The Greatest Car Night Ever

As something close to six months late, the moments are still fresh in my mind. There are several reasons why this blog post will be my last feature for 2015 before my traditional year-ender. So why call it the greatest car night ever? It is because of these three things: the hype that surrounds me, the impact it had on me and lastly, the amount of joy I had that night which may never be matched. Photos and images by Kevin Carlos. First seen on Fatlace dot com

Last July 10, 2015, some of the Fatlace Crew members/friends from Manila met up with the owners of the baddest ER34’s in Tokyo for a tour of Japan’s midnight gatherings.

Takashi Mori and I have been in contact for months regarding our itinerary for this night. With a group consisting of 8 people, Takashi-San (brown ER34) invited Junya Nakata (Millenium Jade ER34) to take us on a tour. Running in a modified Skyline throughout the C1 and the Bayshore Route? That’s something I can tick off my bucket list. Expect a feature of the cars early next year. 

For our first stop, we drove to a very famous parking lot located at the Yokohoma area – welcome to Daikoku Futo, the place that wouldn’t disappoint you if you are looking for modified street cars. This PA (parking area) is known for being a meet-up place, warm-up/cooling point for midnight runs in Japan.

I’ve always dreamed of coming back here since my first trip last 2014. Spending 2-3 hours at this PA is not enough considering the different types of builds that can roll thru the lot.

As an open parking lot on a man-made island, it is utilized by truck drivers to park for hourly breaks.

With news that Daikoku is closely monitored by the police, I was lucky enough that my two trips here were worry free. Being in a relaxed environment, I took time to meet up with several of my Filipino friends based in Japan. Dustin Delgado is one of them, the owner of this oni-dorisha S15.

Fresh from a respray and new body-work – matched with the 15×10 -46 American Eagle wheels, his car looked really aggressive compared to other Silvias at the lot.

And now that the car is currently for sale, I am excited to see what’s next for this guy.

I saw more than 100 cars here last 2014, but there was something lacking due to the heavy rain that night… It had hidden all the sports cars and exotics. This night was different, really different. Here’s RWB Yves Piaget for an appetizer.

Being busy examining the 993’s battle scars, I heard an unmistakable American muscle V8 sound. By this time, an AC Cobra has arrived.

Imports tuned in Japan? What a sight.

Yves Piaget felt more aggressive this time, the built-for-track RWB had its rear bumper grinded for more engine cooling.

 

More modified supercars started to arrive at the lot. This reminded me of Moroshi-San and his group of  Lamborghinis.

 

Am I the only one who thinks that the Diablo looks better than the Murcielago?

 

One of my favorites at the lot, a 512TR. It had Koenig styling influence all over it, but the whole kit looks like a mix of parts from different manufacturers.

 

Notice the KHR badge? Upon research, I found out that this group is known for supercar builds/runs.

And if modified Italian exotics are too mainstream for your taste, here’s a GT40 – in Gulf livery.

Domestic or import, Japan is a place that classic race cars are driven to the extreme and legally on public highways. Can you imagine this cruising down the Wangan?

With me being information hungry for Japan’s underground car scene, I stopped for a minute just to embrace this memorable moment/photo. It feels like a scene from a movie, but in reality this was their Friday night.

For our second stop, we cruised to a secret? street drifting spot. We arrived at the lot ahead of the drifters, after an hour it looked like this.

Drifters were everywhere, clipping through the island while running aggressively with street traffic. But everything was under control as it seemed normal to the passersby and motorists. With my being very thrilled, me and Ian Williams from Portland decided to be a part of their clipping point later that night.

Battle scars, folded plates and LED’s everywhere in their flushed out rides – these guys are the quintessence of Japanese street drifting.

But it had to stop.. We hear a police siren after an hour of drifting. This caused panic especially me as we quickly ran to evacuate the lot in our cars.

Here’s a video clip of the drifters.

Tatsumi PA was our chosen destination for our third and final stop for the night. Compared to Daikoku Futo, Tatsumi is a smaller lot which also serves as a resting point for drivers (think of it as a gas station without gas! LOL). Known to supercars, we had our hopes high for the parking lot.

Cars were running in and out of the lot, most of them were gunning it out on the highway.

Variety of cars rolled through, it was almost 2AM and cars were still arriving.

An NSX that looked fresh from a high speed run.

Like Daikoku, the owners at the parking lot felt very relaxed while talking to others. But on a larger scale, there is a difference between the types of cars, Tatsumi had more cars built for speed.

Speaking of speed, a Zimax FD3s was just cooling down right in one corner.

By this time, me and my friend Iori Suzuki were relaxed while eating ice cream just talking about the cars.

The lot was full, making the Countach to park at the sidewalk. By this time, we were talking about how the Countach influenced cars during its era, making it one of the ultimate poster cars.

Our debate never stopped, as we compared pros and cons of an SLR vs a high-end digi cam. That night, I was shooting with my kit lens/550d.. looks like a need an upgrade now.

A Testarossa was hanging out as well. For tuner-fan-boys, the good thing about Japan is that owners add their personal touch whatever their car is.

 

Another ‘moviesque’ moment, talk about squad goals. But something stood out, do you see that familiar cowl?

Yes an F50 was present, this marked my first time to see one in the flesh. Comparing it to last year’s encounter with an F40, the F50 looked more menacing because of its size and its looks.

As a diecast collector, closely inspecting the supercar that I grew up with was one for the books. F40 or F50? Tough question.

Engineering at its finest as scrutinizing its engine bay made me understand the car more.

Running through the Wangan with this bunch while touring Japan’s midnight car scene was an unforgettable experience. The group may not be complete next time, but the memories from this night will surely live on.

Hope you enjoyed this one.

Instagram: @kevcarlos 

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