Kiyosu City, in the heart of Nagoya, is home to Shell Engineering; a shop that focuses on the total tuning of both circuit and street cars. Kogai-san, the owner, unveiled his newest project 86 at HKS Premium Day this year. Cloaked in the complete Blitz Aero Speed package, the new body panels are coated in a richly dark blue/black color that, much like the shop, elicits an aura of mystery; a mystery that sets this 86 apart from the rest.
Aside from the immaculate exterior, the first thing you’ll probably notice is the large intercooler showing through the gaping mouth of the front bumper. Keeping the intake temps as dense as possible is key when you’re pushing nearly 500whp. That’s right, this incredible amount of power is provide in part by the 2.1 liter HKS stroker kit with all forged internals, as well as a GReddy turbocharger with custom Shell piping. While the car was detuned to a mild 350hp for this event, Kogai’s end game is to create an 86 that will break the 300kph barrier.
Max Orido himself was commissioned to drive the new build on behalf of Shell for the event. In it’s detuned state, he was able to garner a best lap time of 1’56.836; not bad for a brand new build, especially considering it wasn’t intended for circuit racing. For comparisons sakes, the Original Runduece 86 was able to destroy it’s previous record with a 1’50 lap time.
As the Shell team discuses the car with Orido, I couldn’t help but notice how well balanced the car looks. The HKS Hipermax coilovers rest the chassis perfectly around the 19″ Volk Racing ZE40’s, while the Voltex swan neck GT wing rounds out the back of the car.
I know it’s original purpose wasn’t intended for the track, but it would be great to see this out again next year. If not, I’d be happy to hear if Kogai was able to reach his goal of making one of the fastest 86 builds in Japan…or the world for that matter.