The platypus-looking Lotus Europa is exactly the kind of oddball foreign car that the Japanese go nuts over. We’ve never see one in the flesh in the US, but we’ve seen several in Nippon. Is that weird?
Anyway, here’s two clips from Circuit Wolf, a live-action adaptation of the manga of the same name. The hero hoons a Europa on public streets while a mean, old, no-fun Jun Q. Law pursues him in a Nissan Fairlady Z patrol car. Though it seems the copper bests him in the first clip, they meet again later in the hills of Hakone and the tables are turned. Watch the videos below the fold.
Damn good find and great touge action! 🙂
The second video reminded me a bit of a particular Trueno vs Levin anime. But in that case the road work did become an advantage for the good guys! 😀
I was just browsing through the other videos of Circuit Wolf, but I really have no idea what opinion I should have about these (nazi) Porsches cornering the Lotus:
On side says that it is hilarious and the other side says it is the most disturbing thing I saw in ages! 😕
Well…..I think the Nazi/German car connotation is a bit unfortunate, but I suspect that it’s not meant to be a swastika, but it’s meant to be one of the older symbols for Buddhism (no, really it is).
….which inexplicably was embraced by some bosozoku bike gangs as a symbol. So I think that the swastikas on the Porsches is meant to signify “outlaw gang” rather than evoke any third reich connotations 🙂
I know of the existence of that sign. It is currently used to indicate the Manji drift, which roughly translate the meaning of it… 😉
However…the manji symbol is the other way around (so counter-clockwise) and un-tilted. The sign used in this video is both clockwise and tilted, clearly the same way the Nazi regime used the symbol.
Also I’ve seen the bosozoku use both symbols. The manji symbol is used to emphasize their way of living and use the clockwise tilted symbol for the other purposes. I do agree that it is plausible that this example had to reflect that other purpose. 😛
(btw: they also love to use the rising sun flag as well)
The sunburst flag is still the Japanese naval ensign.
Like many older Lotus products, the Europa was a fiberglass composite-bodied car… and thus they’re actually more common here in the east than J-tin! Raced-out Europas are a fairly common sight at autocrosses.
Part II:
Too closely matched. Europa would have been in the next prefecture on a road like that. Ouch!
I bought the DVD of this film when I was in Shinjuku last year.
BANPEI, the link to the clip of the Porsches surrounding the Lotus stops just short of the revealing shot.
The Porsche drivers get out of their cars in uniforms that bear a striking similarity to what was being worn by the Germans in Hogan’s Heroes.
The ludicrous climax starts with a field of exotics (2000GT included) having a poorly staged race at Suzuka. Suddenly, half way through a lap, barriers are erected and everyone then leaves the track for bit of swerving at 20mph up in the mountains.
You’d really have to like 70s cars to pay $60 for the DVD.
The steering wheel is on the wrong side of that breadvan! And who’s the driver talking to? So many questions!
I remember when I was younger this guy in my town (Puerto Rico)had one of those Lotuses, he had painted Apache Porsche red and the car looked good, in a weird way. I think it was the only on the island….