Supporting violent driving with a Rocket Bunny R33 drift car.
Raw and aggressive, somewhat unpolished yet able to shine in a crowd of Japan's seemingly endless supply of homegrown hero cars from the 1990s, this Skyline GTS-T is the ideal candidate to represent its owner's unique personality and cross-continental vibe.
Fascinated with American culture, Jun Takahashi's vehicle stable is packed with a helping of Americana, including Pandem-equipped domestic builds like his C5 Corvette, '06 Mustang, and a '70s-era Camaro.
Moving into building North American-based chassis and applying his own style didn't mean abandoning his roots and this Skyline project, which debuted a few years ago, has no problem keeping Jun entertained.
"When I got the car, it was already crashed many times," Jun says. "It was ugly, therefore, I wanted to use it as a [drift] missile." Rather than working backward to bring the car's appearance up to snuff, it was put right to work as a drift machine and abused accordingly. In fact, Jun's apparel brand, Hardcore Tokyo's motto is "support violent driving," and that's precisely the sort of driving he used the car for.
The GTS-T's original rear wheel drive layout was ideal for Jun's intended purpose and a factory internal RB25 (beyond a 1.4mm head gasket swap) with some choice bolt-on additions was deemed more than adequate to help facilitate the R33's high-speed sideways assaults.
Perched atop a Tonnka Racing manifold is a Pulsar's G30-770 turbo and 46mm waste gate, with custom charge piping and a Pulsar intercooler handling the cooling before air enters the GReddy intake manifold. Additional fueling is afforded by a Tomei fuel pump and pressure regulator with fine-tuning handled by a NIStune ECU upgrade that help bring estimated power into the 500-hp range.
The original white paint work, along with a visually out-of-place black radiator support, can be seen under the hood—and you won't find any wire tucks or fancy shaved surfaces. The engine remains relatively mild in the name of simplicity, reliability, and repeatability at the track, and that decision has served Jun well.
When this car was pieced together, it was one of just three in existence with the Pandem Rocket Bunny multi-piece aero kit. Kei Miura's highly recognizable and often knocked-off design adds considerable bulk to the already portly R33 body.
The stubby N1 style mirrors, hugged close to the body, offer a contrasting minimalist style that completes the look.
The blunt front lip addition and familiar over-fender treatment undoubtedly played a part in the R33 chassis quiet renaissance. What was long ignored by the masses in favor of its younger (R32) and older (R34) siblings, has since been thrust into the limelight as of late with YouTube and industry influencers jumping on board.
Not that any of that matters to Jun, who was drawn to the mid-'90s coupe due to the the fact that it wasn't the most popular choice among enthusiasts for years, falling right in line with his "against the grain" nature.
The right shoes can make or break the outfit and in this instance, the wheels are custom made for this application by Felgen Factory. The gold faces, complete with engraved Hardcore initials, sit inside deep machined wheel lips that bring the figures up to 18 x 9.75 up front, with an additional two inches of width added to the rear.
The gold and silver rollers were finished with Toyo Proxes R888R and if you peek through the spokes, you'll spot the orange anodized calipers of the Ceika big brake kit. The exaggerated front camber is really the only clue to the car's drift exploits as the blue paint work and aero kit maintain a streetcar and occasional car show vibe. Make no mistake, this Skyline gets put to task regularly.
Anything mid-ship and behind has been stripped from the cabin, including the entire carpet kit. A pair of custom carbon fiber-backed buckets with the Hardcore logo replace the stock seats, and a Hardcore x Pandem steering wheel with horn block-off is in place.
A dimpled heel plate elevates the floorboard beneath the pedal assembly and a hydraulic handbrake installed for quick pulls to encourage the R33 sideways. The only remaining factory interior pieces are the door cards and garnish, and the dash.
Most notably, the entire cabin is surrounded by a roll cage that includes a precariously placed horizontal bar just above the dash—visible through the front windshield.
Originally intended to go unfinished and serve as a fun drift car full of battle scars and clues to its many previous accidents, Jun says things changed the moment the new widebody kit was applied. He adds, "I started using it for car shows after the Pandem kit, but still, I kept drifting it. Of course, sometimes I have little accidents, but I just do the repairs and I will continue to drift and show it."
You're used to seeing enthusiasts pick a side, Japanese or domestic, but for Jun Takahashi there simply is no separation. His fascination with all things automotive, regardless of their origin, is the sort of crossover that most won't let themselves experience and it's one that he relishes in. Whether he's shredding through tires as he rockets through apexes sideways or leaving a pair of tire stripes on the pavement in his ground-pounding Chevy Camaro, just know that he's having a blast doing it his way. That's Hardcore.
Owner Jun Takahashi
Instagram @junhardcoretokyo and @hardcoretokyo
Engine 1.4mm head gasket; high-spark ignition; Tomei fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator; Pulsar G30-770 turbo, 46mm waste gate, 100mm intercooler; Tonnka Racing turbo manifold; GReddy intake manifold; HKS air filter; NIStune with NVCS ECU
Braking Ceika big brake kit
Wheels & Tires Felgen Factory 18x9.75 -28 front, 18x10.75 -28 rear; Toyo Proxes R888R 255/40 front, 275/35 rear; Numer7 Racing titanium lug nuts
Exterior Pandem Rocket Bunny aero kit; N1 mirrors
Interior custom Hardcore Tokyo carbon fiber seats, hydraulic brake lever; Pandem x Hardcore steering wheel; roll cage; elevated heel plate; alcantara parking brake boot; drift brake button