THE REAL FORZA HORIZON IN TOKYO

The Real Forza Horizon in Tokyo

Chasing down an immaculate Porsche 935 tribute car on the streets of Tokyo.

15 years ago, Yuki rescued an almost completely standard 1981 930 Turbo. This empty, rolling chassis, had no engine or transmission, which made it the perfect subject for Yuki-san to begin building into what you see now: a fully converted 935 K3 tribute.

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Yuki left no stone unturned, giving this forgotten Porsche a second life. To me, this car is the epitome of Japanese Porsche tuning, and it put one hundred times more smiles on passing faces than anything I’ve had the chance to shoot here in Japan.

Inspired by magazine covers of Nakai-san’s RWBs, Yuki made the jump into his first 930 Turbo at just 21 years old. Two years later, he unfortunately lost it in an accident. Then he moved on to this driveline-free chassis.

This isn’t a big-name restomod or an open-chequebook workshop project, it was entirely built by Yuki at home in his Tokyo garage. From the K3-inspired body kit, to the carbon-kevlar roof and 3.2L turbo engine, Yuki has spent the better part of the last 15 years tweaking the car to create his rendition of the perfect street-legal Le Mans machine.

Even on our drive Yuki continued to fine-tune the car’s map, each red light a chance to adjust the idle, every clear straight an opportunity to dial in the power delivery. Hanging out the rear sits the external waste gate, and yes, it sounds exactly as wild as it looks.

To me, this car is the epitome of Japanese Porsche tuning, and it put one hundred times more smiles on passing faces than anything I’ve had the chance to shoot here in Japan.

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The Real Forza Horizon in Tokyo image text 2 image

This isn’t a big-name restomod or an open-chequebook workshop project, it was entirely built by Yuki at home in his Tokyo garage.

Chatting with Yuki and spending time around the car, it’s obvious that a project like this is never truly finished. There is always something left to do. When I asked Yuki what was next for the car, he said he plans to return it to its original purple paint with a fresh livery. I look forward to spending some time with the car again once this is complete!