Category: Popular Bosozoku cars (Page 2 of 2)

Popular Bosozoku cars: Nissan Fairlady S30

April 7, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

This week we have a very popular Bosozoku style car and I really had trouble with deciding which pictures would feature this item. This week we feature the very popular Nissan Fairlady Z S30:

Yanky style Fairlady S30 (with stars and stripes)
Most of the Fairlady Zs I came accross were Yanky style like the one above. It reflects how the Bosozoku cars were styled in the late 80s!

Especially this one is very well known:

Yanky Mate! Fairlady S30 replica
This is a Yanky Mate! replica of the Shakotan Boogie manga/anime. This Fairlady S30 featured in two colors in the manga: blue (early) and yellow (late). With the craze around Shakotan Boogie in the early 90s you can imagine that replicas of this car are very popular.

Another style which can be found in many numbers are the Gran Chan styled Fairladies:

Gran Chan style Fairlady S30
With big fender extenders, headlight covers and the bonnet/lip having smooth aerodynamic lines it really reflects the Fairladies used during races in the late 70s. Very beautifully styled!

And of course we have the Bosozoku styled Fairlady, but they are bit rarer than the other two styles so I only post a 280ZX:

Bosozoku style Fairlady 280ZX
This 280ZX model has a lot of fins, spoilers, ventilation holes and a really nice horn! With its paiting scheme it really looks bad ass Bosozoku styled, but its styling is not over the top. Good example in my opinion.

The Nissan Fairlady Z S30 (also known as the 240Z, 260Z and 280Z overseas) came out in Japan as the successor of the 60s Nissan Fairlady. This was a small compact roadster competing with European roadsters and it sold quite well in Japan and overseas. Nissan decided it needed a replacement for the roadster and teamed up with Yamaha. The Yamaha prototype did not meet the expectations of Nissan and Nissan terminated the cooperation and Yamaha turned to Toyota and created the 2000GT out of this prototype.

Nissan then decided it needed a more Americanized GT car which was stylish, innovative, fast, reliable and most importantly sharing parts with other Nissans to make it inexpensive! This became the Fairlady Z and in 1969 the production of this car started:

Factory stock Fairlady Z S30
As you can see: in stock form it may look awfull today, but back then it was one of the most stylish GT cars ever!

In Japan the car was launched with two engines: a 6 cylinder SOHC L20A (shared with the Bluebird) outputting 130hp and a limited run called Z432 featured the high performance 6 cylinder DOHC S20 (shared with the Skyline GTR) outputting 160 hp.
Later in Japan the limited run of the 240ZG appeared: a L24 (initially used for export market) powered Fairlady Z with a new aero dynamic nose, wide overfenders, acrylic headlight covers (like the one in the first picture), fender mirrors and a rear spoiler. This 240ZG was meant to homologate an uprated version for Group 4 racing. The nose was later on sold as a seperate option called the “G-nose”.

The Fairlady Z S30 appeared in many rally and circuit race events and became just about as famous as the Hakosuka Skyline GTR.

Factory racing Fairlady Z S30

Nowadays the Fairlady Z still has a huge following, especially after the animation version of Wangan Midnight featuring a blue Devil Z and Hakosukas suffering from insane price increases. Popular engine swaps are either the bigger engines L24, L26 and L28 or the whole drivetrain with the RB25 of a Skyline GTS.

Personally I really would like to own one someday: those Z cars are just awesome! :)

[I posted this article earlier today on Bosozokustyle.com]

Popular Bosozoku cars: Toyota Celica XX

March 24, 2009 / banpei / 1 Comment

As promised: this week we feature the Celica XX in the Popular Bosozoku Cars. :)

We kick off with a subtle Kyusha styled example:

Kyusha styled Toyota Celica XX
The kouki Celica XX (facelifted second version) already featured fender flares on its own, but this car above has extended those flares extremely and added some sideskirts to it. Nice example of Kyusha style on the more modern cars if there were no fins on the hood and a large exhaust.

Shakotan styled Toyota Celica XX
This Shakotan styled Toyota Celica XX had it all: extremely lowered to the ground, deep dish wheels still fitting in the original fenders and a big pipe sticking out from under the rear bumper! Note that the wing on the hatch is the factory spec upper spoiler for some of the zenki Celica XX (pre-facelift) models.

Bosozoku styled Toyota Celica XX
Everything is boso on this Bosozoku styled Toyota Celica XX: big lip on the front, single windshield wiper, wacky color, racing mirrors, extremely wide fenders and some diy sideskirts to stand on while parading through town!

Funny enough I could not find any racing replicas through all pictures I have of Bosozoku styled Celcia XXs. Eventhough the Celica XX did not feature the Super Silhouette formula, there were a lot of them racing around the world back in the early 80s and definitely it must have inspired some people to make replicas of them, just like the Granchan styling were replicas of the old Super Silhouette racers.

Factory stock kouki Toyota Celica XX
The first generation Celica XX (pronounced as “double X”) was a lengthened Celica A4 to fit the 2.6 liter 4M or the 2.0 liter 1M into the Celica. Basically the first generation Celica XX did not look much different from the normal Celica except it had a very long bonnet. Later spec Celica XX did receive the more powerful 2.8 liter 5M-E and IRS, which was top of the range.

The second generation Celica XX succeeded the first generation and featured a 2.0 liter 1M-T turbo as the basic engine, a naturally aspired 2.8 liter 5M-GE as the midrange with lots of torque and a high revving naturally aspired 2.0 liter 1G-GEU as top of the range. At the same time Toyota was also working together with Lotus on the MR2 and had a good idea: have Lotus do the suspension on the Supra and in exchange have Lotus reuse some of the parts for their own car lineup! (the Lotus Excel for instance shares the rims and gearbox)

Factory stock zenki Toyota Celica XX
As stated before: the major difference between the zenki and the kouki models were the extended fenders with the wellknown fender flares. This resulted in the second generation having smaller diameter rims: 14 inch instead of 15 inch!

After the second generation Celica XX it became renamed to Supra, which was the overseas name for the Celica XX, so it could be split from the newer FWD Celica range. The Supra (mk. III) remained the A platform and got the designation A7.

[I posted this article earlier today on Bosozokustyle.com]

Popular Bosozoku cars: Mazda Cosmo RX5

March 3, 2009 / banpei / 1 Comment

To stay with the 70s styling this week I will highlight the Mazda Cosmo RX5:

Bosozoku style Mazda (sexy) Cosmo RX5
Just like last weeks Mark II X3/X4 and the Gloria/Cedric C330 I did two weeks ago the Mazda Cosmo RX5 has a very distinct bodystyle and can easily be spotted between all cars on Bosozoku meetings.

What happened? Boso got shot?
The bodyshape of the Mazda Cosmo RX5 has some lines which make it look mean. The Cosmo RX5 lines really resemble Mazda’s design linup of that era: all American styling! I think this also reflects in the modifications made on this car, especially with the car in the picture above. Wild wild west yanky style!

Nicely styled bosozoku Mazda Cosmo RX5
The weird thing is that I actually couldn’t find any non Bosozoku styled Mazda Cosmo RX5. No Shakotan or Kyusha styled cars, only the bad ass modified bosozoku cars… Big wide fenders, oil coolers sticking out of the grille, big ducktail spoilers and exhausts high in the air: I’ve seen it all!

Factory stock Mazda Cosmo RX5
Factory stock Mazda Cosmo AP RX5
The Mazda RX5 was the successor of the first Mazda Cosmo and not the Mazda RX4. The RX4 was the wankel engined Luce, while the Luce is more a luxurious sedan with a wankel engine the Cosmo is the more sporty car. The car was called Mazda Cosmo AP in Japan while outside Japan it sold as the Mazda RX5. In some countries is was sold as the Mazda 121 featuring a 1.8 liter SOHC piston engine.

Factory stock Mazda Cosmo RX5
Factory stock Mazda Cosmo AP RX5
The Mazda Cosmo featured the 12A or the 13B engine in Japan, while overseas all Mazda RX5s featured the 13B. The reason for this decision was because overseas meant America. Americans, of course, favored larger displacements back then. The 13B was basically a widened 12A engine which caused the displacement to increase to 1308cc. That’s a 15% increase in displacement on a Wankel engine!

The 13B was a big improvement above the 12A because it was designed for high performance and low emissions at the same time. AP stood for Anti-Pollution and this designation was adapted on all Japanese Cosmos.

Mazda Cosmo warning system
Even though the Mazda Cosmo AP RX5 was the more sportier car it did feature a lot of luxury which could only be found in the high end Luce. Take for instance this warning system: it checked the functioning of several systems in the car. Nowadays it may sound as trivial with all new cars already featuring satellite navigation but back then it was unlike anything seen so far!

I really love the styling of the Cosmo AP! Too bad this car only sold in Europe as the Mazda 121 with the piston engine… :(

[I posted this article earlier today on Bosozokustyle.com]

Popular Bosozoku cars: Toyota Mark II X3/X4

February 24, 2009 / banpei / 1 Comment

This weeks highlight is the Toyota Mark II X3/X4. The bodystyle is very distinct and can easily be recognized between all other bosozoku cars. A good example is this really nice Shakotan style Mark II X3:

Shakotan style Toyota Mark II X3
This Shakotan styled Mark II really shows how this almost stock car can be made very beautiful by simply adding two tone paint, a set of fat stretched tires and lowering the car till the ground.

The Mark II is a very popular model because it has very American styling, like the cokebottle lines and its grille and headlights are more British. This combination is ideal for the early 80s Granchan style.

Bosozoku style Toyota Mark II X4
This Bosozoku styled example has it all: extra wide fenders, big chin spoiler, oil cooler, changed (square) headlights and a very big wing on the trunk!

Bosozoku style Toyota Mark II X3
No headlights at all? Is that road-legal in Japan? Or are the headlights hidden somewhere? Then again: those big exhausts are not road-legal either…

This really shows how beautiful the Mark II rear can be with widened fenders, stretched tires and a big exhaust pointing high in the air.

The first Mark II was originally meant as a Corona model between the Crown and the normal Corona, hence the Mark II tag.

Factory stock Toyota Cressida MX41
The X3 and X4 are the third generation of the Mark II (shouldn’t it be called Mark IV then? ;) ) and was sold as the Toyota Cressida overseas.

The difference between the X3 and the facelifted X4 are minor: only the grille and foglights are a tiny bit restyled. I couldn’t find a clear factory stock X3 picture, so you have to compare it with one of the Bosozoku styled cars. ;)

Factory stock Toyota Cressida MX41
The Cressida’s and Mark II differ only in engines: the European version had the high performance 18R engine while the American version had the older 4M engine. In Japan they had a wide variety in engines: 1L, 1M, 4M, 16R, 18R, 21R, 3T, 13T.

Only the 4M and 18R are true worthy engines for this car: the 4M because it is a SOHC inline 6 and has a big displacement and gives a smooth ride. The 18R because it is a high performance DOCH inline 4 with fuel injection and creates a sporty ride.

The X3 and X4 had an A43DL 4-speed automatic optional. This automatic had an overdrive and an overdrive lockout. Nowadays this sounds not like a big deal with all those 7 and 8 speed automatics, but back then the overdrive lockout was a major improvement.

Personally I would love to own a 4 door X3/X4 myself as a daily driver and slam it to the ground shakotan style. ;)

[I posted this article earlier today on Bosozokustyle.com]

Popular Bosozoku cars: Nissan Gloria / Cedric C330

February 17, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

This week I wanted to highlight the Nissan Gloria / Cedric C330. :)

Nissan Gloria C330 Bosozoku style
The mid 70s cokebottle styled Gloria and Cedric and pilarless doors are excellent bodyshapes for a bosozoku styled car! It looks really wild in its shape, it’s got the big bad attitude of the early VIP cars and with the big flared fenders it looks even more wicked!

Nissan Gloria C330 Yanky style
These yanky styled Gloria C330s really looks a bit more like an American hotrod than a Bosozoku styled car. Only the exhaust gives away these cars. ;)

Bosozoku styled Nissan Gloria C330
The differences between the Gloria and Cedric are so minor that with a Bosozoku style makeover you can’t even tell if it is a Gloria or Cedric anymore! But this should be a Gloria

Both Cedric and Gloria were rivals of the Toyota Crown. Apart from the outragous President both vehicles were the flagships of the company.

The Gloria joined the Nissan lineup after Price merged with Nissan. From what I understood the Gloria was the upmarket car and the Cedric more or less the downsized car. In the previous generation of both vehicles this was even more clear: the Cedric featured less chrome and an hood ornament!

Just like its predecessor, the C230, the C330 features pilarless rear door, so there is no B post between the front and rear door. This to mimic late 60s and early 70s American cars even more.

Most cars feature the L26 engine but the L20 engine was also available but mainly used in the taxi variant of this car.

Almost factory stock Nissan Gloria C330
On this picture with almost factory stock Glorias you can clearly see how beautifully styled these C330s actually were! If I were to find one of these beauties in the Netherlands (they were sold here!) I doubt whether I would keep them stock or slam them to the ground Shakotan style!

[I posted this article earlier today on Bosozokustyle.com]

Popular Bosozoku cars: Toyota Soarer

February 10, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

This is going to be a regular here: it would be nice to see some really mild to really wild examples of the Bosozoku style cars and then read how they came out of the factory. ;)

This week we’ll kick off with the Toyota Soarer:

Two Bosozoku styled Soarers
As you probably have read in the introduction an extremely lowered Soarer featured Shakotan Boogie. This most probably helped its popularity among Bosozoku stylers and most Toyota Soarers you see on Bosozoku car meetings are Shakotan Boogie look-a-likes.

Lengthened hood and overfenders on this Soarer
This milder styled car is of course an exception: it has a lengthened hood and overfenders as well. But apart from that it looks quite stock.

Someone has really gone wild on this Toyota Soarer
Big wing, deep dish wheels with huge overfenders and sideskirts wide enough to have somebody stand on!

The Z10 is the most popular Bosozoku styled Toyota Soarer, probably because of its boxy shape and because it is quite cheap to buy. Z20 Soarers are hardly seen and I’ve never seen any Bosozoku styled Z30 and Z40 Soarers, but never say never. ;)

How did it come out of the factory then?

Factory stock Toyota Soarer Z10
The Soarer itself was a successor to the Toyota Crown Coupe, which was a 2 door version of the Crown with a bit more sporty suspension. The Soarer itself did just as well as the Crown Coupe. The Soarer shared the same engines as the Crown and the CelicaXX.

Factory stock Toyota Soarer Z10
Because it shared the same engines as the CelicaXX it is often confused to be the same platform with a different bodyshape, like the Celica and the Carina have. However there is a Supra JZA70 with a Soarer Z20 frontend which makes the confusion even bigger.

Factory stock Toyota Soarer Z10 interior
To confuse it even more: a lot of the interior components of the Soarer look like the interior of the CelicaXX. True, but the CelicaXX also shared a lot of components with the Corolla AE86.

Tiptronic climate control
The Soarer was the most luxurious car in the Toyota lineup (apart from the Toyota Century of course!) and featured all the state of the art technology! In the picture above you can see the climate control of the Soarer is featuring tiptronic controls, other buttons were normal but about everything is electronically adjustable. The Soarer also featured a digital dashboard, state of the art 4 speed automatic (with sports setting!) and the passenger door had a seperate doorhandle for the passengers in the rear!

I hope you can see now why a Bosozoku styler would choose for the Soarer Z10: it is an incredible car with a lot of comfort which can’t even be found in cars from the 90s! Besides that: it is a very cool car itself.

This was posted earlier today on http://www.bosozokustyle.com.

Category: Popular Bosozoku cars (Page 2 of 2)

Popular Bosozoku cars: Nissan Fairlady S30

Popular Bosozoku cars: Toyota Celica XX

Popular Bosozoku cars: Mazda Cosmo RX5

Popular Bosozoku cars: Toyota Mark II X3/X4

Popular Bosozoku cars: Nissan Gloria / Cedric C330

Popular Bosozoku cars: Toyota Soarer

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