Bathed in a beautiful red, this impeccable Silvia S13 sits like the flitting woman of my wildest dreams, alluring, pleasing to the eye, and not without a few marks to show that she knows how to get down. With all musings from a hopeless romantic aside, this sanguine Nissan comes from the motherland, hailing from the Yamagata Prefecture of Japan. This, is Masahiro Sugawa’s Nissan Silvia S13.
Masahiro chose the Silvia due to his personal attachment to the S-Chassis. Taking the classic lightweight front engine, rear wheel drive chassis and adding plenty of tasteful modifications, he built this car for drifting and not simply sitting pretty in a garage. Safe to say that it sees its fair share of time at the track doing what these platforms are arguably best known for doing – sliding around corners at speeds that could make grown men shriek. With this car nearing its “Dirty 30”, the way it can slide through the curvatures of a track make it an impressive feat nonetheless.
For the exterior, Masahiro went with the Vertex Aero, with its neatly aggressive lines that do not bring about an air of ostentatious. The front bumper betrays the boosted engine with the exposed intercooler, while the rear fascia sports a clean rear with only a stark center emblem. The lines of the rear are especially pleasing to look at working in a multi tiered fashion beginning with the rear spoiler sitting neatly parallel with the trunk and the bottom of the rear bumper only broken up by the dual-piped exhaust exit offset to the left. What’s sometimes missed is that since this car has been widened at all four corners, the front and rear bumpers looks to also be widened to account for that. That attention to detail and execution is what can make or break a car when looked at overall.
Within the cabin of the S13 is plenty of machined and neatly welded piping to add an extra degree of safety when participating in motorsports. The stock steering wheel is traded for a Nardi black Leather Steering wheel with contrasting red stitching. It fits thematically with the E-Brake and it’s red aluminum button. Bride provides a comfortable bucket seating to help counteract the lateral Gs.
The engine bay is neat and painted, with plenty of shining piping to betray the fact that this car has some modifications that would make plenty of traffic enforcement officers heavy-handed with the ticketbook. The black engine cover reveals the true age of the car, but sitting next to the shiny polished piping, it is eerily beautiful. Like a old wizened hunter who still can make the shot, it’s like an example of potential nurtured with love using the old with the new to make a 3 decade year old car slide with the best of them.
Heavily worked front and rear fenders are widened to fit massively sized Work Meister M1’s and sit neatly over them, giving the slightest room for error while driving or sliding or slide-driving, I mean drifting. It’s a perfect choice in this application with the changeable 3 piece and timeless look. The front and rear fenders hover ever so slightly above the wheel, as Japan is known for static builds and extreme spring rates, with this one being no different.
Masahiro tells us he has no future plans for this car as the entire thing is modified to his taste and enjoyment. How long that holds true, I’m not sure, as Japan is known as one of the biggest innovators, some new technology may catch his eye, but till then we can enjoy these shots provided by Yuuki Kouno.
