How Japan’s Fastest Cars Were Built in a Cowshed

Hey, Fidelity, what's it cost to invest with the Fidelity app?

Start with as little as $1 with no account fees or trade commissions on U.S. stocks and ETFs.

Hmm, that's music to my ears.

I can only talk.

This podcast is sponsored by AuraFrames.

If you're a last-minute shopper like me, welcome home, brother.

Shelves are empty and the ideas are running low.

AuraFrames is a solution with a gift that feels personal.

For a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get $35 off

Aura's best-selling Carver Mat Frames, named number one by Wirecutter, by using promo

code GAS at checkout, that's A-U-R-A-FRAMES.COM promo code GAS.

This deal is exclusive to listeners and Frames sell out fast, so order yours now to get it in

time for the holidays.

Support the show by mentioning us at checkout.

Terms and conditions apply.

This podcast is sponsored by HIMS.

Confidence shouldn't be complicated.

Through HIMS, you can skip the guesswork and get access to care that actually fits

your lifestyle.

Straightforward, stress-free, and designed around you.

To get simple online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, hair loss, weight

loss, and more, visit HIMS.com slash GAS.

That's HIMS.com slash GAS for your free online visit.

HIMS.com slash GAS.

Actual price will depend on product and subscription plan.

Featured products include compounded drug products, which the FDA does not approve

or verify for safety, effectiveness, or quality.

Prescription required.

See website for details, restrictions, and important safety information.

Welcome back to PASSGAS, everybody.

This week we're talking H-K-S.

It's not just a random collection of words in the alphabet.

It's one of the most influential and coolest Japanese tuners of all time.

We're going to get into the story.

Jimmy's here.

He's going to lend a lot of insight.

I'm ready.

Jimmy knows a lot about this company.

It's a good one.

Stick around.

H-K-S on PASSGAS right now.

I'm an H-K-S freak.

You know it as a brand, as a decal.

But before every car meet had at least one Honda Civic with an unmistakable

purple logo on the side, H-K-S was a risk.

A gamble between three partners near the base of Mount Fuji.

In the late 70s and early 80s, while the rest of the world dismissed

Japanese cars as boring commuters, H-K-S was strapping turbos to them,

cranking the boost, and rewriting the rules of what a four-cylinder engine could do.

They weren't trying to impress anyone.

They were trying to outrun everyone.

And they succeeded.

So how did a tiny Japanese tuning company change the world of motorsport

aftermarket performance and car culture as we know it?

Today on PASSGAS, we're going to find out it's the story of H-K-S.

Welcome back to the show, everybody.

My name is Nolan Sykes.

Joining me, as always, across the table.

You know, you love them.

It's Joji Weber.

Stoo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Awesome.

That was good.

It was bad.

Don't don't cast me up, Jimmy.

I'm a PASSGAS you up.

And to our left, that other voice you may have heard, it's familiar.

You love it.

I don't know where I'm going with this second episode we recorded today.

So I'm out of the intro sauce.

It's Jimmy Hilton.

That's a supercharger.

Nice. I don't know if you can tell.

Yeah, yeah, just making sure.

It was horrible, wasn't it?

Can you do an EV motor?

Nice. Jimmy's back for another Japan-centric episode.

Back to back.

Back to back, baby.

H-K-S, Jimmy, thoughts on H-K-S.

Give us a little context.

Give us a little background.

One of the best tuning companies out of Japan, legendary status.

They've built everything from jet skis, motorcycles,

group A, GT-Rs and even an airplane at some point.

Oh, crap. Wait, what?

Yeah, they've done a lot of weird stuff.

The jet ski is very cool.

If you look it up, H-K-S jet ski, very sick.

Is that on your bucket list?

Yeah, I'd love to.

I'm waiting for the Bat List thing.

Jet ski, yeah. Let's see this.

Haltech.

Whoa. OK, yeah.

Yeah. That's supercharged.

Yeah, literally.

That's cool.

That is really cool.

Yeah, they've made a ton of stuff.

Very cool.

A really cool company.

And yeah, just one of those legendary names.

One of those.

I went by the H-K-S booth at SEMA this year.

They had a fully built, like, new Subaru WRX.

Very cool.

It was very cool.

I did not say hi to everybody there.

I didn't say hi to anybody.

I got a little shy.

I'm sorry, me too.

I was like, I don't know.

These guys are cool.

I'm just a guy.

Yeah.

But yeah, dude, very cool stuff.

And like, there's an R32 H-K-S, right?

The race car?

The Group A car?

The Group A car.

Yeah, the Group A car.

Very cool.

Iconic.

They still own it.

It's still in their possession.

So we have.

That's not the zero R, is it?

No, which I think we'll be chatting about it.

We will be chatting about it.

Yeah.

And I have a lot of things to say about that car.

Oh.

Happy to say that on the low WRX,

we have a genuine H-K-S blowoff valve.

That's cool.

Yeah.

We did buy a knockoff one, and we did test that.

But we then put the real one on there, which is very fun.

1945, the same year the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

brought World War II to a devastating close.

The future founder of H-K-S won Hiroyuki Hasagawa was born.

Hasagawa grew up during one of the most transformative

periods in modern Japanese history.

Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Japanese economic miracle

saw Japan rise from a shattered nation

to a global economic power.

For the first time, middle-class Japanese citizens

had disposable income, and with it,

consumer goods that had once been luxuries

like personal automobiles.

As car ownership expanded, so did enthusiasm.

This cultural shift was most notably

symbolized by the opening of Fuji Speedway in 1965.

The track quickly became a beacon for motorsport fans,

inspiring a new generation of drivers

who wanted to bring performance home with them.

Around this time, Japanese automakers

were beginning to release vehicles that would become

icons, cars like the Nissan Skyline GT-R, the Toyota Celica,

the Mazda Cosmo, and Datsun Fairlady Z.

That was the first rotary Mazda, right?

Yes, yeah.

I remember in like Gran Turismo 3

you could upgrade it to go like 400 miles an hour.

It's really funny, in Wangan Midnight, the arcade game,

that's the fastest car.

I wonder if it's like because it's a legendary car

that has a lot of reverence around it in Japan,

they're like, we have to make this car amazing.

That's one car we haven't driven on this channel.

The Mazda Cosmo?

Are there that many in the US?

There's a couple in the US, yeah.

I've seen a couple of car shows.

Really?

Yeah.

It's tiny.

It's like the size of a Miata.

I really like it because it's not a big car.

It's small.

These cars had enormous performance potential,

but due to Japan's strict regulations,

they were heavily restricted for street use.

Hirayuki Hasagawa, working as an engineer at Yamaha at this time,

recognized an opportunity that most did not see.

While the OEMs, or original equipment manufacturers,

offered safe and reliable cars,

there was a growing community of enthusiasts

hungry to unlock more performance.

Speed freaks.

Nerds.

Uh,

Hasagawa saw a need and believed that he was the one to fill it.

In 1973, he joined forces with a fellow engineer and close friend,

one Gochi Kitagawa, who shared his vision to bring their dream to life.

They secured startup capital from the newly formed Sigma Automotive Company,

an ambitious firm that had launched just a year earlier.

That doesn't even care about what Alfa's firm does.

Sigma was young, untested, and eager to make its mark.

In the United States, the performance aftermarket was already well established,

with companies like Summit Racing and Edelbrock offering bolt-on horsepower

to anyone with a wrench and a dream.

Summit was around back then, huh?

I didn't know that.

Japan had no equivalent.

Most modifications were either done in private garages

or custom built for racing teams,

not the average enthusiast.

That all changed when Hasagawa, Kitagawa, and Sigma teamed up,

forming what would become H...

Summit Racing.

What would become HKS?

Hasagawa, Kitagawa, and Sigma.

HKS, named after the first initials of each partner.

The mission was simple but bold,

to become Japan's first dedicated performance tuning company,

one that served the unmet desires of everyday drivers and racers alike.

With Sigma Automotive contributing around $40,000 in startup capital,

which was a substantial investment in 1973,

and lending institutional legitimacy,

HKS was officially born.

HKS began its operation in a converted shed on a dairy farm

at the base of Mount Fuji.

This was an unassuming start for what would become

one of Japan's most influential tuning companies.

The rural location was modest but intentional,

offering space, privacy, and proximity to testing grounds

suited for the company's experimental nature.

Not only was HKS placed with an arms reach

of the famed Fuji Speedway,

a hub for racing innovation and high-speed testing,

but it also offered geographic advantages

that would shape the company's development philosophy.

The isolation of the Mount Fuji foothills

gave HKS the freedom to experiment

without bureaucratic interference or prying eyes.

The elevation and changing weather conditions were ideal

for stress-testing engine behavior in real-world extremes,

and most importantly, the cheap land meant every spare yen

could go towards research and development

rather than paying the rent.

And cows are not snitches.

No.

They're pretty cool like that.

They're pretty chill.

From the beginning, HKS refused to play it safe.

While other new companies might have entered the market

with simple aesthetic modifications

or cheap replicas of OEM parts,

HKS skipped the superficial

and went straight for the heart of the car,

engine performance.

Their focus quickly zeroed in

on one of the most technically demanding

and misunderstood engine components of the time,

the turbocharger.

Ooh!

Do the noise.

Do, do, do, do, do, do.

Here we go.

This is like 73.

Yeah, 73.

Turbos are very uncommon in production cars at this point.

I think that Jetfire was like one of the only American cars

that had one.

They were more common in like diesels

and yeah, aircraft as well.

At a time when turbocharging was mostly reserved

for exotic sports cars

and when most mechanics had little experience

with forced induction,

HKS made the bold choice to go all in.

They began by purchasing a turbocharger from the US

to disassemble and use to develop their own turbo.

One designed for Japanese performance icons

like the Nissan Skyline L20SU,

the Toyota Celica 18RG

and other enthusiast favorite engines.

This investment was not without risk.

The year was 1973

and the global oil crisis had just sent a shockwave

through the automotive world.

Consumers and manufacturers alike

were pivoting towards fuel efficiency

and more conservative design.

Turbocharging with its reputation for heat issues,

complexity and fuel consumption seemed almost contrarian.

But HKS saw a bigger picture.

They believed that despite the monetary shift

towards austerity,

car enthusiasts would never lose their hunger for speed.

That's a good bet.

Feed me speed, num, num, num, num, num.

This gamble Jimmy paid off in 1974.

Just months after its founding,

HKS released its first major product,

a bolt-on turbo kit for the Nissan L20 engine.

It was one of the first commercially available

turbo kits in Japan

and offered substantial power gains,

boosting the L20's output from a modest 112

to approximately 160 horsepower,

which was a 70% increase.

That's good.

I wonder how many like,

dead stock HKS turbos from this era

are still floating around somewhere.

That's a good question.

I would love to get my hands on one.

Yeah, we should put it in Alex's car.

Though early kits suffered from issues

like turbo lag and occasional overheating,

they provided real repeatable performance,

something no other company in Japan

was offering at the time.

The timing of this release couldn't have been better

as a growing subculture of car magazines

such as Option, Carboy and AutoWorks

were beginning to capture the imaginations

of gear heads across Japan.

Carboy.

Carboy magazine.

Those are sweet.

We talked about Carboy a lot.

HKS's turbo kit was right in the strike zone

of this emerging media scene,

earning the company early praise and attention.

Road tests took place on rural highways

near the HKS facility,

and informal speed runs at Fuji Speedway were routine.

This hands-on approach to R&D,

testing under real conditions,

refining with each run would become

a trademark of the company.

Oh, those dang HKS boys are at it again.

Go back to your milk shed.

Okay, you car boys.

As the limits of early turbo kits became apparent,

HKS began to innovate ways to boost delivery

as well as refined systems needed

to support that kind of action.

Many kits lacked proper fuel enrichment,

which put strain on engines

during high performance operation.

HKS responded by creating

some of the first fuel controllers and turbo timers.

All the turbo timers for like shutdown, isn't it?

It's for shutdown, but it helps with the cool down.

It's turbo time.

It's cool.

My buddy, Vic, he had his S15.

We drove out to see him together.

And I didn't realize he had a turbo timer

and he just like parked his car

and like got out and walked away.

Yeah.

I was like, it's still running.

It's still running.

I was like, you're gonna turn it off

and then like a minute later,

just shut up.

So the car keeps running,

keeps putting oil through the turbo

when the car down and then.

It's really cool.

Grassroots credibility came quickly.

Amateur racers, back road tuners

and weekend warriors began to trust the HKS name.

Company soon expanded its offerings

to cover a wider range of engines,

including Toyota's 2TG, Mazda rotary engines

and power plants from Mitsubishi and Subaru.

Remarkably, HKS's turbo charging focus

came ahead of the curve.

The broader turbo era in performance car manufacturing

truly didn't begin until 1975

with the release of the Porsche 911 Turbo.

HKS was already in it,

building performance for everyday enthusiasts

before the OEM saw the opportunity.

The 930 turbo was not very refined.

Like it had crazy late delay.

It was, you know, killed a bunch of people.

Yeah.

By 1981, HKS took its ambitions global

with the launch of HKS USA,

the brand quickly found footing in California

where Japanese sedans tuned with HKS parts

began to challenge the supremacy of American muscle cars

on the illegal street racing scene.

With the US division came another wave of innovations,

including the HKS turbo timer

and the electronic valve controller.

These early electronic modules interfaced with the car's ECU

to fine tune power delivery and efficiency.

So many gizmos and gadgets.

There's a gizmo.

I don't know if we're going to talk about it,

but they made one called Camp.

Camp.

HKS Camp.

And you can load it onto R33MFD screens

or any screen if you get a screen in your car.

But it has a fish tank in it and it has games.

And that tells you like performance readouts.

And it's really cool.

Yeah.

So they've made a ton of cool stuff like that.

That was like mid 90s.

That's later 90s.

OK.

That's cool.

Yeah.

Well, we're in the early 80s.

I know, that's yeah.

Which saw HKS already carving out a formidable name

in Japan's street tuning scene.

They're both on turbo kits and fuel controllers

were all the talk of every amateur racer and weekend

tuner.

But if HKS was to be taken seriously on the world stage

as a true engineering force,

it was time to prove their worth in real competition.

Their entry into motorsport came with Japanese Formula

2, a proven ground for future F1 talent

and technical innovation.

HKS developed its own engine based on the Toyota 18RG

platform.

This first foray, the high level racing

was less about winning titles and more

about acquiring data, refining their engineering

chops and showing the racing world

that HKS could compete where it mattered.

The lessons learned during this campaign

particularly in valve train geometry,

field delivery systems and the stress of high RPM endurance

would lay the foundation for HKS's next chapter.

Meanwhile, a very different kind of competition

was gripping Japan.

The 300 kilometer per hour speed challenge.

Now this wasn't a sanctioned series,

but rather a renegade motorsport subculture obsessed

with achieving one goal, breaking 300 kilometers per hour

or 186 miles per hour on the open track.

And this was a lot of the midnight club guys, right?

At this time, it's at Yatabe circuit,

which doesn't exist anymore, but it's a high speed oval.

And it's super cool that at this moment,

I believe before, no Japanese car had

beat that 186 miles per hour.

It was just, it was a Pantera.

Yes, I remember the De Tomasso.

Yeah.

And I believe there was a Camaro as well.

There's a Z31 engine.

Whoa, there's a Z31 turbo.

Yeah, I know for sure.

Jimmy is correct.

The first to do it was tuner ABR using an Italian De Tomasso

Pantera to reach a staggering 307.69 kilometers per hour

at the Yatabe proving ground.

It was impressive, but the car wasn't Japanese

and that was a problem.

In 1983, HKS answered the call with the M300 project.

Using a heavily tuned Celica XX, known overseas

as the Celica Supra, they began to break the 300 kilometer

per hour barrier in a Japanese domestic market vehicle,

clocking 301.25 kilometers per hour at Yatabe.

HKS had proven that Japanese engineering

could stand shoulder to shoulder with the world's best

and that performance didn't need to come with a European badge.

That car, if you look at pictures of it,

it looks insane.

The engine bay is just, it looks like a pretty much

a whole ass race car.

The Celica XX?

Oh, dude, this thing's so cool.

It's really cool, but it's like, I mean, they definitely-

That's cool.

Whoa.

Crazy.

Yeah, the engine bay is just like all wires.

That's so funny because there's a Celica XX

in my neighborhood that just, it looks,

you know, it's probably very sporty looking in the day,

but it looks so lumpy now.

Yeah, I think age well.

I love the Gen 2 Celica.

Well, that was a really fun car.

When we did the, we drove every Supra.

Yeah.

I liked driving that.

All the even numbered Supras are the best ones.

The Gen 1, not good.

Gen 2, awesome.

Gen 3, I could see why people like it.

It's debatable.

But it's debatable.

Definitely feels way heavier than Gen 2.

Gen 4, the Mark 4, goaded.

I'm a big hater of the Gen 4.

Really?

I don't like it.

Mark 5, great car, not a Supra.

Mark 6, when that comes out, that's gonna be sick.

That will, okay.

I know it.

I know it will.

You wanna put money on it?

Put 20 bucks on it.

Well, how do you, how do you say for sure

if it's sick or not?

Well, it's gotta be mostly Toyota.

The problem with the Mark 5 is that it feels

very much like a BMW.

It's a BMW wearing like a Toyota skin.

Whereas if this Mark 6, I don't know,

from what I've heard, what I've heard,

I think it's gonna be cool.

Here in Rumblins right now, are there pictures

or the leaks?

There's no pictures or anything like that.

But I just have, I got some ideas.

It's gonna have six wheels?

Mark 6, six wheels, yeah, it's gonna be a Dooley.

Did you see the Supra that they put a Z4 front end on?

What?

It looks good, I like it.

Oh yeah, I did see this.

And they put BMW badges everywhere and everything.

Yeah, I did kinda like it.

He likes it too.

I don't know, I feel like that's just such a waste of time.

Yeah, it's cool though, I liked it.

For Hiroyuki Hasegawa, the dream ran deeper.

He had long aspired to build a racing engine

from the ground up.

That dream became reality in 1984

with the HKS 134E, a purpose built motor

designed for rally and drag racing.

Wow.

Starting with the Mitsubishi G54B engine block,

HKS made extensive modifications.

They de-stroke the original 2.6 liter engine

down to 2.3 liters, increasing its ability to rev

and giving it what was described as a quote,

rotary like power band.

I was gonna say the only thing that those two

kind of have in common is like the high red line.

The internals were upgraded with forged pistons

and HKS designed a custom twin cam cylinder head.

Wow.

Twin 50 millimeter solex carburetors

delivered fuel with race grade precision.

And the result was a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine

that produced 276 horsepower without the aid of a turbo.

Whoa.

Now, is this 276 is a very significant number?

I think this is before this.

Yes.

Before the gentleman's agreement?

Yeah.

Okay.

Because that's a convenient number to make.

It is pretty convenient.

So for context, the 1984 C4 Corvette

with double the displacement made only about 205 horsepower.

God dang.

The 134E was a mechanical revelation

and it caught the attention of serious players

in the motorsport world.

One such player was Raleigh Art,

Mitsubishi's high performance motorsport division.

In 1985, they approached HKS with a challenge.

They said, hey, build a competitive Group B car,

Group B Raleigh car using the 134 engine.

Group B was known for its unhinged engineering

and minimal regulation,

which is perfect for the ambitious company

such as HKS.

For this Group B challenge,

HKS selected the Mitsubishi Starian as their platform

and began radically reimagining the car.

At the time, all wheel drive had begun

to dominate rally racing thanks to legendary machines

like the Audi Quattro and the Peugeot 205 T16.

So, Asagawa made a bold move.

He extracted the transfer case

from a Mitsubishi Pajero SUV

and integrated it into the Starian

given the car all wheel drive capability.

A cockpit mounted switch allowed for adjustable power delivery

and to balance the car's weight distribution,

the engine was moved from the front to the rear.

The result was the HKS Starian D4-04.

That sounds insane.

Pull this up.

I don't think I've seen this one.

Pull it up, Jamie.

Whoa, that's cool.

It's neat.

It's higher than I thought it was.

It's a rally car.

That is really cool.

Unfortunately, this project never got the chance

to make its mark.

Just as the D4-04 was prepped for a full season,

the Group B category was abruptly cancelled in 1986

due to a series of fatal accidents.

The Starian never raced under the HKS banner

in official WRC competition,

but it found quite a second life

in the drag racing scene

where its powertrain and all wheel drive system

were adapted for quarter mile brutality.

I mean, that would be a sleeper.

You see that car and you're like,

what the hell is that going to do?

Yeah.

As the 1980s drew to a close,

HKS turned its attention to another arena,

motorcycle racing.

The company developed the 200E,

a high-performance two-cylinder racing engine

based on its earlier HT600 platform.

New 600CC dual overhead cam engine

was dramatically improved for performance and reliability.

Word of its capability spread quickly

and at one point an estimated 95%

of competitive racing motorcycles

in Japan use the HKS 200E.

90%?

95?

Probably a few of those motors lying around.

Probably, you could throw one in a Miat.

Well, let's put it in your go-kart.

We'll be right back after these messages.

Some people just know they could save

hundreds on car insurance by checking all state first.

Like you know to check your mirrors position first

before driving.

You ever get in a rental or a friend's car?

You're in a rush and you start driving

only to find out nothing lines up.

The mirrors are all out of whack

and you can't see where anything is.

Not good.

Checking first is smart.

So check all state first for a quote

that could save you hundreds.

You're in good hands with all state.

Potential savings vary subject to terms,

conditions, and availability.

All state North American insurance company

and affiliates Northbrook, Illinois.

This podcast is sponsored by AuraFrames.

I'm a last minute shopper

and I know some of you out there are as well.

It's just our personality, you can't fault us.

But you know that panic

as the days grow closer to Christmas

when you're like, oh crap,

I haven't bought a present for my grandma.

Well, you're in luck because AuraFrames

is a solution with a gift that feels personal.

Aura's digital frame is honestly so cool.

You can upload unlimited photos and videos.

All you have to do is just download the Aura app

and connect to wifi, upload it, bang, bang, boom.

You can even upload all the photos and videos

before it arrives to whoever you're giving it to.

So if you got that grandpa that's like,

eh, I don't know how to work this goddamn technology.

Well, you can load it up for him for grams

and then send it to him and he doesn't have to do anything.

For a limited time, save on the perfect gift

by visiting AuraFrames.com to get $35 off

Aura's best-selling Carver Mat frames.

Name number one by Wirecutter

by using promo code gas at checkout.

That's AuraFrames.com promo code gas.

This deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out fast.

So order yours now to get it in time for the holidays.

Support the show by mentioning us at checkout.

Terms and conditions apply.

Thanks to our sponsor, Handcook,

the official tire sponsor of Donut.

Handcook's Dynapro off-road tires

offer great traction through terrains

without compromising on-road comfort.

They're great on a wide range of vehicles

from SUVs, light trucks to the ranger.

When we were out in Baja, we lost our spares

and ended up running the same set of tires

for the entire two-day race.

We're actually still running the same back ones right now.

They've got an aggressive design

that not only looks great,

but it also protects you from punctures

and gives you grip and sand, gravel, mud, you name it.

And they last a long, long time.

Thanks to Handcook's durable compound,

you can get a lot of trail or road under your tires.

And I can hear all you city people at home.

I don't go off-road.

I like asphalt.

Handcook's got you covered too

with their Ventus brand of tires,

which are optimized for high-speed driving

and stability on your beloved road.

With Handcook's extensive product family,

you're sure to find something to suit your needs.

Get your tire journey started at handcooktire.com

and see just how far these wheels can take you.

That's H-A-M-K-O-O-K, Handcooktire.com.

Now back to the show.

As the 1990s began,

HKS had already earned a reputation

as Japan's premier tuning and motorsports engineering company.

But rather than rest on their success,

they pushed deeper into competitive performance

with a singular goal to prove

that Japanese-built machines could dominate

in traditionally American-dominated disciplines

like drag racing.

God damn it.

Gosh darn it.

That opportunity came through the RRC drag racing series,

where HKS entered the top-tier pro stock class

with a formidable weapon, the HKS Drag 70 Supra.

Built around the Toyota 7MG engine,

this monster featured twin turbos,

custom 272-degree camshafts,

oversized valves and springs,

and forged pistons.

Very cool.

The goal was clear, Jimmy,

to break the elusive 8-second quarter-mile barrier,

which was a benchmark still largely ruled by American V8s.

So this is Gen 2 Supra?

Gen 3.

Oh yeah. Ooh.

Yeah, this is a cool car.

Whoa, that's a cool car.

So, maybe unsurprisingly at this point in the story,

but HKS delivered.

The Drag 70 ran a blistering 7.91 seconds

thanks to its 826 horsepower.

Oh my God. That's a lot of power.

For the 80s?

For the 80s.

Or late 80s.

Late 80s.

It was a landmark moment, not just for HKS,

but for the legitimacy of JDM platforms

in global drag racing culture.

But this was just a warm-up act.

In 1991, HKS introduced what may have been

the most ambitious and visionary project yet,

the HKS Zero R.

Yes.

Whoo.

Based on the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R,

the Zero R was a complete overhaul of the beloved R32.

Engineered with a deep emphasis on both high output

and long-term durability,

it featured a completely reworked RB26DETT,

along with custom suspension, reinforced brakes,

hold jimmy, bespoke bodywork, and refined drivetrain.

The changes were so extensive

that the Japanese government

challenged its street legality,

forcing HKS to suspend production

after only a few units built.

But the Zero R left a lasting impact.

It anticipated the high-end reimagining

of factory-performance vehicles

years before outfits like Singer for Porsche,

or even Nismo's own Skyline rebuilds jimmy.

You got to drive one of these recently.

I did get to drive one on bumper to bumper.

Oh my God.

I don't know if that episode is gonna be out.

It was one of the best cars

I have ever driven on this channel.

And you've driven a lot of cool cars.

Yeah, that was the best car.

I cried.

I did not want that drive to end.

That doesn't happen a lot for me,

but that was like a car I was like,

I want to just keep driving.

Who owns this car?

This guy named Andrew,

who's like a Skyline collector.

He has a 400R, very cool dude.

You got a 400R too?

Yeah, he's got a 400R.

Yeah.

What?

He's got all the cool stuff.

Oh, he just bought a built by legends R34 too.

That's sick.

Yeah.

He's cool.

He's a cool dude.

But yeah, that HKSZR is just something.

Yeah.

It's beautiful.

So it got punched out to like a, it's RB28.

So the originals were 2.7 liters.

And now that one has the 2.8 kit,

which is the newer variation of that.

Single turbo.

It's making like 700 horsepower.

700 on low boost.

High boost, it makes 850.

And he told me, after I did the drive,

I texted him and I was like,

that was the best car ever.

Like felt so.

He's like, yeah, you drove it in low boost.

He's like, with high boost on,

it'll spend all four tires.

That's wild.

I was like, holy shit.

Very cool story though.

So you guys want to check out the full B2B episode.

Go check that out.

Yeah.

If it's not out yet, by the time you hear this,

keep your eyes out for it,

but I'm pretty sure it should be out.

So just play it by, play it by ear.

Play it by ear.

Yeah.

Play it by ear.

You're watching it go,

a lot more deep dive,

Sultan of Runaway on one.

Oh, cool.

Yeah.

There's only like four left in existence.

So.

Damn crazy.

It's an insane story.

You've got to drive it, bro.

That's wild.

Yeah, I can't believe it.

So while working on street legal monsters like the ZERO R,

HKS was also quietly reaching for the pinnacle

of motorsports engineering, Formula One.

Around the same time period,

they spent more than two and a half years

developing a three and a half liter V12 engine

for a potential use in F1.

The engine itself was a marvel,

producing 670 horsepower on pump gas,

revving all the way to 13,500 RPM.

This was showing off engineering finesse

that rivaled F1 teams with far greater budgets.

Though the engine never got a chance to race,

the sheer boldness of this project

reflected just how far HKS had evolved

from its turbocharging roots in a cow shed.

They're still in that cow shed.

Are they really?

I think so.

Yeah, I believe so.

It'd be fun to track this engine down.

I think it's at their museum.

Oh, OK.

HKS has a museum that has that super in it.

They're engines.

It's a really cool museum.

If you ever go to Japan,

try and make the track out at the HKS museum.

Cool. Really cool.

Meanwhile, the company deepened

its motorsports credibility by entering Group A

and the Japanese touring car championship, the JTCC,

fielding the Nissan R32 GTR.

HKS quickly made a name for itself,

even against factory-backed teams like Nismo.

In just their third ever Group A outing,

they secured a victory at the Sugo Circuit in 1993.

The R32's striking black livery,

streaked with green, purple, and red,

became an instant icon,

furthering cementing HKS's identity

as an engineering powerhouse with cultural influence.

The best colors.

It's so cool.

The cool thing to note about these cars,

these Group A cars, is they were prepped by Nismo,

and then they were given to those teams.

A student Nismo would take that car,

or HKS would take the car,

and then they would run that team.

So HKS would field their stuff,

and they would do their development on it,

and they could do whatever they wanted to do

within the confines of the body, you know?

Interesting, the rules.

That color scheme would be carried across

a variety of HKS race vehicles

throughout the decade from the track to two wheels,

notably the HKS YZ F750 SP

that competed in the FIM World Endurance Championship

and the Suzuki Eight Hours,

expanding HKS's influence

in the high-level motorcycle racing.

By the mid-90s, the results spoke for themselves.

From 1994 to 96, HKS dominated both

the RRC and BE drag series.

1996 was a turning point in other ways as well.

The company launched HKS Europe Limited,

establishing a headquarters in the UK

to serve a growing European customer base.

British and continental tuners alike

embraced HKS's products,

drawn by their meticulous engineering

and race-proven credibility.

That same year, HKS made

one of its most lasting contributions

to Japanese street performance,

the HyperMax Coilovers series.

One of the first suspension systems in Japan

designed specifically for both street and track use,

HyperMax offered adjustable damping,

chassis-specific tuning, and competition-grade quality.

It quickly became one of the most

sought-after suspension setups in the tuning world.

You said in big three that you got yelled at

for saying dampening?

Dampening is when something gets wet.

Damping is what we're talking about in suspension.

Yes.

The way that you said it made me think that

you, like, someone called you out on it.

I see it in comments when people are like,

I can't believe they're saying dampening.

It's damping.

You still understand what I'm saying, though.

You know what? No, but they're right, though.

It is damping. It's not dampening.

HKS even extended their engineering to the skies.

In 1996, they introduced the A700E,

a lightweight, fuel-efficient,

and surprisingly robust two-cylinder,

horizontally opposed engine designed

for ultralight aircraft and hobbyist aviation.

What?

They just, they did everything.

They did it all.

We'll be right back after these messages.

This podcast is sponsored by HMS.

According to the National Institute of Health,

as many as 30 million men in the U.S. experience ED.

It's more common than a bad night's sleep.

The good news?

HMS makes getting access to treatment simple,

so you can feel like yourself again

without the stress or awkwardness.

Confidence shouldn't be complicated.

Through HMS, you can skip the guesswork

and get access to care that actually fits your lifestyle,

straightforward, stress-free, and designed around you.

HMS offers access to ED treatment options,

ranging from trusted generics that cost 95% less

than brand names, to hardmins, if prescribed.

You shouldn't have to go out of your way

to feel like yourself.

HMS brings expert care straight to you

with 100% online access to personalized treatment plans

that put your goals first.

Think of HMS as your digital front door

that gets you back to your old self,

with simple 100% online access to trusted treatments

for ED and more, all in one place.

Actual price will depend on product and subscription plan.

Featured products include compounded drug products,

which the FDA does not approve or verify

for safety effectiveness or quality.

Prescription required.

See website for details, restrictions,

and important safety information.

What's a sad ugly hole?

Reddit is back for a historically hideous season.

It's our 100th ugly house.

This place is mayhem.

That is impressive.

And if these walls could talk,

do you cry a lot?

I do.

God!

They'd have a lot to say.

What in God's name is this pit?

Don't get too close.

You know, if you see the show, I'm scaredy-hat.

Ugliest House in America season premiere

Wednesday, January 7th at 8 on HGTV.

Now back to the show.

The 20th century closed with HKS

continuing its upward trajectory,

no pun intended, marked by planes,

marked by the establishment of a new R&D facility

and Kitayama Fuji Nomayashi.

Oh, Kitayama Fuji Nomayashi.

Kitayama Fuji Nomayashi.

Okay.

The 20th century dawned and HKS entered a new phase.

Decades of hard-earned credibility in motorsport

and street performance had positioned the company

as an elite tuning house.

But now with more resources and a broader global reach,

HKS began sharpening its edge.

One of the company's most important developments

in this era was the continued refinement

of its GT series turbochargers.

Already a cornerstone of HKS performance products,

the GT series evolved into increasingly

sophisticated systems.

They delivered smoother, faster

and more reliable power for both street

and track applications.

At the time, HKS was dominating the time attack scene

in Japan, particularly at the legendary Sakuba Circuit.

Their campaign began in the mid 1990s

when an R33 Skyline built by HKS

clocked a record-breaking lap of 58.17 seconds.

But that was only the beginning.

I'm sure, like many of you listening,

or I'm sure that, like me,

a lot of you listening probably clocked a lot of laps

on Forza or Gran Turismo,

just obsessively doing Sakuba Circuit.

I would love to drive Sakuba at some point.

That's not Skuba.

Skuba.

Skuba, I say Sakuba.

It's wrong.

Skuba Circuit, that's what they call it?

It's a Skuba Circuit.

Yeah, Skuba, yeah.

So you're basically just not pronouncing the T or the U.

Yeah.

It's easy.

Yeah, I would love to go there.

That's cool.

Yeah.

This was only the beginning, though, Jimbo.

In 2000, HKS unveiled the HKS Racing Altezza.

Oh, wait a minute.

At the Tokyo Auto Salon.

TRB001 Project.

Wow.

Soon after the car broke,

the company's previous Skuba record

with a new lap time of 55.06 seconds.

They shaved three seconds off?

That's wild.

Once again, proving that HKS was the one setting the pace.

However.

However, the following year,

they turned their attention back to straight-line domination.

No, they pulled that record.

Oh, why?

They said the car was far too different

from the road going Altezza.

Is that the car that you have the wheels from?

You have the wheels from the car.

I have the wheels from that car.

Those are the gold ones?

The ones up in the center-lock ones?

Yeah.

Holy crap.

Yeah, they only made five sets for that car.

You have two of them.

Oh my God.

But yeah, they pulled the record.

OK.

Yeah, they said it was.

It wasn't like a street car.

Yeah, it had like no floor.

Yeah, it was like insane.

It was like all cantilever.

It's insane the photos of this car.

But they did like that.

It ran like twice and now it's just sitting in the HKS

museum.

Yeah, it's a cool car, though.

I really want to see it one day.

I got the wheels.

HKS, maybe give me one of those RB-28s you got sitting

around and I'll give you back the wheels.

Maybe try giving Jimmy an RB-28 for a set of the wheels.

Yeah, well, trade.

The following year, they turned their attention back

to straight-line domination with the debut of the HKS Drag 80

Supra, a purpose-built monster that generated an eye-watering

1,300 horsepower, 1,380, to be exact,

and was designed specifically to crack the 7-second barrier.

During this period, the company also

developed the TRBO2, the Scuba record breaker.

That's the EVO.

Which has set additional records at Scuba in 2003 and 2004.

HKS's success wasn't confined to lap times and drag strips,

though.

The racing Altezza entered the 2003 D1 Grand Prix.

That's another Altezza.

It is a different one.

Different one.

Gotcha.

And it ranks second overall for that season.

In 2004, HKS made a major financial leap

by transitioning from the Japanese Securities

Dealers Association to the jazz-dack market, OK?

Like NASDAQ.

I can buy stock in this.

Positioning the company has a serious R&D-driven enterprise

with international ambitions.

Oh, yeah.

I didn't know that.

You got a jazz-dack account?

I'm calling my guy right now.

With research, he's actually pulling out his phone.

With resources expanding, the HKS GT Supercharger

was developed in 2006.

Unlike traditional Superchargers,

the GT unit featured a more torque-sensing drive

mechanism, allowing it to deliver

smoother throttle response and more consistent

performance, perfect for modern cars

with increasingly sensitive ECUs.

I think it's around this time, too,

that HKS actually had several, like, basically

dealerships or workshops in each major city.

So if you modified your car for HKS stuff,

you could take it to these HKS dealerships pretty much.

That's sick.

It's pretty cool.

Yeah, it's like supporting the whole community

of HKS customers.

Their time attack streak continued with arguably

their most iconic build of the decade, the HKS CT230R,

based on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9.

The CT230R featured a fully built 4G63 engine,

a sequential transmission, custom carbon fiber bodywork,

and cutting-edge aerodynamic design.

Advanced data logging and ECU calibration

were handled by HKS's own F-Con V Pro system.

In 2007, it demolished the Scuba Lack record

again, clocking in at an astonishing 53.589 seconds.

God bless.

That's crazy.

This consistent success on the track emboldened HKS

to lean into its off-the-shelf power packages,

prematched turbo kits, exhaust systems, suspension setups,

and ECUs tuned specifically for certain models,

engineered with the same rigor that HKS brought

to its race builds.

That's cool that you can go to their catalog

and be assured that if they buy the whole package,

it's like dialed in.

That's cool.

But by the mid-2000s, the automotive world was shifting.

With rising environmental concerns and fuel economy standards

tightening, the tuning world was forced to evolve.

HKS responded with innovation once again,

this time in the form of a dual fuel system that

allowed vehicles to run on both gasoline

and compressed natural gas.

Initially targeted at taxis and fleet vehicles in Japan,

HKS's bifuel kits offered a rare blend

of environmental responsibility and engineering excellence,

bridging a cultural divide between performance

and sustainability.

The company moved quickly to develop the GT2 turbo

charger line.

These new units featured ball bearing cores,

redesigned turbo housings, and proprietary aeroblade geometry

designed to minimize lag while maximizing response.

By the early 2010s, HKS had properly evolved,

becoming a full-fledged global performance brand,

one whose very logo had become a status symbol

in the street scene.

That company identity, that global identity,

took literal form with the opening of HKS Shanghai

Automotive Technology Company, the brand's official base

of operation in China.

Back home, they continued pushing emissions tech forward,

converting a 9.8 liter diesel engine

successfully through its clearance

with the Japanese Gas Association's strict standards

for compressed natural gas,

doing so only further prove that performance

and compliance could coexist.

Nine liters, that's huge, that's a big motor.

All the while, HKS was still a threat

on the competition stage.

They remained active in D1 Grand Prix,

continuing to tune, test, and push the limits

without forgetting their roots in competition,

even as they expanded across industries and continents.

Very cool.

The mid-2010s arrived, and with it,

a wave of 90s nostalgia surging through car culture,

online forums, retro games, and social media

reignited interest in the golden era of JDM tuning.

Suddenly, icons of previous eras were thrust back

into the spotlight, including HKS.

Once again, the brand's unmistakable green, purple,

and red-on-black livery was everywhere,

on race builds, Instagram posts, event banners,

backpacks at Formula Drift, ramen,

ramen even, and most strikingly, street wear, that's right.

The HKS logo, sharp, angular, and aggressive,

re-emerged as a fashion statement and cultural badge.

This resurgence was actually a continuation

of the momentum that had quietly been building

through the late 90s and early 2000s,

when street racing, Gran Turismo,

and the fast and the furious catapulted

Japanese tuner culture into the American mainstream.

During that era, HKS stickers became icons of speed,

authenticity, and outsider credibility.

In 2016, the heart of HKS's story,

the visionary Hiroyuki Hasegawa passed away.

His death sent ripples through

the global automotive community.

And for many, it was a moment of collective reflection

on what he had built, not just a company, but a movement.

A legacy that spanned mountain roads, drag strips,

dinos, and decades of passionate engineering.

In the wake of Hasegawa's passing,

HKS faced a critical question.

How does a legacy brand stay relevant

without losing its soul?

Their answer was not to retreat from innovation,

but to double down, to bridge old-school passion

with new age responsibility.

They refined emissions-aware tuning

and developed bolt-on packages for new enthusiast platforms,

including turbo kits for vehicles like the Toyota 86

and hybrid-compatible ECUs.

Even as HKS continues expanding

into commercial and eco-focused technologies,

it remains committed to the tuning community

that built its reputation.

Demo cars, time-attacked builds,

and retro-inspired liveries still draw crowds

at track days and expos,

showing that the brand's connection

to its heritage remains strong.

With decades of experience

and a deep foundation and innovation,

HKS is prepared for whatever comes next,

whether that's electric platforms,

new performance technologies,

or the next generation of car culture.

The company's history informs its direction,

but its focus is firmly on the future.

And that is the story of HKS.

So cool.

Really good one.

That was a good one.

They never, like, there was never like a downturn

in innovation or anything.

No, it's always just like,

they're breaking moves to the next thing,

they're breaking records,

they're developing new products.

Yeah, and as much as you might hate,

like, environmental regulations,

it is cool that they even considered that

and developed technology

to kind of mitigate that kind of stuff.

My favorite.

Don't let that distract you

from the fact that Hector's running three-spoon engines.

Okay, different company.

My favorite recent HKS car is the GR Yaris

that they built with a huge, like, wide body on it.

I think it makes like 600 horsepower or something

from its three-cylinder turbo,

which is super cool.

Wow.

Yeah, that's really cool.

I would still love to drive a GR Yaris.

That's a must.

There's a warranty on that engine.

Okay, guys, before we go,

some big news for PASCAS.

So these next two episodes after this one

are going to be the last one,

the last episodes in our current format.

We are making a big change next year.

You might have heard that big three

were changing the format.

We are also changing the format for PASCAS

and we are super duper excited.

If you liked this episode

and our previous episode on Kinamutsu Takahashi,

we are doing instead of weekly PASCAS episodes,

we are shifting to a seasonal format.

Our first season is going to be on the golden age

of the Japanese automotive industry.

We're going from the 60s into present day

and our goal with this series

is to give you everything,

like the whole story

on how the Japanese auto industry came to be

and how it became such a powerhouse.

It is really exciting stuff.

We've been working really hard on it.

We have really great writers and researchers on this,

crafting this narrative.

It's going to be amazing.

We're just stoked.

We've been doing this show for almost six years now.

It'll be six years.

No, it's actually past six years.

September was six years.

We've gone for six years every single week,

maybe missing two or three weeks here and there,

but we've been just grinding every week

and we want to do something bigger,

more immersive and something closer to our hearts.

So we're doing this very immersive,

season long arc about JDM

and we're super excited.

Like we said on the big three,

it's like we love doing podcasts.

It's just that we want to refocus

what we love about doing our show

and this is how we are going to stay and love doing this.

I love running into bands of past guys,

specifically when you guys come up and say,

hey, I've been listening to Pac-Tas forever.

It's like, I just feel like we owe you guys a lot, you know?

And if Pac-Tas was a baby,

he would be in a second grade right now.

I just feel like we owe you guys a lot

and I just want to make sure that you guys feel

that we are still loving what we do on the show

and this next evolution of the show,

I think is really going to like ensure that.

And we're just all really excited about it.

I'm stoked to see it.

And that's the key is like being stoked on it.

And, you know, I was stoked to do these episodes,

but I'm also very, very stoked to like make that next leap

for past guys.

And what a better way to end how we started with Ferrari.

That's right.

We've never done the history of Ferrari

other than its context with Ford.

That's right.

So our last two episodes,

rounding out episode 318 and 319

are going to be the history of Ferrari.

Crazy, crazy, man.

So exciting stuff.

Again, a little nerve-wracking, nervous,

but I think the fact that we're bodied on this

and just super stoked on it is a really good start.

So thank you guys so much for listening.

We'll see you next week with the start of our Ferrari 2

parter. Follow Joe at Joe G Webber.

Follow Jimmy at Russell Jimmy J.P.

Jimmy's got a really cool Miata build going on.

Also, just, you know, follow his life.

Thanks for having me on these two.

It was great course, dude.

These were really fun.

Big thank you to our writer this week, Anthony Harden,

Jr., who's now hard at work on crafting

that next season of PASCAS.

Thank you to Edgar, Audrey, and you guys listening.

We'll see you next time.

All right.

Bye-bye.

Bye.

Hey, Ryan Reynolds here, wishing you a very happy

half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile

is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited.

To be clear, that's half price, not half the service.

Mint is still premium, unlimited wireless for a great price.

So that means half day.

Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch.

Up from payment of $45 for three month plan,

equivalent of $15 per month required.

New customer offer for first three months only.

Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network's busy.

Taxes and fees extra, see mintmobile.com.

At Arizona State University, we're

bringing world-class education from our globally acclaimed

faculty to you.

Earn your degree from the nation's most

innovative university online.

That's a degree better.

Learn more at asuonline.asu.edu.

Holiday wish hotline, go.

Make my Sunday football the ultimate experience.

TCL's QM8K QD mini LED is the real MVP.

Ultimate brightness, ultimate black levels

for the ultimate experience.

Picture's so clear you can almost taste the turf.

Don't overthink it.

Lock in the ultimate experiences

with epic savings and undeniable bragging rights

all season long.

Get it while supplies last.

TCL, official TV partner of the NFL.

Bigger, brighter, better holidays.

Select models, limited time, see site for details.

How Japan’s Fastest Cars Were Built in a Cowshed

About this episode

Datsun Fairlady Z

Mazda Cosmo

Request an Explanation

Want to learn more?

Help improve this episode

More from Past Gas