Admit it. We've all done it. You get home, plop your potato on the couch, and fire up the remote. Somewhere in your erratic pushing of buttons you stop and oogle at the machines; typically Speed, Discovery, or TNT. And somewhere in those years wasted in front of the tube, you've undoubtedly crossed a few documentaries on the creation of an iconic car. Love or hate the topic vehicle, most can agree it makes for good television. Nine times out of 10 the show will speak heavily of the "engineering feat" of say an RX-7, a Skyline, or chassis/suspension-wise, a Lotus 2-Eleven. But, every once in a blue moon an OEM will turn the tables, ask the design department to administer a car into fruition (think T-bird or Eunos Roadster), and call it a work of art.
Import Tuner has certainly seen a share of geek creations that run great, but look like crap; the opposite can be said about works of art: but what if the artist armed with the iconic S13, backed by engineers, built a car that does both equally well? Enter Kei Miura, and his company TRA-Kyoto; short for Top Resin Art. In a logic-driven society like Japan, the office place rarely fosters art; it is outsourced. TRA-Kyoto is responsible for many of the aero and wheel designs of BMW tuners NKB and Schmieden, drift-tuner Super-made, V-Dub tuner Newing, Car Studio D-Max, VIP tuner B-Spark, famed tuner Tommy Kaira, and many anonymous OE manufacturers.
People like Miura are rare in this society...equally offensive as Japan is repressive. We think you'll agree the S13 that graces these pages is just as graceful as it is offensive; gracefully offensive. Don't get me wrong, Kei is as polite as any other island inhabitant when spoken to, but his daily costume and outlaw S13 imply that life has been just as colorful. Take this self admission:
"Have you ever seen 300 cars with no license plates and people in Jason (Friday the 13th) masks, tearing up the Hanshin Expressway?"
"No. 700 Yen barely buys you a whole night of street racing!" I counter.
"What are you talking about? We have masks and no license plates! We blow right through the toll gates!"
How gangsta is that? ...But enough about Miura. TRA-Kyoto's bosozoku-styled S13 starts with his signature exterior, branded "Rocket Bunny," from 6666 Customs. TRA-Kyoto fitted the 18-year-old Silvia with its aggressive front and rear bumpers, side skirts, rear flared fenders, ducktail, and my favorite, the front flared fenders with gunnery inspired holes. Night vision is delegated to Kameome (Turtle eye) clear headlights.
In true rebel-street-racer style, flash is limited to the exterior, but what it lacks in looks it backs in brawn. Our outlaw artiste enlisted the help of D2 Motor Works to tune the SR20DET. A testament to the OE quality, Miura rebuilt the SR20DET with slightly oversized Nissan pistons and put a mild street port on the head. D2 tuned the machine to a respectable 420 hp at 1.4-bar of boost, suggesting the use of a Blitz K3T turbo with a Nakaoki intercooler and titanium piping. Achieving these horsepower figures maxes out the OE airflow meter, so it was ditched for one out of a Z32. Fuel to match is entrusted via 800cc Sard injectors and a Nismo fuel pump. Engine temps were a concern, thus a Nakaoki three-row radiator was installed. The aforementioned Blitz turbo is fed via a Miura hand-welded stainless manifold and is matched with an HKS muffler and piping.