custom van

Here at Speedhunters we try to diversify and bring you the best theworldwide car scene has to offer. And as you have probably gathered bynow it's hard to top Japanese car culture, as there is really somethingfor everyone, and then some! I have been holding on to this feature fora while now, waiting for the right moment to post it up. A while back Igot a call from Andy at Powervehicles.com,telling me he had just picked up a crazy Japanese custom van at theTokyo car auction and that I really needed to check it out.

When I got to his shop I couldn't believe what I was seeing, itlooked like something out of a Gundam anime with crazy FRP wingssprouting out from everywhere. Having lived quite a long time in theIbaraki-ken countryside during my time here in Japan has meant I havesee my fair share of the whole "Vanning" culture, but I had never hadthe chance to take a closer look at one of these beasts until then.Andy threw me the keys and told me to take the Nissan Homy down to thebanks of the local river where I would actually have enough space tomove this thing around during the shoot!

Driving this orange monstrosity is quite an experience, and youreally have to adapt your drying style to take into account the massiverear wings that flap around 10 feet up in the air. I was terrified ofhitting road signs and traffic lights not to mention decapitating theodd school kid or granny on a bicycle! The overhangs are massive and Ireally needed to take all the space I could get when making turns. It'sa good thing whoever built this van fitted a rear-view camera so youcan see on the LCD monitor how many tree branches you can knock down!

The coolest thing about the Homy is the truck like exhaust note. Geton the gas pedal and the twin rear drainpipes emit low-frequencyoffbeat pulses that are so slow you can actually count them. That'sbecause this Nissan is powered by a 3.2 L NA diesel engine (yes, NA),which remarkably enough, has absolutely no power and even less torquemeaning it has a hard time dragging the extra ton of plastic bodykitaround.

Imagine seeing this thing in your rear-view mirror!

It's all about how many wings and spoilers you can get on there!

I had trouble passing the last shaken on my GT-R because myMine's titanium exhaust was 1db too loud, because the offset of thewheels was too aggressive and get this, because I didn't have a shiftpattern diagram on or around the gear lever. Now what I want to know ishow the hell are these vans allowed to drive on the streets!!??

The stylish exterior looks are only half the story, what lies insideis what counts, after all where are you going to take your lovely galafter a night spent terrorizing the streets! Pop the switch and thevertical side door lifts to unveil the Homy’s vinyl clad interior...

...where purple and green are the colors of choice!

The two benches on each side provide ample seat space to accommodate additional guests.

Hello Kitty logs are embossed around the cabin...

...and as a final touch the roof is lined with mirrors.

Purple and orange was chosen for the cabin up front along with deep soft carpeting.

This van is actually considered to be pretty sedate in the Vanningscene, as I have seen far more extreme creations. Personally I like theones that feature airbrushed faces of famous Japanese singers or actorson the rear hatch!