Top Secret brought its A-game this year fielding no less than eight cars, including a brace of R35s and, unusually, a R34 V-Spec II Nür and the infamous top speed V12 Supra. Some of you might not know, but Smoky Nagata can never go back to England ever again unless he is pardoned! He has been black listed because of the speeds he drove in that car. Incidentally, this is the last time we will see it at any shows; the gathering came and went in a blur, but not before I later found myself (at Smoky’s invitation again) on the 50th floor of the APA Hotel drinking with Daijiro Inada and the management of Trust, Neko corporation and Endless. To say that was a surreal experience would be an understatement. I had to pinch myself the next day to make sure I wasn’t actually dreaming, but the drinks and conversation flowed easily. And boy, these guys drink as hard as they drive! As midnight approached, slightly inebriated, I went to take my leave as I had a lot of work still to go through, but Inada san turned and asked why I was leaving. “I have a lot of work to do,” I told him, regrettably. “Hey! This is work!” he shot back. Indeed!
Saturday also flew by in a blur of shutter clicks and footsteps, but not before I checked out the selection put together by the Option group. Option magazine’s senior editor had just finished his Kansai Service powered 1,000hp Supra - beautiful in every detail. A bit further over, many “WTF” moments were had. At first glance, I glossed over it because I have no interest in Volkswagen Beetles, but when I swung around and saw a Silvia badge I stopped in my tracks. With the bonnet popped, my jaw dropped. With a full Silvia chassis underneath, RWD conversion and SR20DET the engine bay, this was a big, unexpected surprise and proof again you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Next to the “Bug” was the Bad Quality 180SX - wearing a nicely arranged blue and yellow paint job and Rocket Bunny over-fenders. These cars were all function over form.
Speaking of form, it was unbelievable how many cars had Rocket Bunny over-fenders this year. And not just one car; we’re talking at least 10 different chassis, including almost all of the Liberty Walk cars. A lot of people still don’t understand that Kei Miura who owns Rocket Bunny (TRA Kyoto) is the same guy who makes the over-fenders for Liberty Walk; mass produced for him by Trust (GReddy). He’s going to be a very busy man this year.
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