From VeilSide to Yellowbird Automotive Passion Ignites
February 23, 2025
Five Minutes With Hironao Yokomaku Of VeilSide
Hironao Yokomaku, founder of VeilSide, has been shaping Japanese car culture since his teenage years. VeilSide gained international recognition with Han’s RX-7 in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, but the company had already established itself as a leading Japanese tuner known for extreme performance and distinctive aesthetics.
Inspired by the 1960s Batmobile, VeilSide created “complete” car packages with sculpted aero. Despite early success and global influence, the company faced challenges in the mid-2000s due to overwhelming demand and market saturation.
Yokomaku-san’s tuning journey began with motorcycles and evolved into building Japan’s fastest Nissan S30 Fairlady Z. He founded VeilSide to showcase his skills and create visually striking, high-performance cars. Now, Yokomaku-san aims to remind the world of VeilSide’s 35-year history.
VeilSide’s designs have appeared throughout the Fast & Furious franchise, but the company struggled to keep up with demand, leading to financial difficulties. Yokomaku-san hopes VeilSide’s legacy will continue to inspire future generations, uniting high-level technology, beautiful design, and a love for cars.
Daniel Arsham’s Eroded Porsche 911: A Petrolhead’s Encounter With Art
Daniel Arsham’s Blue Calcite Eroded Porsche 911 sculpture unexpectedly blends automotive culture with contemporary art at London’s Moco Museum. The New York artist, known for “future relics,” presents a decaying 1980 Porsche 911 SC, reimagined with blue calcite and quartz crystals replacing eroded sections. While Porsche 911s are celebrated globally, this exhibit highlights the car’s timeless design and cultural significance beyond performance, showcasing its enduring beauty even in a state of imagined decay.
Key Grip: Peugeot 205 GTI
David Steca, a filmmaker, needed a daily driver that could handle camera gear and tough filming rigs. Instead of a modern, reliable car, he chose a 40-year-old Peugeot 205 GTI, a working-class hero from the 1980s known for its wild streak and lift-off oversteer.
The Peugeot wasn’t in good shape when he bought it; the brakes were seized, and the engine was a mess. David dove into restoring it, spending late nights sourcing original parts and tinkering with the engine. His goal wasn’t perfection, but dependability, balancing preservation with necessary replacements. The 205 GTI, with its analog controls and engaging driving experience, demanded dedication, rewarding those who truly understood it.
Now, the Peugeot is not only David’s daily driver but also his on-set workhorse. It embodies his life philosophy: letting things unfold naturally, trusting the process, and knowing that the end result will speak for itself.
Evolution of an Icon: The MZR 240z
The Datsun 240Z wasn’t a problem, it was the solution to overpriced European sports cars and the perception of Japanese cars as mere transportation. It was Japan’s statement, embodying continuous improvement (kaizen) with its beautiful design and spirited inline-six. While time has shifted expectations, the Z’s magic remains, inspiring enthusiasts like Rahail Tariq. Frustrated by the lack of refinement in the classic Z restoration scene, Rahail founded MZR Roadsports. MZR doesn’t just restore Zs, they refine and improve them, asking what Nissan could have achieved with unlimited resources. Their Evolution models feature carbon-fiber bodies and a potent RB 3.4L straight-six, honoring the Z’s legacy by enhancing its performance and driving experience.
This Alfa 6C Aprile is a semifreddo torpedo in a tuxedo
Corrado Lopresto showcased the Lopresto Collection’s 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Spider Aprile at The ICE St. Moritz. This concours event, held on a frozen Swiss lake, featured the Alfa, which began as a Vittorio Jano design in the 1920s, evolving into the 6C 1750 by 1929.
Giovanni Battista Aldo Barabini acquired this Gran Sport variant in 1931, enjoying its supercharged engine and Zagato bodywork. After several owners and a racing stint, Giuseppe Aprile’s body shop revamped it in 1938 with a design by Count Mario Revelli de Beaumont. Hidden away during World War II, the car remained largely original.
A meticulous two-year restoration, aided by the Politecnico of Milano University, revived its original white and blue color scheme. Since 2012, the Lopresto Collection has presented this Alfa Romeo at concours events worldwide, earning numerous awards. It now graces the ICE St. Moritz, ready to impress judges with its beauty and performance.
Will this time-capsule RUF Yellowbird really sell for 6 million dollars?
A pristine RUF CTR Yellowbird, poised to break records, headlines Gooding’s Amelia Island Auction on March 6th. This specific model cemented RUF’s status through Stefan Roper’s Nürburgring exploits, showcasing tail-out action before “drifting” became a motorsport term.
Estimated to fetch over $6 million, this CTR, the second model after Alois Ruf Jr.’s leadership, debuted in 1987. Built on a narrow-bodied 911 Carrera 3.2 for optimal aerodynamics, RUF replaced steel panels with aluminum, shedding over 400 pounds. Further modifications included rain gutter removal, aerodynamic mirrors, composite bumpers, widened arches for 17” Speedline alloys, and a passenger-side oil-filler door.
The heart of the Yellowbird is a hand-assembled 3.4-liter, air-cooled flat-six engine with twin turbochargers, intercoolers, and Bosch Motronic fuel injection. Power was rated at 463 hp, adjustable via a cabin-mounted boost knob.
Chassis 026, with under 1,700 km, stands as one of the finest CTRs. One of nine originally finished in yellow, this Blossom Yellow example features the sought-after Leichtbau package and a rare RUF-developed 6-speed manual. This Yellowbird is practically unbeatable among RUF’s creations and Porsches in general.