The Rise Of Japan's Wealthiest Street Racers: Midnight Club

The Rise Of Japan's Wealthiest Street Racers: Midnight Club
In this video, I talk about the rise and fall of Japans most infamous street racing club, The Tokyo Midnight club.

[@gridmeet9602]

Hey guys thank you for all the support, I tried my best to get the info as accurate as possible, it’s hard because there’s not a ton of information on the club. I did pronounce“Wangan” wrong it’s actually ‘Wan-Gan’ not ‘Wagon’ also all the money I talk about is converted into current day $USD. Thank you again and if I get anything wrong PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

[@EpochEmerge]

Please create subtitles for other languages, because storytelling and montage is great. I was surprised that it has lessthan several hundreds k views

[@charliegrace7459]

The whole 'your car had to be this fast' rumour is false. Many members used standard cars.

[@charliegrace7459]

The honda today in the pictures is the RE AMEMIYA BOMEX honda today, and featured a 12A rotary turbo. With around 270hp and a little over 800kg.

[@Hoonagen]

The classified ad thing was a myth. And smoky Nagata shouldn’t be in this. Pics included.

[@RealAnthonyJones]

I mean you could’ve watched wangan midnight anime to get the pronounciation correct. Cool vid reading the misinformation that’s been on Wikipedia for years tho.

[@speedy7892]

The fact some dude in the club was ripping an old 70s Firebird down a Tokyo Highway makes me so happy

[@stevec6965]

that one stood out to me also even though all we got was a one second look at it. love to know the stats on her.

[@speedy7892]

@@stevec6965 wouldn't be suprised if half the components on it was custom or one off. Parts for a classic isn't cheap, especially in Japan. But I guess even millionaires would be able to pull it off

[@jungle_cs]

@@stevec6965 supposedly without modifications it was a 4 speed manual 455 super duty. Based on the car that makes it a 7.5L one and not the 6.6. stock they made somewhere between 350-400 horsepower and they made around 500 pound feet of torque. Given that that motor is known to be capable of taking a beating I'd imagine it was likely putting out at least 600 horsepower

[@markprice2225]

@@jungle_cs if he's driving a 70s Firebird in Tokyo with other 100k cars, depending on what year it was filmed, it very well could have been twin turbo'd like a grand national and tuned to damn near 1000hp. Especially if it's the 7 liter! Tokyo Drift meets Vice City!

[@markprice2225]

@@stevec6965 I went on a trip to the Great Wall of China & then over to Japan, Tokyo to be specific,No Korea im not a monster or stupid. And for some reason everyone drives a Buick! Hand to God. I saw Lacrosses and Lucernes, and every Buick Suv u can name! I saw a Rendezvous with an LS and a 200 shot

[@The_One_Over_There]

i have a huge amount of respect for the Midnight Club mainly due to the fact that they're very cautious about the safety of other road users. i highly appreciate that

[@jakedover5301]

these american thugs in their pos chargers and challengers on the other hand couldnt care less about others safety. people should really start pulling them out of their crappy dodge’s and beating their ass

[@Toby_the_Glen]

Yeah but if they were that serious then get on a racetrack? They have the money and the skills, why risk killing innocent people?

[@The_One_Over_There]

that's true. As far as i know, They went to tracks later on

[@JRHartley-qh6ch]

@@Toby_the_Glen they raced their cars on tracks right from the beginning, in 1982, and continued to do so every year they were active. But if you don’t understand the ‘why’ when it comes to why they raced the streets then you’ll never understand it .

[@westonf3216]

I'd still be cautious about saying that. While they may have had interest in public safety, they were still disliked by the majority of the population due to the potential danger they posed on the street. Yoshida Eiichi ended up committing two acts of fraud and spent time in jail. The Japanese population attributed this to karma.

[@ozdunder]

0:18 wasn't a law, it was a gentlemen's agreement between the Japanese manufacturers. They all came together in a meeting room and agreed upon 276 advertised horsepower. Some cars, to name a few, r34, supra, etc. could make upwards of 300 or more horsepower stock. Most had boost limiters that were relatively easy to remove, ECU's that were easily tuneable, and highly capable and over engineered engines. tl;dr Basically, 276hp was just what they were obligated to advertise for specs and brochures, when in fact several cars were way more capable from factory, pushing upwards of 50 more horsepower with little electronic fiddling. edit: phrasing

[@KwikSC]

Watching this documentary it makes sense now why those motors were over engineered to handle 800hp yet they only made 276.

[@AceMcGhee]

@@KwikSC They only advertised 276. There are rumors that most of the cars Oz is referring to made at least 300 right off the factory line.

[@ozdunder]

@@KwikSC yup

[@qwertyximan]

Thats true.

[@KwikSC]

@@AceMcGhee dont forget the Euro Spec models making 330hp. Wouldnt be surprised if some of those were sold debadged lol

[@greatsol2444]

THIS is where it all began. Tokyo Drift, Midnight Club, Need For Speed- LEGENDARY.

[@intrstn]

Not gonna lie, as a kid that played NFS Midnight Club 1 and 3, I never knew it was based on an actual thing in real life. This is cool as fuck

[@queso_itb]

Not a nfs

[@alby_alby]

It was just "Midnight Club", made by Rockstar games...They're among my favorite Ps2 games

[@odukos9388]

Nah this is so damn underrated, great video hoping to see you have 1 mil someday

[@gridmeet9602]

Someday 🙏

[@bubbaboi2332]

I agree man, he got opportunities tho 👌

[@calebyoung1018]

good story telling! I love this era of Japan and I hope to hear more underground car stories like this one!

[@IamRileyofficial]

I expected you to have wayyy more subscribers, I read 770K subscribers at first and thought it was fitting for the quality of your content, but then realized it was 770. Keep up the quality and you’ll reach really far👍🏽

[@gridmeet9602]

Thank you bro 🙏

[@Squidgy55]

@@gridmeet9602 You just gained one more. Congrats bro 👍

[@jaysim7898]

Hes doubled since this comment lol crazy

[@june.1280]

The legendary Smokey Nagata godfather of Racing.

[@kellan2127]

nah he's far from that sry to pop ur bubbles

[@saltymonke3682]

he's not a godfather of Wangan

[@definitelynotloey]

He's the top tuner of all time. But not the godfather since he never raced.

[@bigbalooga0455]

Great video but at the start of the video you said that Japan put out a law limiting all cars to 276hp while the law was actually put in place by the manufacturers themselves I assume to stop the Japanese government putting in there own law which could limit the HP more and as far as I know the first company to release a car under this rule was Nissan with the 300ZX so mabye they started in but I can't find any information to confirm Nissan started the rule.

[@gridmeet9602]

Yes, your right it was more of a “gentleman’s agreement” not necessarily a ‘law’

[@ミアータ-r5b]

Manufacturers would make cars with much more hp and just say the car had 276hp

[@bigbalooga0455]

@@ミアータ-r5b True some reports say that the R34 could have almost 400hp stock but I think it's closer to 350hp or less

[@MurderHawkMG]

Wow you know what you talking about my guy.

[@Squidgy55]

The Japanese are smart people. Getting in there before government intervention is impressive.

[@Speculativedude]

"How did a fatal crash killing multiple people end it?" Well I think that might be self explanatory....

[@krishanprasad20]

The mid night club didn’t disband, it’s a lie they are still around and racing to this day

[@InsaneFRInsane]

@@krishanprasad20 true an often thought lie that they disbanded

[@lockarcee7184]

@@krishanprasad20 yea somebody who didnt fall for slander

[@rixkstahh1k]

@@krishanprasad20 this is true there are actual mid night club members in japan but not racing they’re just cruising in the highways is what i heard and also the next gen of mid night club

[@shagirani5518]

That golden era of Japan is something i really miss.

[@Galaxi-AT]

Makes me miss playing Midnight Club Dub Edition

[@JustFappIn]

Some new information I havent heard before in this video nice, But the last bit is wrong they have not disbanded instead they took to the race track instead. They also have movies called the shuto trials (only released in the US and JP hmu). They're also very vocal on instagram and you can meet a few of the members at the same restaurant/bar place. Currently team mid night has their current head '5th' leading at the moment while the older generation still meet up yearly and go for cruises. They have also expanded to Hawaii if you did not know.

[@Hiroz26]

what’s their ig?

[@JustFappIn]

@@Hiroz26 ogi_r35, midnightofhawaii and a few other ones

[@haruguchimane6921]

shuto kousoku was not a Mid Night movie. glad you know the rest though. lotta fake stuff circulating these days.

[@JustFappIn]

@@haruguchimane6921 Not saying it was or wasnt but many of their cars were in the series.

[@erikaa629]

Awesome video bro!! Congrats on putting all this together 👏🏼

[@gridmeet9602]

Thanks!

[@streetstormer3845]

To me and I’m guessing most people, the midnight club seems like a myth that began street racing. It just seems like a thing that is so incredible and something that anyone would love to see. I could just imagine how incredible the scenes were during the nights. I could only imagine

[@adellfattah9329]

Awesome video man!! Keep it up and succession will follow, you got my sub.

[@ffrreeddyy123456]

Duuude yesss!!! Such a great channel and video! I just got an OG Xbox to play Midnight Club 3!! Love all of you this!

[@gridmeet9602]

Thank you!!

[@someyoungguyjohnson7239]

One hundred and nineteen grand?!? You might wanna recheck those numbers, bud.

[@brizzle9497]

Woah somebody hasn’t had their juice today.

[@gridmeet9602]

That’s in todays money sorry😅

[@philipandoh2849]

were you seriously trying to hide the identity of smokey? 😂😂😂

[@christopherw2233]

No it's from a old documentary they're the ones who did it. Terrible job plus everyone knows who he is in Japan if you race

[@danielsands3978]

For anyone interested.. The Honda today you were talking about was built by RE-amemiya, powered by a turbo'd 12A making 261hp and weighed 1800lbs. Not sure why it was left hand drive swapped though. If anybody has info on that I'd love to hear it

[@figarofigarini]

Why put Smokey on the thumbnail when he's not a member or even associated with any members also members aren't really wealthy business owners, some sure are but most just have a normal job

[@gridmeet9602]

As I mentioned in the video, there were only a few people who’s jobs were disclosed. Many of them being wealthy business owners. Sure, there were probably a few who had normal jobs.

[@UNKNOWN.CPt..]

okay but why put smokey on there when he isn't related to that club

[@bigbalooga0455]

@@UNKNOWN.CPt.. The reason the creator of the video did it is cos views not that I'm saying it's a bad thing that Nagata is on the thumbnail but to grow a KZbin audience you've sometimes got to twist the title and thumbnail slightly so more people know your channel exists.

[@Ungovernable_Schizo]

@@UNKNOWN.CPt.. to appeal to the tik tok kids that hop on the smoky nagata bandwagon, thinking that top secret Supra’s are fake or replica if they don’t have a v12 in them.

[@saltymonke3682]

depends, what kind of normal jobs? Some were doctors and corporate lawyers, which are highly paid "normal jobs".

[@6NOS]

Great video! Very informative and entertaining

[@Evanderj]

The console game: “Tokyo Extreme Racer: Zero” is a phenomenal simulation of this era and culture of racing on the Wangan. Even after 20yrs, the fun factor still holds up- but I really hope they make a updated one.

[@LRSSkySoldier]

I loved this game and played the hell out of it

[@Evanderj]

@@LRSSkySoldier me too. It was incredibly fun, and ahead of its time.

[@forshniz]

Someone is remaking it. Check out night runners

[@Evanderj]

@@forshniz awesome! Thanks for the info. Can’t wait!

[@jimmymoney7695]

One of the best racing games! I still play it to this day!

[@shane7378]

Dude how do you not have like 400k subs ur content is unreal

[@gridmeet9602]

Thank you bro, means a lot to me!

[@dinosoarskill17]

Grew up attending street races. Some of the most fun I've had as a kid. Wild nights.

[@jjs223]

This is gonna go viral

[@brizzle9497]

It better

[@edrickowens]

it has to

[@hanxor]

Hey dude - you're on your grind and truly have the delivery needed for these topics - subbed!

[@mikeyKnows_]

He copied all the info almost word for word from DRIVETRIBE

[@Jamie_06]

The fact that midnight club got their own racing game is amazing

[@egodewav7810]

Best Racing Game I ever played. Second place is Forza Horizon series, then Need for Speed series

[@just_a5.7]

I’m 25 now and haven’t enjoyed a racing game so much since midnight club 3 l.a remix

[@user-ej6tp9vx7z]

I'm Japanese! I'm currently studying English, so I hope you'll upload more videos like this!

[@josha618]

bro this guy’s laptop got sponsored by everyone

[@EditsByWinn]

well produced video!

[@aleksei8884]

Imagine leaving a legacy like that and just smiling when it’s mentioned without others knowing

[@gridmeet9602]

👀

[@kiddovr3147]

In 1988 major Auto Manufactures in Japan coming together to agree to not produce anything more then 276hp. It was an automotive Gentlemen's Agreement not a law.

[@saltymonke3682]

well, presured by the Police through the METI

[@madmikescustomDaily]

It’s moments like this that makes me wanna go play video games and start a club

[@mdogzino]

There was never a law in Japan limiting horsepower. All the major manufactures had entered into a pact agreeing to never produce cars with more than 276 HP. This was a voluntary decision more commonly recognized as a "gentlemens agreement." The whole point at this time was to avoid a horsepower war.

[@Y0uKnoWh0]

This sounds like it was a real damn vibe. Imagine, everybody just agreeing to street race in secrecy. 32 year old account exec kissing his wife as he walked out the door at 11:30 and hopped in his fucking firebreathing skyline under the quiet Tokyo moon and drove off to meet dozens of other dudes just like him. This is paralleling the 90's rave scene in the US for the level of coincidental cooperation to break the law. Things like this only happen rarely and can never be quite appreciated for what they are until after its gone. Great job telling the story.

[@chartreux8673]

Yoshida's 911 is famous as a works tune that was customized twice by Porsche headquarters in Germany to compete with the GT-R. Smokey Nagata did not join Midnight Club, but one legendary tuner joined Midnight Club midway through. This is Isami Amamiya from “RE Amemiya” who is famous for modifying the RX-7. Even after everyone else left the Shutoko race, he remained active long after his 60th birthday. The Shutoko“Meaning: capital highway” has a maximum speed of 200 km, and it has become difficult to drive at speeds over 300 km. It's not just a police problem, but the 3.11 earthquake caused the Shutoko to become distorted on an invisible level. Even though the car would not bounce before, it now bounces at such high speeds. I'm Japanese, so I'm sorry if my English is strange.

[@chariots7646]

Nice video man! You’ve got a great style here!

[@c.y9087]

Keep up the good work and research, you will reach 1 million subscribers one day. Good luck.

[@gridmeet9602]

Thank you!

[@IchWarRAR]

Astonishing good video for your age. For real, keep up the good work! 👍

[@gridmeet9602]

Thank you!

[@IchWarRAR]

@@gridmeet9602 come to think of it, may i add some constructive criticism since you already reached people overseas? I'm not an native english speaker nor someone who understands the MPH to KMH ratio so maybe you could add these? And most importantly, where'd you get all these info's? Some hyperlinks/source maybe?

[@markisaki979]

0:18 Ah, so that explains why the majority of cars in the first Gran Turismo had 276bhp when stock!

[@gridmeet9602]

Lmao yes!

[@r-skietie9046]

Absolute banger of an video dude thanks🥇

[@gridmeet9602]

Thank you bro 🙏

[@CJTower.]

"peel off the stickers of the impostor cars" you forgot to mention that they would sometimes smash up the cars and slash the tires

[@keytel1]

this is definitely not true

[@NSAINVESTIGATOR]

Stop spreading misinformation

[@El_Ceza]

Great video!!! Glad it came up and played on its own, definitely subscribed Keep up the good work!

[@ravedoyer]

Ama-san's Honda Today has a rotary swap. Duel rotar, turbocharged 12a. Alot of the car was borrowed from an RX7 besides the engine, diff, suspension and calipers.

[@ToxCcc]

Theres an article on the Honda today that says: Rather than a 13B, this car actually uses a turbocharged, 2 rotor 12A engine, which produced 265 PS. Modifications on the engine are just like the Europa, simplistic and very OEM based. The turbine on the turbos itself are from the FC3S RX-7, stentako feet made by Trust (don’t know what the hell a stentako feet is. Could be derpy translation or maybe something related to a stainless steel exhaust), Trust sten muffler (i think it’s supposed to be stainless steel muffler), flywheel from the FC3S RX-7, intercooler and radiator also came from the FC3S RX-7, and wastegate made by Trust.

[@KJAY2THOUSAND]

The Japanese underground car scene almost seems untouchable.. From the cars, to the drivers, the windy mountain roads, the beautiful express ways and maintained streets, the secrecy of it all.. just wow. I wish I was alive in a time like that. Too bad they never made a good solid racing game set in Japan, or make more movies showcasing their lifestyle.. I always love seeing the classic Porsches loved in Japan.. the Ferraris, and Lamborghinis all seem more appealing in these Videos.. you have guys racing everything from Honda civics. To STI’s, Evos, Supras, Skylines, Rx7’s, classic porsches, 240’s, 300zx’s, lambos, ferraris, american muscle.. it just seems like a video game in real life. They were lucky to experience such a diverse racing scene.

[@HardGlitcherzz]

Great video! Really enjoyed it!

[@mercedsamgbenzz2444]

Huge respect for this guy keep it up bro you're doing great keep uploading

[@shahrozalijafri8816]

Imagine what power would these cars have if it was formed in the present day

[@BobSmith-ht4hv]

I enjoyed this, subbed hope ur channel blows up kid good luck 🤞

[@TCadillacM]

Cool video bro!

[@gridmeet9602]

Thanks!

[@muhasawa]

Playing NFS really made me feel it is impossible to race in reality. But seeing this video, I think anyone can race as long as one has got a fast car and the handling and driving skill

[@carlosgreaves5236]

Bro that much horse power in a porch in that time holy fuck.

[@jonathanfiel6215]

Yup and that 911 turbo would still put in work against today's tuners. Legendary man.

[@peterrusso7336]

pretty lit vid it enlightened me to facts about the club that other vids didnt talk about

[@PeTroL420]

Japan never made a law where cars were limited to 276hp. The 276hp figure was a "Gentleman's Agreement" between the Japanese car manufacturers to not exceed 276hp. I believe the Nissan GT-R was the first car to break the Gentleman's Agreement when it was released in 2007.

[@mmd2035]

There was no law but authorities were all over japanese manufacturers. Hence the agreement.

[@1-minslomo129]

I subbed for the quality 🇧🇩👋

[@lucaseriksson6650]

Man i have Looked for a video like this for ages😂

[@krishanprasad20]

It’s so cool that The midnight club are still racing to this day ✊🏾

[@MdAli-qf9go]

Bro it is disbanned

[@krishanprasad20]

@@MdAli-qf9go it’s not disbanded check again I talked to one of the racers they told me they only race on circuits now

[@MdAli-qf9go]

@@krishanprasad20 K thanks brother for the info

[@jamesbizs]

@@krishanprasad20 lol no you didn’t.

[@krishanprasad20]

@@jamesbizs I did on instagram a few years ago

[@David-hd1vx]

You just gained my Sub ..Great video 👏🏽👏🏽🔥

[@moneyhungry5.743]

This is like a trap geek he does videos on rappers documentary but this about a street racing rang this need 1 million views I like it bro keep up the work

[@DamDD]

love racing on the wagon and waygon

[@kotagotoh]

Under rated channel asf.

[@jasonarpy]

Love your set up brother. Keep it up and your channel will grow.

[@OscarPanzer]

I love this video so much ,since it is a good intro for non Japanese speakers to understand how it was at that time

[@xQuinXz]

No idea how you appeared in my yt feed, but this i find interesting

[@clinch_mountain_forge]

Awesome video man keep it up

[@gridmeet9602]

Thank you!

[@brandonaguirre3171]

Such an informative video! I think this guy found his new META

[@gridmeet9602]

Thank you bro 🙏

[@AwkwardAsian]

We need someone from Japan to talk about this

[@xx_mecoboy_xx]

The E30 M5 you showed in the video wasn't a car speciall, it was Yoshida san's personal car modified by his own shop MPW.

[@Kasper-qr3in]

E34* :)

[@jootai]

Mercedes S72 wide body was also one of the cars. Very rare, priceless

[@GreaseMonkeyVIP]

Bhp does not mean baseline horsepower, it means Brake horsepower or wheel power at the hubs basically….

[@nomodnolife]

Nice content brother Keep it up Good luck

[@unknownentity8256]

So the driving game Midnight Club name was based on a real night time racing club of Japan from the 90's? That's cool.

[@SkaterOrnez]

They didn't fall off. I only know of two and one of them who just joined the midnight club has a porsche. His car is seem sometimes on Albo's channel. Great video!

[@jbatutegaming382]

I will play a Rockstar Midnight Club based on this era.

[@JRHartley-qh6ch]

Which ‘members’ spent millions of dollars modifying their cars?

[@SilasBudman420]

He probably got confused with the currency conversation

[@JRHartley-qh6ch]

@@SilasBudman420 have you watched it? He got confused by pretty much EVERYTHING

[@gridmeet9602]

I was exaggerating to an extent but Yoshida (the founder and the guy who drove the 930 turbo) spent a TON of money modifying his car, as well as many other members. In order to have a car that could even reach speeds upwards of 155mph during the 1980s, you HAD to spend a pretty penny modifying your car.

[@JRHartley-qh6ch]

@@gridmeet9602 sadly I don’t think you fully understand just how out of touch the information you present in your video actually is .

[@bigbalooga0455]

@@JRHartley-qh6ch This guy's been making videos on KZbin for 6 months chill but for future videos I do agree the stats do need to be more accurate.

[@jinxnarzy2920]

Really a good production.. subbed!

[@JosePerez-sw3gn]

Love that grand Teton sticker on your laptop

[@jensenracing1130]

Hi I'm new to this chanell and I subbed

[@stayntune]

There are a lot of famous tuners who were part of the club back then, but I won't name them out of respect because they don't want to be affiliated of that past.

[@JRHartley-qh6ch]

@stayntune well that’s wrong for starters 🤣

[@WIREDin1]

This channel will go somewhere.

[@gridmeet9602]

Lmao I hope

[@DEVIOUS_PACER]

Great video bud. Nicely done.

[@therealDanyt]

Bruh your blew up because it had real information and good video

[@gridmeet9602]

Ty bro🙏

[@jedd4635]

Really well put together video

[@darkden123]

i still don't understand why there wasn't ever a need for speed game set in this scenario

[@Skullaral]

Very informative, keep on press 🙌🏽🔥🔥

[@theslimrealshady]

Great video about the fascinating world of Mid Night. Does anyone know if the lighter blue Skyline is an OE colour and if so what is it called?

[@jkingenglish]

I can't believe they messed with the cops. 😂Like that.

[@imnotsurewhy]

The 276 horse power wasn't introduced by the law. It was a gentlemen's agreement throughout the car manufacturers building their sports cars.

[@WrestlingColin]

There is VERY little information on the Midnight Club out there, at least in English. Great job on this.

[@JRHartley-qh6ch]

@wrestlingColin there is HUGE amounts of info available. VAST amounts.

[@JRHartley-qh6ch]

The last place you wanna be looking for answers is poor info content videos like this one, that can’t get the most basic of facts right

[@WrestlingColin]

@@JRHartley-qh6ch I remember googling around about the Midnight Club a few years ago and not finding much. I suppose I didn't look hard enough?

[@JRHartley-qh6ch]

@@WrestlingColin I guess so. But it easy to find bullshit. There is plenty of that. If you want some truths you gotta work for it, but trust me, it’s all there if you dig. Depends what your searching for

[@Toki52]

Pronounced it wrong and I'm gone.

[@ryanayon6664]

The time attack video is from Malaysia. Great story through. Peace

[@mesicek7]

There's a manga called Wangan Midnight that's based on these midnight racers. If you're an 80s car fan you should check it out.

[@reuben583]

They actually didn’t put meetups in newspaper ads... that was a myth that a member said. Sadly it wasn’t that cool, they just called each other. They said the myth to throw people off.

[@anthonykester3058]

Midnight club best racing game ever

[@luk4s56]

correction, millionaire business owner dudes chilling in a wendy's about to race.

[@raijinoni5164]

It is a common misconception around news paper posting . Most members had contact information of other members. Further FYI, club has been revived and even have IG account. But great vid down memory lane of 80's / 90s. Wanga Midnight is a great anime series that captures the spirit of 'speed' in the series for any that into anime. Great vid regardless.

[@fira6296]

Would you mind telling me the name of their IG account? thank you!