There was a comment here somewhere the other day about fart cannons on Japanese cars. That reminded me of the insane exhausts that are popular among a particular set of Japanese car customizers. Bōsōzoku literally means “violent running tribe”, and got its start in postwar Japan, with outlaw motorcycle gangs that would terrorize folks with open exhausts and reckless driving. The “Bōsōzoku Style” has become a distinct type of automobile modifications, which include highly exaggerated body kits and the bazooka exhausts. Love this out-there style; reminds me of the really wild days of US customizing, the Rat Fink era. I picked a few stills here, as well as a video, which is best after about half-way through, when the dubbed music ends, and the real music is audible. (Update: the correct Japanese term for this style is Shakotan, but it’s become to be known commonly as Bōsōzoku Style in the West, anyway )
Bōsōzoku (note spelling!) are bikers only. They’re still around, albeit in much smaller numbers than in the 1980s, thanks to aggressive crackdowns. Some of them are just punks and some of them are loosely mafia-affiliated, but they’re mostly just agitators who fight amongst themselves.
This car style is called shakotan. It can be seen in its heyday in a 1984 manga and related 1987 live-action movie called Shakotan Boogie.
Yes, I farted on the spelling. But numerous sites, wikipedia,(Bōsōzoku also have a distinct style of car modification, eponymously called “bōsōzoku style”.[4] These cars are often modified with large exhaust pipes, bright paint, and large aero kits, the latter modelled on Group 5 “Special Production Cars” of the 1970s.[5] Also popular are oil coolers or less commonly large turbo or supercharger intercoolers with highly polished tubing, usually mounted in a prominent position in the front bumper.) etc…all refer to Bosozoku Style as being a particular type of car customizing. Maybe everybody has it wrong?
http://pinktentacle.com/2010/07/bosozoku-style-rides/
They do! Blame my friend Vadim, who introduced the term to English-speaking car forums in ’05.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1779991-I-m-Back-Part-VI…-Bosozoku-Daikoku-Futo-PART-3!-Yes-3!-Yes-a-new-post!-(56k-sandwich-time)&highlight=bosozoku
I suppose it’s most correct to say Bosozoku are primarily bikers. The car style is definitely called shakotan in Japanese, though.
I trust your judgement, acknowledge that shakotan is the precise name for them, and ran across the reference to that specific vwvortex thread that had such a huge impact. These things happen, and after a while, they take on a life of their own. I’ll add something to the text. Thanks for the clarification.
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Ha ha ha! “Fart Cannons” – there’s that phrase again – I have nothing more to say!
Where’s Ed Roth when you need him?
I find this rather hideous as I’ve never found the loud fart cans that reside UNDER a car all that great either.
This is just an extreme way of ricing one’s car IMO.
As I understand it, these cars aren’t meant to be taken seriously–they’re more a poke in the eye of their particularly rules-governed and homogeneous society. The “gangs” block traffic, make noise, and generally irritate people, but it’s mostly just for show and for fun.
This is just an extreme way of ricing one’s car
That’s exactly the idea. When you live in a very conformist society, the urge to be different and poke some fun at that is even greater.
I first saw these at the Japanese Classic Car Show in Orange County, CA a few years back and thought it was ….interesting. In that case they were on a trifecta of early Cressida’s of all things.
As an aside, that car show was amazing if you have any interest (or even not much interest) in old (classic) Japanese cars. The abundance of everything from plain perfect condition stockers to modified stuff was mind-boggling. All in a concourse style display on a big lawn. It was a very nice day and I encourage anyone here to go if you ever have the chance. It’s held every fall in Orange County, CA.
And how do the famously strict Japanese police feel about all this?
I only have one question: what happens if it rains?
They get WET
I little drain hole at the bottom would do the trick.
I was hoping one of these idiots would fall out and become a skid mark in the highway. Oh well!
Did you skip being young?
Yikes.
A great illustration of the old saying, “just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD.”
Too bad the crew in the video can’t attend the Peeble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Just having them drive up and down the main drag would be a riot.
Attending the Porsche Parade would also be fun.
Nice contrast to the clowns who get into arguments whether the chalk marks on a restored vehicle are correct because on the day the car was built, Bill Smith was on the assembly line and the chalk mark on the rear end housing was not the way Bill Smith would have done it.
+1000 Especially about the chalk lines part. Puke.
You cannot be serious. People DO this?
I think I would have considered this a whole new level of dumbassery even when I was young. I did some pretty dumb things but this excels.
I had a good laugh!
The traffic dept here would have a field day with these shitokans the pedantic warrant of fitness regs pretty much keep anything like this off the road not to say rice grinders in this style arent about they just dont last long in the wild before being caught.
Now that I’ve gained my composure… this is no worse than back in the ’60’s of guys, me included, jacking or “raking” the rear ends of their cars 2-8 inches to look like a dragster – even if only a tired old 235 six! A buddy who had a real smoker – literally – of a 1959 Impala sports sedan, jacked up in back with slicks – 235 powerglide – that thing was a mosquito fogger until we put a set of rings in it.
Hey, Frank sang it best – youth truly is wasted on the young!
I well remember jacked rear ends on things thay could hardly get out of their own way long shackles that collapsed under cornering loads it was sheer genius NOT but those antics years ago that some of us got up to along with unrestricted engine swaps are long gone the regulations eventually caught up and the list of thou shalt nots is long and all encompassing. glad I was young when I was.
I’ve seen exactly one club of these guys roll through the town in which I live. Alas, I did not get a good look at them, as they were heading in the other direction and the road has tall concrete planters in the median. I’ve actually seen highly modified Chevy Astro vans roaming the streets of Japan much more often, and another time we watched a set of Japanese minivans dressed up like Pikachus and other assorted anime characters (complete with the insane wings and ground effects) fart through town. I love seeing them, they bring a much bigger smile to my face than the expensive Italians driven with alarming frequency through here.
One of the most interesting cars with fart cannons I’ve seen is a baby boomer couple’s Baja Bug convertible w/ Fart Cannons.
The cars don’t impress me, but the remake of the Lion Sleeps Tonight is rather unique. I prefer my macaroni burner, the Fiat 500 Pop.