27/05/2026
From the early 1990s, I was involved in N1 endurance racing, Civic one-make racing, and Super Taikyu.
One of the turning points was being given the opportunity to drive the RAZO Civic in the 1992 N1 endurance series.
That experience eventually led to a long relationship with RAZO, including support for the C-West RAZO Silvia program, the development of the 350ZRS aero kit, and later personal sponsorship during my Nürburgring 24 Hours entries in 2011, 2012, and 2013.
In 2005, most aftermarket aero parts were still made primarily from FRP.
For the 350ZRS, the front and rear bumpers were produced in urethane, the side spoilers in ABS, and the rear wing in FRP.
My role was mainly to bridge communication between Polyphony Digital and RAZO, while also carrying out the high-speed testing.
The prototype aero shapes were refined gradually through repeated adjustments to the surfaces, proportions, and edge lines.
Once the prototype was completed in 2005, Car Mate rented the high-speed test course at the Japan Automobile Research Institute, where I carried out real-world aerodynamic testing with the Fairlady Z fitted with the aero kit.
During testing, once speeds exceeded around 160 km/h, the rear wing produced too much rear downforce, causing the front end to become light and unstable.
On public roads, there may be little reason to pursue stability beyond those speeds.
But for RAZO, Polyphony, and Opera Performance, the idea was always the same:
If we were going to build something, it needed to function properly.
The rear wing was revised and tested again.
After further development, the aerodynamic balance remained stable even beyond 200 km/h, without the front end lifting, and the kit was eventually released for production.
