![]() It sits mighty low on a set of Aragosta adjustable suspension, running all the right sort of suspension and knuckle upgrades that transform the geometry of the Supra to make it handle big drift angles and respond just like a drifter would want their car to feel. ![]() To the casual onlooker this must seem like a pretty sedate and normal looking car, and maybe the pictures don’t bring this across quite the same as having the car right there in front of you. It was obvious this Supra was pushing out some serious power and seeing how much experience this guy has with big, amply-powered Toyotas, he was throwing it around with a beautiful mix of delicacy and aggression.Īs soon as he came back in I went up to him as he removed his helmet and asked how long it would be until his next session. “One hour” he replied, to which I said ‘let me shoot your car!’ A big smiled followed and he said “of course, jump in, where shall we do it?” He took a couple of easy laps to warm up the car and tyres and then let it rip. But it wasn’t until Nagahama went out for a session of fun that it really all made sense. Because first up, Supras are rare in Japan. Contrary to what a lot of people may assume, you just don’t see many Supra roaming the streets, and when you do see them they aren’t built for drifting more like fast street cars or overpowered highway monsters. Fair enough, I thought, people have to play around with cars and Nagahama does actually own quite a few cool ones on top of his Z30.īut this I felt was different. My first reaction was to go up to Nagahama-san and ask, ‘what the hell, what happened to your Soarer?” His reply was a simple one, “new car, for a bit of fun”, while gesturing at the glossy blue JZA80 he was leaning up against. So you can understand my surprise when I spotted Nagahama at Nikko last month during a drift event put on by the guys at Hardcore, standing next to a Supra. It’s built to drift but also to look good doing so. That car has always stood out to me because it’s a functional mix of style and performance. Last year I took a look at a pretty unique Z30 Soarer, owned and built by Nagahama-san of N-Style. I’ve touched on this before about a year ago, and by pure coincidence the car that has brought about this train of thought is closely related to the one I’m about to show you… It all combines to give an undiluted and authentic representation of Japanese style. You learn by example, what people out there are experimenting with and the looks they are creating and going for. And that’s always been the case – much more so than the demo cars and vehicles used to promote brands and specific parts. Be it at a night meeting at Daikoku or Umihotaru, or a weekday soukoukai at a small track like Mobara or Nikko, the cars you find at these places are symbolic of the tuning scene. Nothing is more indicative of true Japanese car culture than the cars you come across at grassroots events.
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