I see this thing pretty often in the avenues:







Stan

 

Damn must be as fast as Brian O'Connor!

 

I think it could look decent with proper suspension and wheel set-up. Maybe minus the bright orange paint.

 

fixed

just noticed the license plate on the dash, that guy is living la vida 90s

 

2 of the big bottles

 

I was thinking the exact same thing

 

Pretty much this. There's a relatively small niche of enthusiasts that try to modify their own domestic (Japanese) cars to look like the rice rockets here -- think Altezza lights, rebadging Toyotas to Lexuses and Hondas to Acuras, etc.

Bosozoku (暴走族) are actually car- and motorcycle-oriented gangs. The cars themselves that they usually prefer to drive are called "shakotan" (シャコタン or 車高短 = lit. "car high low", but essentially "modified ride height car") or "kaidoh racers" (街道レーサー = lit. "street racer"). It's important to make the distinction; it's essentially the same as the fact that not everyone who rides a Harley is necessarily a Hell's Angel. Shakotan/kaidoh racer enthusiasts that aren't bosozoku members often form car clubs called kyusha-kai (旧社会 = lit. "vintage car club"). That, and real, criminal bosozoku are generally rare these days; the trend fell out style a long time ago. It's more nostalgia than anything nowadays (there's even a rock group called Kishidan that pays tribute to old-time bosozoku and rock n' roll! The original bosozoku rockers were Yokohama Ginbae and The Carols, but they're all old men now haha!)

Agreed, it's definitely unique and a little slice of Japanese automotive history.

That's the whole point -- to grab attention!

 

I personally find Boso. They are very interesting, and make you think how the person came up with the idea in the first place.

To add on, these people actually spend time and money on their cars, where ricers in america just seem to duct tape everything and buy ebay bumpers.

 

yes
+1
with 2" drop and 3" spacers

 

LOL. I used to always see this at west portal on the way to work. I believe the guy that owns it works at some small grocery store there.

Suprised it looks a little different because he used to have a ****load of stickers from aftermarket parts companies on there.

 

The original inspiration for kaidoh racers came from the aero seen on FIA Group A touring cars and Group B rally cars, combined with some contemporary street styling cues. Hence the term itself: kaidoh = street, so it's a racer (that is, race car) for the street. As the trend went on, a lot of owners wanted to one up each other and an "arms race" of sorts started; after a little while, things just became downright outlandish. You can say the trend really took off thanks to attention whoring.

And goddammit, it's not "boso", that just means "violent/explosive running" in Japanese!

 

Oh thats pretty cool.

And i should know this since i grew up learning Japanese!

 

In case anyone was wondering what the bosozoku lifestyle was all about... (with period accurate music!)


P.S. i-Club does not condone any exhibitions of speed on public roads, even if they occurred 5,000 miles away and over 25 years ago. Thank you.

 

 

carorra