If you check out my profile you’ll see that I now own one of Ken Nomura’s Blitz built Skyline ER34. Whereas my car was built to promote the D1 Street Legal Series, this S15 was built as a back up car for the D1GP 2004 season. It was the last season that Ryuji Miki competed in a S15 even after he won the that year’s D1GP championship. For the 2005 season, the S15 was replaced by a Nissan Z33 with a RB26 transplant that debuted at the Irwindale Speedway season opener in California..
Unfortunately the new Z33 never got to the same level as the S15 with Ryuji Miki behind the wheel; he had a very poor season with it and eventually lost his ride with the team.
I saw this S15 run for the first time in England when the D1GP circus came to the Silverstone circuit in 2005 (it was the car’s only outing that year). It was part of the D1GP UK exhibition match were Ryuji won after a close battle with Team Orange’s Nobushige Kumakubo. For me those years were the best of the D1GP, no politics, just a bunch of outstanding Japanese drifters that showed the world who was best.
Back to the star of this feature; the Top Secret S15. This car is now available for purchase through Global Auto (these guys get all
the best cars).
Let’s start at the exterior of the car. The front bumper is designed by Top Secret themselves, they called it the G-Force; it also includes wider front fenders and side skirts. The carbon hood and the front splitter are also made by Top Secret. The mirrors are from Ganador, which are very popular amongst S15 tuners.
For night drifting Top Secret have made sure Ryuji isn’t left in the dark, with a set of Bellof 6000K headlights mounted on the car.
In the rear we see the Top Secret Carbon GT wing mounted on the Yashio Factory carbon trunk. The wide rear fenders together with the rear bumper are made by T&E.
From the side we can see 19″ Volk Racing GT-C rims. Behind the rims you can see the gold brake calipers sourced from a R34 Skyline.
As we all know, Top Secret knows how to build engines. They started with a bare SR20 block and enlarged the displacement with a HKS 2.2 liter kit. For the turbo they went with a modified HKS 3037PRO-s. A Tomei camshaft ensures that the throttle response is nice and fast. The exhaust manifold is a one off made by Top Secret. The engine pushes out 550ps
Cooling is also a major issue with drift cars; they always go sideways so it is very important to get as much cooling as possible. Top Secret went with a V-mount setup and used three electric fans. ARC provided the oil cooler and the triple core intercooler.
For the fuel system they went with SARD 1000cc injectors and fuel injector. Top Secret also added an extra fuel pump and fuel delivery pipe to the front of the car.
From looking at the interior, you wouldn’t have noticed that this a hardcore drift car. You can see all the different Defi gauges for exhaust temp, oil pressure, oil temp and water temperature. HKS delivers the F-Con and the EVC-4 boost controller.
Recaro SR-G bucket seats make sure that Ryuji wont slide through the car while drifting. The signature steering wheel is made by Top Secret, you can see them in all the Top Secret built cars. A real drift-car can’t do without a cage, so Top Secret went shopping at Cusco for a 12 point rollcage
-Jeroen Willemsen