Wangan Warrior!

Wangan, short for Isewangan is an express way in Japan famed for its illegal and dangerous street racing. It was so popular that there was even a manga based on the life of a Wangan racer. Wangan racer's were known for their fast cars and dangerous tactics. The cars were not built for show, but just outright speed! 

And ever since the time I set my eyes on Kurt's car it reminded me of just that! It had a certain raw appeal to it that we haven't seen before over here on OH! 

 And to capture that rawness we had to venture deep into Colombo in the wee hours of the morning! 

Kurt's labour of love has been a project that has spanned many years. His focus was one main thing. And that was to make one hell of a fast car for the street! 

Mind you this is his daily driver. And he has injected the correct amounts of mods with his own personal flavour that makes this car a very unique one. 

 Simple and subtle was the way to go with this one! 

 The colour alone sets this car apart! In proper Wangan style its both brash and noticeable! 

 The lifted bonnet and the cold air intake are proper JDM ingredients. 

 Stance has been improved thanks to TIEN suspension all round.

Gotta love the yellow driving lamps! If you were wondering that is a real carbon fibre hood. Just that an unfortunate accident left it with a big dent and a wrap has been used to cover it up! 

Just look at that face! Sure does mean the business. The black bumper makes a world of a difference to the looks of this car! Imagine seeing that in your rear view mirror, I'd give way immediately! 

Just like those street racers in Japan who like to keep things simple, Kurt has opted for some simple light weight wheels. 

 Would have been cooler if they were a mismatched set but for now these would suffice! 

 The wheels were wrapped in some grippy rubber.... 

 What a rear end eh? 

 This is what most of us will be seeing. Some thing that I really like on this car is that duck tail spoiler! 

 Compliments the egg shaped looks of the EG hatch very well! 

That subtle rawness continues on in the interior! It was much more like a race car to be honest. The only luxury in here is the stereo! 

It had a more race car appeal to it than a street car. Much like the Wangan warriors, Kurt only had the bare essentials inside. There is no back seat or upholstery. Much of the car is stripped. Even the air conditioner has been stripped to save weight!  

 Kurt has opted for a sweet suede OMP deep dish steering wheel! 

Short shift kit makes for some slick gear changes! Note the race car appeal in this shot... 

The Bandanna wrapped parking brake lever was just the icing on the cake! Thats just proper I must say. Fun fact, Wangan racers always wore a Bandanna to cover their face to avoid recognition. Kurt is this why this is here???? 

 WRX seats in a Honda? Nice touch this is! 

 Now the engine is what is most important in a car like this! 

 I would love to spill the details on what has been done on the engine but I have been sworn to secrecy! 

The D15 SOHC VTEC engine has been heavily worked on to produce some good performance figures. Engine details will be posted later when the time is right! And the reason why we aint revealing such things will be mentioned later on too! 

But a few things that I can note down is that, the huge gaping hole in the front bumper is actually an authentic Cold Air Intake. Makes this engine sound really mean. 

We probably would have woken up Colombo that Saturday morning with the sound of this booming against the walls of the buildings. You could actually hear it echo in the distance! 

Its nice to see something like this creeping around town though in the early hours of the day! Sure did get some interesting looks from passers by! 

I shall leave you with this one. Big Thank You to Kurt Chavez for letting me shoot his car! Hope you guys enjoyed the post. More epic cars are to come your way in the weeks to come!

By Charith Kulasiri