There aren’t too many of drifting’s original forefathers still taking part in the sport, with many either losing interest, growing older with families and other commitments or, in many cases, both. Chunky Bai is one of Japan’s drif OGs, having been a part of Osaka’s legendary street drifting scene since the beginning. He still competes to this day in D1GP using his faithful 180SX, a car that I was lucky to come across once again, this time at the United Royals event in Kobe back in September.
The car is still wearing the same silver wet-carbon Origin Labo Racing Line aero that it has been for the last couple of years. This style of aero has really taken off outside of Japan in recent years, with the addition of canards, under-panels and other extensions adding an almost time attack feel, albeit in a drift orientated fashion.
Bai’s 180 has evolved over a long period of time, from a low, street-styled car into the pure competition machine that it is today. Gone are the stretched tyres, neon lights and DVD player that you would have found on it back in this video from 2006.
The wheels are Yabaking 1-Piece items from 326POWER, measuring 18×9.5 -17 up front and 18×10.5 -5 at the rear and secured with a set of 326POWER wheel nuts. Fitted with chunky Goodyear tyres, these do a great job of filling the huge Origin Labo front wings and rear overfenders. I thought it was cool how the green highlights on the canards and under-panels had been painted to match the “Mitsuru Green” faces of the wheels.
I wasn’t able to take a particularly close look at the interior but a quick glance was all it took to see that it has been stripped back to the bare essentials. A custom carbon fibre dash has been fitted with an assortment of Defi gauges (amongst other items), while the necessary gauge controller and HKS F-Con V ECU sit underneath. The textbook Nardi Classic steering wheel is of course present and correct, while the exhaust back box connected to a cold air feed and being used as a cooling aid is a somewhat more unusual feature.
Bai’s 180SX is a fine example of competition drift car styling done right (simply being able to fit big tyres within the confines of the arches separates him from many European drifters!) without sacrificing any performance traits.
I didn’t get chance to take a look under the bonnet but I was led to believe that the 750PS SR20 setup still remains, complete with VE head and 2.2 litre stroker kit. I think the fact that an SR20 has remained pretty much sums up this car; it has continually evolved with the times, becoming ever more competitive as and when required to keep up with rival drivers.
Despite this, it still has a certain touch of subtlety about it in comparison to many competition drift cars from the Western side of the globe and, despite being a fully-fledged track car, would not look too out of place on the road (once the plethora of stickers and graphics have been removed, perhaps!).
The aura that Chunky Bai’s legendary 180SX emits is undeniable and I sincerely hope that he will continue to live and breathe drifting for many more years to come.