Juicebox in Japan: Top Secret G Corp
After our visit to RWB we pushed on further into the outskirts of Tokyo. One shop which was not too far from RWB is called G Corporation, another on the must-see list for a long time, we had to go. I’ve always been a huge fan of their S-Chassis kits and outlandish paint work.
There was an unusual mix of machinery out front when we arrived, this E36 is probably one of the best looking “drift” examples I have ever seen. The front bumper was a one piece FRP with a molded lip. The Big CRKAI wheels did the trick. Looks to have some funky headlights and a whole other collection of weird stuff, always cool to see a Japanese take on a Euro chassis.
This was perfection, I’m sure the front fitment was more about function but that kit is fantastic, this was one of the views you are greeted to as you walk in the gate.
ONext up is probably one of the reasons why G-Corp is so infamous in the Japanese car scene is because of cars like this. This is Go Nakamura’s personal s15 which appears to be in the middle of a rebuild.
The attention to detail is magical, an Orange weave with some mental graphics, id be very interested to see the final car put back together once again.
I remember seeing an article on this machine a while back on Narita Dogfight and it was quite a memorable machine, cars like this are what make G-Corp such a memorable company.
There was a collection of more tame traditional Japanese machinery in various states surrounding the premises like this early millennium looking s14.
Some other dusty S-chassis sat in the corner which I’d imagine are either for sale or will be used for projects in the future.
This was very cool, I’ve only noticed the Nevada desert hood on the Alto in the background! INCREDIBLE.
A rear shot of this beauty, both the Flash kit for the s13 and 180sx are superb.
I’m not so sure what this little Vitz was about, sporting some D1 graphics on the door!
I wish I shot more photos of this Chaser, the presence this beauty had was like nothing else, such a fantastic art piece spread across its body that just shouldn’t work on paper, but then again this is Japan and they always pull this stuff off.
After a visit to G-Corp we set Google maps to Top Secret. It was getting late and we were getting a little ambitious but decided we could squeeze this place in. Top Secret is probably one of the first ever tuning shops we obsessed over back in the Max Power days when small articles would drip feed us Japanese car culture.
The camera was always on the go, anytime I set it down to take a break I would miss something. You pass so many unexplainable situations that its almost impossible to keep up.
You know you are getting close to a tuning shop too as you start to see more and more modified cars, id imagine the neighborhood surrounding Top Secret is littered with cool cars.
We found a small space beside the shop and parked the van. Just as I jumped out I was greeted by this unusual little Swift. This one appeared to have all sorts of strange bits, a carbon rear boot lid and rear bumper, a lip kit some chunk emotion wheels and a few other tasty bits.
Right next to it was this strange and somewhat depressing sight. A full seam welded GTR shell just casually left on the side of the street.
It looks to have sat here for quite some time as it was looking a little rusty and had gathered all sorts of wildlife. We had been here almost a week but the shock factor continued regardless of how many times we came across sights like this.
Top Secret is one of those places that always comes to mind when we think of Japanese car culture, Smokey sent enough cars over the Europe to make a name for himself with us and those Iconic gold and white machines will be forever burnt into the back of my skull.
The shop itself appeared to be closed which was a little bit of a letdown, it was just after six and we were hoping someone might have been lurking around to premises.
The place itself is fenced off, the walls are high enough too so they really don’t appear to be so keen on people coming in after hours. I’d imagined this place gets a lot of tourist traffic. I climbed up onto the wall for a look and it was exactly what I expected, a sea of skylines neatly parked.
We hadn’t come this far to turn around and go back. The inner curious Irish man came out and I walked in around the back, playing the fool with a camera hoping I’d bump into someone and throw the silly tourist card at them.
The side of the shop has a few gems which are sadly rotting away like this C10 Sedan and a sorry looking GTO. There was no sign of life so I kept creeping in.
I’d love to save this, such a shame but then again who knows what could happen to it.
I wasn’t expecting to see this thing, I had a feeling all of their old early millennium Gold skylines were long gone but this GTC wearing four doors was nicely tucked up against the wall, this had gone through the auctions before but never sold. Lucky for us it was nice to finally see one of these original creations in the flesh.
I loved this simple Trueno with red lines. It appeared to have an FRP hatch, somehow I’m always drawn to the classic early 90s look with these. Some skinny old school wheels and original arches always have that timeless appeal.
I peeped around the corner, I was a little nervous as we were trespassing and I’m not so sure Smokey would be so friendly.
Everywhere we looked there were GTR’s in various states.
I’d be happy with anyone of these. These were probably stock, or customer cars waiting for bits.
I honestly could not get enough of this car, I could imagine this just roaring down the Wangan at a stupid speed. The rear GTR arches too, this thing is 600+ horsepower and its gone through the auctions a few times but remains unsold. This is one of the last cars from that Iconic time we obsess over, a time when Japanese car scene was at its peak.
These two JZA70 Supras were lost in the late eighties/early nineties, you can just imagine these in some dodgy VHS making their way through traffic with the street lights reflecting down on that black silhouette…
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a look inside, I swear we spotted Smokey coming out of a Caravan in his underpants which was at the side of the main building, I hid behind a car when it happened but who knows, after a few minutes of standing around waiting to see if we could catch anyone else we decided to hit the road.
Im sure ill be back again someday, it was great to catch these places because as cool as they have been to us over the years, I get the feeling these superstar tuning shops are starting to wind down.
Till next time…