There’s an iconic scene in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious that helped ignite a new generation of car enthusiasts…
When the film’s two stars pull up in a 1994 Toyota Supra alongside a Ferrari F355 at a stoplight, the Supra driver, played by Paul Walker, asks the Ferrari driver how much it costs. The driver looks at him with a smirk: “More than you can afford, pal. Ferrari.”
The light turns green, and the drivers engage in a drag race. And what seemed unbelievable at the time happened: The Toyota smoked the Ferrari.
Whether such a feat could be achieved in real life is debatable. Regardless, it showed young millennials that they didn’t need an expensive car to have the performance machine of their dreams. With a little imagination and skill, they could transform a relatively affordable Japanese car into something that just might surprise the European vehicles of lore.
Twenty-five years later, with millennials and Gen Z entering the car collector world, the market is following. The Toyota Supra that starred in the movie last sold at auction for $550,000, well above the Ferrari F355, which averages around $100,000. Who can afford what, now, pal?
The world of Japanese domestic market vehicles, known as JDM, that today’s collectors grew up with in popular media is on the rise. Car Week is responding.
JDM, IN A NUTSHELL, means vehicles and their parts built in Japan and only intended for use within the country. It’s often difficult to tell the difference between a Japan-only vehicle and a Japanese vehicle built for the U.S. market. But if the vehicle is right-hand drive, that’s a dead giveaway it’s JDM.
The late 1990s are often considered the peak of Japanese sports cars that are easily modifiable. There’s the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 introduced in 1999, only available in Japan but was the hero car for the millions of Americans who played the Gran Turismo video games. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, based on a rally car, exploded in popularity in Japan in the 1990s, but it wasn’t introduced in the U.S. market until the 2000s. Honda’s flagship sports car, the NSX, made its debut in 1990.
Until recently, those vehicles have been mostly forbidden fruit for American enthusiasts. Due to strict importing rules from the U.S. government, the relatively easiest way to get a JDM vehicle on our home soil is to wait 25 years after it was manufactured.
That means, those desirable Japanese vehicles from the 1990s are showing up much more frequently in the U.S. over the past decade.
And that’s why Skylines keep showing up in Michael Tsuchiura’s Salinas driveway.
TSUCHIURA RECENTLY RETIRED after 13 years at the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, last serving as sergeant. As a Japanese American, he had always been fascinated by the cars, clothing and culture of Japan. That led to him forming Kaiju Company, which designs Japanese-inspired apparel. Clothing and cars go hand-in-hand, so Tsuchiura set up pop-ups at various car shows.
Tsuchiura has had his share of JDM vehicles, recently selling his Toyota Celica GT-Four and is now building a Toyota MR2 Spyder for the track. He also works for an importer – hence the Skylines and other JDM vehicles rotating in his driveway.
“As soon as they come in from Japan, I swap electronics, do a full restoration on the interior,” he says. “It’s been a fun career change. I want to share that with everyone else.”
Tsuchiura sees a new type of enthusiast making up a growing chunk of the Car Week crowds, one that is trending toward JDM vehicles and tuner cars – “The Car Week and car world demographic is rapidly changing.”
“I feel like this is the new wave,” he says. “We’re the new classic car.”
Tsuchiura, hoping to spearhead the movement, met with Mel Harder, the president and general manager of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, about adding a curated display of JDM vehicles and culture during the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
The result is a show of 100 JDM vehicles at Laguna Seca on Aug. 14-15, which will include a drive to The Quail in Carmel Valley and back, along with activities for attendees.
“We get to bring the respect and appreciation for the Japanese world that maybe has gone overlooked,” Tsuchiura says.
It’s all part of an overall celebration of Japanese motorsports for this year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. There will be historic vehicles on display, including the 1991 Mazda 787B, the first Japanese car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as a collection of racing motorcycles.
That celebration of Japan’s motorsports heritage continues at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
IN 1985, Toyota made its first entry into the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in France…
The two 85C-L prototypes had mixed results: the No. 38 car didn’t finish, but the No. 36 had a 12th-place finish, impressive considering the vehicle had a top speed of about 180 mph, below the 200 mph of its rivals.
The No. 36 disappeared from the public eye in the decades that followed, until 2014. A friend of Hisashi Kunie showed him a photo of a derelict racing car he found in Malaysia, sitting on a service lift.
“The moment I saw the shape of its headlights, I instinctively knew what it was,” Kunie writes by email from Japan.
After some detective work examining maps, Kunie was able to track down the dealership in the photo, and a phone call there confirmed the car was still in the same location. He immediately flew to Malaysia to check out the car, and there was “no longer any doubt” that this was the No. 36 vehicle. It had been repainted but was mechanically in rough shape.
Kunie met with the owner to make an offer: Sell it to me, and I will restore it and bring it back to Le Mans.
Offer accepted.
Two years later and the 85C-L was back at Le Mans. Kunie’s promise was kept, but the car had an even bigger accomplishment in 2022.
That year the car won the Le Mans Classic, driven by Masanori Sekiya, who had driven the 85C-L at Le Mans in 1985, and Kazuki Nakajima, the son of its other driver, Satoru Nakajima.
The 85C-L will be part of a featured class of Japanese Motorsports at Concours d’Elegance. Narunobu Makino, the manager and mechanic of the 85C-L, writes by email that the vehicle participates in demonstration runs and exhibits at classic car events around the world. This is the first time it will be shown in Pebble Beach.
“By participating as a small island nation, Japan will have the opportunity to showcase Japanese cars and introduce them to a wider audience,” Makino writes. “I also hope that children will learn about history and the efforts of past generations.”
Kunie adds that he hopes Concours attendees will “appreciate not only the beauty and engineering of the Toyota 85C-L itself, but also the extraordinary journey that it represents.”
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