How Japan’s Fastest Cars Were Built in a Cowshed
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Company
HKS
HKS is a company from Japan that makes parts to make cars faster and perform better. They're famous for their work with many types of cars, especially Japanese ones.
Car
Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people like because it's dependable and can be made to go faster with upgrades. It's often seen at car meets.
Term
boost
Boost is a term used to describe how much extra air pressure a turbo adds to an engine. More boost usually means more power, but it has to be managed carefully.
Part
supercharger
A supercharger helps an engine produce more power by pushing in extra air, which lets it burn more fuel. This makes the car go faster.
Car
GT-R
The Nissan GT-R is a fast sports car that is very popular among car enthusiasts. It is known for being powerful and has a history of winning races.
Car
Subaru Wrx
The Subaru WRX is a fast car made for racing and driving on different types of roads. It has a powerful engine and all-wheel drive, which helps it handle well in various conditions.
Term
Group A
Group A is a type of racing where regular cars are modified to compete. It helped create some very famous racing cars.
Concept
Fuji Speedway
Fuji Speedway is a well-known racetrack in Japan where many car races happen. It opened in 1965 and helped make car racing more popular in Japan.
Car
Toyota Celica
Car
Datsun Fairlady Z
The Datsun Fairlady Z is a well-loved sports car famous for its speed and sleek design. It's part of a series of cars that many people admire.
Car
Mazda Cosmo
The Mazda Cosmo is a sports car known for its unique rotary engine, which is different from traditional engines. It's famous among car fans for its design and performance.
Car
Nissan Fairlady Z
The Nissan Fairlady Z is a sporty car that has been around since the 1960s. It's loved for being fast and stylish, making it a favorite among car fans.
Term
rotary engine
A rotary engine is a type of engine that works differently from regular engines. Instead of pistons moving up and down, it has a spinning design that helps it run smoothly.
Term
Wangan Midnight
Wangan Midnight is an arcade game where you race cars on a famous highway in Japan. It's all about going fast and tuning your car for better performance.
Car
Mazda Miata
The Mazda Miata is a small, fun sports car that seats two people. It's known for being light and easy to drive, making it popular with car lovers.
Concept
performance potential
Performance potential is about how fast and well a car can drive. Some cars can go really fast and handle turns better than others, which makes them more fun to drive.
Term
OEMs
OEMs are the companies that make the original parts for cars. For example, if you buy a car, the parts that come with it are made by the OEM.
Company
Summit Racing
Summit Racing is a store where people can buy parts to make their cars faster and perform better. They have many options for anyone who wants to upgrade their vehicle.
Company
Edelbrock
Edelbrock is a brand that makes parts to help cars run better and faster. They are especially famous for their engine parts that help cars get more power.
Concept
performance tuning
Performance tuning is when people change parts of their cars to make them faster or handle better. It's common among car enthusiasts and racers who want to improve their vehicles.
Part
turbocharger
A turbocharger helps an engine produce more power without making it bigger. It uses the exhaust from the engine to pull in more air, which helps burn more fuel and creates more power.
Term
turbocharging
Turbocharging is a way to make an engine more powerful by forcing more air into it. This helps the engine burn more fuel and produce more power without needing a bigger engine.
Car
Nissan Skyline L20SU
The Nissan Skyline L20SU is a type of car that many car fans like because it's fast and can be modified easily.
Term
global oil crisis
The global oil crisis was a time when oil prices went up a lot, making people want cars that used less fuel. This changed how car companies made their vehicles.
Term
fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency means how well a car uses fuel. Cars that are fuel-efficient can go further on less gas, which became important during the oil crisis.
Part
bolt-on turbo kit
A bolt-on turbo kit is a set of parts that you can easily attach to your car's engine to make it faster. It doesn't require a lot of complicated changes to the engine.
Term
turbo kits
A turbo kit is a set of parts that helps make a car's engine more powerful by forcing in more air. This can make the car go faster without needing a new engine.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. More horsepower usually means the car can go faster and perform better.
Term
turbo lag
Turbo lag is the time it takes for a turbocharger to start working after you press the gas pedal. It can make a car feel slow to respond at first.
Term
overheating
Overheating happens when a car's engine gets too hot, which can cause problems. It can be due to issues like not enough coolant or a broken part in the cooling system.
Car
Nissan Silvia S15
The Nissan Silvia S15 is a sporty car that many people love to modify and race. It's known for being fun to drive and has a strong following among car fans.
Term
turbo timer
A turbo timer helps protect the turbocharger by keeping the car running for a little while after you park it. This is important because turbochargers can get very hot, and letting them cool down helps them last longer.
Car
Porsche 911 Turbo
The Porsche 911 Turbo is a fast and stylish sports car that started being sold in 1975. It's known for being very powerful and fun to drive, making it a favorite among car enthusiasts.
Car
Jeep Renegade
The Jeep Renegade is a small SUV that can drive well both in the city and on rough roads. It's designed for people who want a car that can do a bit of everything.
Car
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a sporty car that has been around since 1966. It's known for being fast and having a cool design, making it popular among people who love cars.
Car
Toyota Supra
The Toyota Supra is a well-known sports car that became popular in the 1990s. It's famous for being fast and can be modified to go even faster, which makes it a favorite among car fans.
Car
BMW Z4
The BMW Z4 is a fancy sports car that looks great and is fun to drive. It's available as a convertible, which means you can take the roof off, making it a nice choice for sunny days.
Car
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a classic American sports car that started being made in 1953. The C4 model from 1984 is known for its unique look and good performance, making it a popular choice for sports car lovers.
Car
Peugeot 205 T16
The Peugeot 205 T16 is a special car made for racing in the 1980s. It's known for being very fast and winning many races, making it an important part of car history.
Car
Peugeot 205
Car
Audi Quattro
Car
Ford Ranger
The Ford Ranger is a smaller pickup truck that many people use for work and play. It's known for being tough and useful, making it a good option for those who need a truck without it being too big.
Car
Subaru Baja
The Subaru Baja is a mix between a small truck and an SUV that was made from 2003 to 2006. It's known for being able to handle different types of roads and is useful for carrying things.
Car
Mitsubishi Lancer
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, or Evo for short, is a fast version of a regular car called the Lancer. It's popular for its ability to handle well on the road and is often used in racing.
Car
Kia Soul
The Kia Soul is a small car that has a unique boxy shape. It's popular because it's affordable and has a lot of room inside, making it a good choice for many drivers.
Car
Toyota 86
The Toyota Corolla is a very popular car that has been around since 1966. It's known for being reliable and getting good gas mileage, making it a great choice for everyday driving.
Car
Toyota GR Yaris
The Toyota GR Yaris is a fast version of the regular Yaris car, made for racing. It's known for being fun to drive and has a powerful engine, which makes it popular among car lovers.
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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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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,
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I do.
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They'd have a lot to say.
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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.
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About this episode
The episode dives into the fascinating history of H-K-S, one of Japan's most iconic tuning companies, which started in a cowshed near Mount Fuji. Founders Hiroyuki Hasagawa and Gochi Kitagawa revolutionized the Japanese automotive scene by introducing turbocharging to everyday cars when most saw them as mere commuters. The discussion covers H-K-S's innovative spirit, its rise in motorsport, and the cultural impact it has had on car enthusiasts globally. With notable anecdotes about their groundbreaking products and racing successes, the episode highlights how H-K-S has remained at the forefront of automotive performance for decades.
bolt-on turbo kit
boost
Edelbrock
fuel efficiency
Fuji Speedway
global oil crisis
Group A
HKS
horsepower
OEM
Audi Quattro
BMW Z4
Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Corvette
Ford Ranger
Honda Civic
Jeep Renegade
Kia Soul
Mazda MX-5 / Miata
Mitsubishi Lancer
Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin / Shogun Pinin / Montero iO LWB
Nissan Fairlady Z
Nissan GT-R
Nissan Silvia
Nissan Skyline
Peugeot 205 CTI
Peugeot 205 T16
Porsche 911
Subaru Baja
Subaru WRX
Toyota Celica
Toyota Corolla
Toyota GR Yaris
Toyota Supra
Original notes
Thanks to Allstate for sponsoring today’s episode! Click here [https://bit.ly/4n4xlrY] to check Allstate first and see how much you could save on car insurance.
And thanks to Hankook for sponsoring today's video! Click here [https://bit.ly/4nsAXo6] to learn more about Dynapro tires!This episode is also brought to you by Aura Frames. Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/GAS. Promo Code GAS
This week on Past Gas, we’re telling the unbelievable story of how HKS went from wrenching in a shed on a dairy farm to building some of the fastest cars Japan has ever seen. From early turbo experiments to the 300-km/h Celica, the outlaw Zero-R, and record-smashing time-attack monsters, this is how a tiny team under Mount Fuji ended up reshaping JDM and motorsport forever.
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Past Gas
Donut Media
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51:51