.

Never one to rest on his laurels Kumakubo passed the reigns of the Subaru onto his fellow Team Orange teammates to take the wheel of another JUN built all wheel drive rally based machine. For the second half of the 2007 D1GP season Kumakubo competed in an orange EVO IX with the engine turned sideways to send power directly to the rear wheels. Always in line with the latest fashion, the Ebisu owner and founder of Team Orange is piloting an all new EVO X built by JUN in 2009.

D1GP USA Japanese drivers announced

With the first round of the 2009 D1GP USA series less than a week away the officials at D1 have confirmed the Japanese professionals that will be loading their machines onto freighters and packing their racing suits for the first round of stateside competition in Anaheim on May 2nd.

The drivers confirmed for the 2009 D1GP series are former professional drift champions Daigo Saito (2008) and Nobushige Kumakubo (2006). Saito will be competing in his 800 HP four door Toyota Chaser, and unfortunately for diamond star fans Kumakubo will leave his JUN powered rear wheel drive EVO X in Japan and instead compete in the Team Orange Subaru WRX. D1 veteran and Vertex owner Takahiro Ueno will compete in his beloved twin turbo Toyota Soarer, better known as a Lexus SC300 here in the U.S. Toshiki Yoshioka will not be driving his latest generation Lexus SC430 and instead has found a ride in the Driftspeed S15 Nissan Silvia. Providing comic relief in the pits will be the “Monkey Man” Ken Nomura piloting his longtime favorite four-door R34 Nissan Skyline. New to competition but not to the sport, Daijiro Inada the founder of the D1GP will suit up to compete in Anaheim.

More after the jump.

Deciding the fates of the competitors in the D1GP USA series will be the original “Drift King” himself Keiichi Tsuchiya along with two time D1GP Champion Yoichi Imamura and fellow Team Orange member Kazuhiro Tanaka joining him in the judging booth. In order to ensure unbiased evaluations of the drifting competition, from the infamous American racing family Adam Andretti and old-school American drifter Brian Norris.

So get ready for the stateside slideways action of the 2009 D1GP USA. Beginning on May 2nd at Anaheim Stadium, then dropping by Dolphin Stadium in Miami on May 30th before making their way to the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on July 18th and finishing out the tire annihilating action at Chicago’s Soldier Field on August 1st. This is definitely a great opportunity to see some of the best names in professional drifting, don’t let them pass you by.

The ultimate and most amazing Lamborghini garage

If you’re one of those guys that have an impressing fleet of Lambos, then you should be really careful where you park your jewels. Check out what a guy in the suburbs did to make sure his Countach’s and Diablos are safe from scratches and such. It must be the ultimate and most amazing Lamborghini garage I’ve ever seen. Call it clever or ingenious … but Lambo owners know their stuff.

Polish McLaren F1 Built from Scratch

McLaren F1 has always been a car that inspired people. A fast car. But an expensive one. That must be the reason why a Polish car aficionado decide to create his own. I mean if you can’t afford one, you’d better try to build it yourself. So he did. Check out the amazing job he did with re-creating the legendary F1. Except for the V12 engine purloined from a dead BMW and a steel and fibre glass chassis/bodywork, he’s got everything the right way. [Thanks to Dale for sending this in] [via PistonHeads]

Cruise Video

This Week Star's

The star of the week the BMW Z4 smoked an S15 on a highway...

The Crew @ the Beach

A Cruise to Jerudong Park