From Houston with Love: Princeton Wong’s 1996 Porsche Carrera 2 Monster
In today’s tuner world, innovation is a very rare occurrence. When I say innovation, I am not talking about how creative your fiberglass guy got in modifying your body kit and system. I am talking about the character of a car; the feeling you get when you see a work of art, something that makes you stare and say, ”holy shit." To be able to take an idea from your mind and execute it in such a way, which not only inspires others but also brings a whole new level of play to the game, is a rare skill. Someone had such a vision for his naturally aspirated Porsche 993 Carrera 2, we are talking a vision circa 2002, Princeton Wong’s vision.
Someone call 911
Breaking News: Smoky Nagata of Top Secret to Come to Houston!!
On March 31, 2010, Houston will experience the legendary Smoky Nagata of TOP SECRET Japan like no other has before. Smoky, along with one of his trusted Top Secret Mechanics will be coming to Houston as special guests to local Houston car show, Import Reactor. Smoky however, is not just coming as a guest, he will also be tuning TWENTY Nissan cars over the span of THREE DAYS at local tuner shop Secret Services with a new ECU prototype, Top Secret Process.
The Chosen Nissan Cars to be tuned will be selected from the Nissan 350z, Nissan 370z, Infiniti G35, Infiniti G37, and R35 GTR. Over the span of three days, the first two will be PRIVATE tunes only, no public access will be granted. But, on the third day, from 3:00pm until 12:00am the Houston tuning community will look on as Smoky Nagata puts his personal touch on the remaining cars to be tuned.
This is truly a golden opportunity for anyone who has dreamed of having their car tuned by Top Secret Japan. Not only will 20 lucky people be able to meet the one and only Smoky Nagata of Top Secret, but they will also be able to have their cars tuned by him as well.
Meeting Smokey Nagata has always been a dream of mine and in March, Houston will get to experience the legend himself. OH HELL YES!
For more information on this legendary event check AnimeMatsuri.com.
Stay tuned for more things to come at MaydayGarage.com
- JohnP
OTWeb: S30 Z’s, how I love thee.
I love most all cars, but I have strong feelings towards Japanese nostalgic classic cars. There are just so many, from classic Toyota Celicas, Mazda rotaries and Datsun dimes to Mitsubishi GTO's and Honda S500's. Unfortunately, many of the kids nowadays don't know about classic Japanese cars past the Toyota Corolla (AE86). That is, unless they've been playing Wangan Midnight on their Playstations and Xboxes.
The Datsun/Nissan S30 240Z was Nissan's very first affordable sports coupe available to the public masses back in the early 70's. With it's timeless styling, punchy inline 6 cylinder motor, and it's very trackable suspension, it was easy to see why these cars were so popular. These cars have an almost cult-like following, and is not just limited to Japan, but all over the world.
So sexy, it hurts. A modified Z is an instant classic.
OTWeb: Exvitermini hunting
I have a fascination with an old website that used to be around called www.exvitermini.com. Although, if you go to that site you will receive this message, "server crashed 
exvitermini will be back soon!" I don't know what they mean by soon, as this site has been down for years. The site be a holy grail of videos that portrayed a variety of tuning aspects in Japan and some from Europe. Some of the classics consisted Smokey Nagata's Wangan runs, street drifting, high hp drag skylines, and much more. Below is a short clip of one of the drifting videos that used to be linked on that site. I "think" this video is a clip from a Best Motoring or some other compliation at the time. I am probably wrong, feel free to chime in. Pay attention to the aesthetics of this car, the offset, and the stance. I believe this video was made pre 2003, (first time I saw was 2004) but I am not exactly sure. Hopefully someone can chime in on the driver as well, as they are mixed answers everywhere I check. I love the cinematography, this is classic, pre-HD, driver focused filming.
Only 2 minutes
And here is another classic FROM the exvitermini people. High HP Skyline.
Serious, exvitermini was the bomb. If anyone has the old exvitermini videos saved, I would love to catch some! Let me know,
JohnP
OTWeb: More Aristo from Revolfe, Courtesy of Dino @ Speedhunters
Yet another Aristo, this one being a Wangan beast, shot in Japan, this Aristo is produce by Revolfe. Specifications go with any dream Aristo build, high horsepower modifications, Getrag JZA80 6-speed conversion mounted to the car, sitting on classic Volk Te-37s. Not to mention Brembo brake upgrade and a whole bunch of carbon fiber goodies. Enjoy, Pictures are courtesy of Dino Carbonare, a blogger and photographer for Speedhunters who is currently in Japan.
OTWeb: Classic Wangan
To this day, I think that an essential part to the tuner community is high speed racing (in an underground fashion). Although, I personally do not condone it, I still think it essential to a part what the tuner "scene" is, along with drifting, shows, meets etc. The feeling of having and ultimate street tuned machine, cruising at night with friends of the same caliber, testing your car's limits in a high speed fashion is virtually second to none. The risk, the rush, the bragging rights are what it is all about. Everyone has this guilty desire, though much of it in America has been tainted by a slew of irresponsible drivers in lightly (incorrectly) tuned cars.. but, there is a place, when the chase, the desire, the tuning is so pure, where the limits are tested to 200mph plus, where teams such as Team Midnight, Top End, and shop Top Secret reign supreme...and that is the Wangan.
Team Midnight