VIDEO: Jay Leno drives the Fugu Z

Jay Leno Sung Kang Fugu Z

Watch two car cultures collide as Jay Leno and Sung Kang (along with his “legit Asian” buddies) discuss the award-winning Fugu Z. The car may not be everyone’s cup of matcha — one of the builders has an interesting definition of “period correct” — but one thing is undeniable: it’s the first high-profile resto-mod 240Z in North America, a perfect storm of top-of-the-game craftsmanship, wow-factor styling, and a pitch-perfect deployment of marketing strategy. As Leno’s video proves, it’s taking the mainstream car world by storm in the vein of a Boyd Coddington or Chip Foose custom, a first for a Japanese classic. It’s also built with incredible skill and love, a global community of car enthusiasts coming together. 

And it looks bitchin’ at speed.

For more on the Fugu Z and how the project came together, check out the JNC Profile on this car.

Source: Jay Leno’s Garage

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19 Responses to VIDEO: Jay Leno drives the Fugu Z

  1. Steve says:

    Nice video; loved watching the car “in action”…

    But…

    I know Jay Leno is a car guy and all but his driving, well… kind of sucks. He is all over the place. Drifting between lanes, cutting off cars, changing lanes to the left with right turn signal blinking. I expect more from him…

    • Steve says:

      Also, is there another engine not shown in the video? Leno was asking about how much power the twin turbo makes. I only saw IRTBs…

      • Charlie says:

        To answer that question the rb26 motor only came turbo in older skyline GT-R’s and was a AWD MOTOR ,so they converted it to Naturally/asperirated and ran that ITB SETUP and used the rb25 transmission to covert it to rear wheel drive ,some of the old skylines that weren’t GTR’s were rear wheel drive and ran a rb25 turbo and no turbo setup

      • mike99mccarthy says:

        after they explained how they NA’ed an rb26dett jay was asking what it kind of power the normal TT version makes

      • Happy Face says:

        It’s the same engine. Sung decided to go N/A on a motor that was originally twin turbo. That is why Leno asked how much power the twin turbo made.

      • Steve says:

        Oh. That makes sense. I must have skipped over that part of the conversation. I was FF’ing a lot so that I could hear the engine. LOL…thanks everyone.

    • wantyerknobbies says:

      how dare you! the opening footage is not bungling missed shift but him just being a showoff revving in between shifts …. hahaha

    • Brian says:

      That’s too funny, because I was seeing the same thing. Lots of drifting, but not the good kind.

  2. alvin says:

    this is a great time for Datsuns! First the Hakotora and now FuguZ on Leno!
    We had a great time watching both in person at SEMA. It is interesting to see the differences between the OS Giken car and FuguZ…the OS car runs 255/40/17s unflared while the FuguZ runs 225s under its curvy Rocketbunny kit!

  3. Jim Daniels says:

    Great Video of a great car. Love what it looks like and how it came out. Love the fact that it is gaining all of this attention. It is good for all the z people. I question Ben’s statement “but one thing is undeniable: it’s the first high-profile resto-mod 240Z in North America, a perfect storm of top-of-the-game craftsmanship, wow-factor styling, and a pitch-perfect deployment of marketing strategy”.

    Not to diminish the build and vision that Mr. Kang has, I like his taste in Z style and his description of a Asian woman with added protein. I have use similar descriptions of women and cars and can see what he is talking about. But, I cant help but be jealous of all this attention that I would refer to as the Hollywood affect. I am glade the Hollywood effect is there, it is bringing popularity to Nissan and our cars. Thanks for that. Below is a short list of Z cars I could quickly think of that did not receive the Hollywood affect.

    Jared’s build page
    http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/74216-the-best-darn-240z-resto-mod-i-can-come-up-with/
    My build page
    http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/83577-the-build-of-a-240z-by-310z/

    Z Car Garage OS Giken car and Rob’s personal RB powered Z
    Z Therapy has a nice tipple SU induction Z car.
    I remember meeting a group of brothers of Asian decent in So-Cal that had an amazing RB powered Z, an L-6 Z car and a 510 all orange as I recall.
    There are many others. Ben and Jay thanks for the coverage.

    • Ben Hsu says:

      I’m not saying it was the first resto-mod Z. The key phrase in my description was “high-profile.” Just like people were building hot rods and muscle cars long before Boyd Coddington and Chip Foose came along. But they used their style, marketing genius and, of course, build skill to create masterpieces that became almost household names. I can see the FuguZ (it even has a catchy name!) being the first in a line of resto-mod J-tin. But perhaps we’ll have to wait for Kang to finish his Maverick…

  4. MikeRL411 says:

    I tregret the day that J Leno’s producers wlll find out about the 1967 RL 411 SSS sedans, It’s hard enough finding more or less authentic repair parts as it is! As an original owner of an RL411 I have had to use my imagination and an recent JCCS long absurd cash offertime to keep my “hobby”. The “Right Price” is utterly dependent on the circumstance prevalious really You can get the offer of your most extravagant dreams or the value of it’s true collecot / restorerd value rhathered than its value in scrap metal on the same posting reply’S REPLY! There were about 4000 original RL411 sedans produced for the US and Canadian markets, so I fear that this is the next rare export rarity! I don’t care, my RL411 is not for sale! My son will be the second owner!

  5. Clay says:

    Wait! I think I’ve known this car since it was new. Was it originally Air Force Colonel Gordon Howell’s car? What a fitting rebirth!

  6. Glenn says:

    Beautiful build! The only thing I wish is for Jay Leno to go away! He is an awkward interviewer and his twisted desire to drive someone elses car poorly while they ride shotgun is beyond me?! Do any of you JNC’ers want to start a new show that can feature beautiful j-tin with great interviews and production value but without Mr. Leno? Something akin to the Petrolicious vids, which have their flaws but let the owners and their cars shine, just with a JNC focus!

    • wantyerknobbies says:

      apples & oranges aka trump vs. bernie

    • RdS says:

      ..I think you may be in the minority regarding the driving. Seems like a standard ‘test drive’ with a couple cameras thrown in!
      As for Jay Leno and his interviewing? I’ve definitely always found his interviewing style fairly clunky, and somewhat frustrating that he doesn’t *quite* seem to take on board what the other person it saying. As if he’s thinking a little ahead, not focusing on the other person’s responses.. and often cuts them off or asks already-answered questions as a result.
      But absolutely regardless of this, he is a TRUE enthusiast. He seems genuinely interested in anything mechanical, and I love that he does these videos at all!
      I’ll continue to watch every single one he puts up! 🙂

  7. AE86 Racer says:

    “Some Japanese girl eating chicken, steak and doing squats.” LMAO

  8. Serg says:

    Finally got around to watching this – that was a long time to talk about not a lot of car…

    “Wilwood are great they do all my cars – what’s the problem with the brakes?”
    “Uh, that’s a Greddy question”

    Something tells me this will be for sale in the not too distant future…

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