The OG Japanese tuner

From kitchen hand to one of the founding fathers of the Japanese tuning industry. Meet VeilSide founder Hironao Yokomaku

- MARK RICCIONI

When Hironao Yokomaku joined a French restaurant aged 16, little did he know how much he’d influence Japan’s car culture in the following decades.

Now aged 63, the Tsukuba-based tuner shows no signs of slowing down having just unveiled a new project alongside Fast and Furious actor Sung Kang. Because for nearly four decades Yokomaku-san has led the iconic Japanese tuning brand VeilSide.

Many of us will be familiar with VeilSide’s work from the Tokyo Drift edition of Fast and Furious – especially the ‘Fortune’ Mazda RX-7 which remains a poster car for the entire franchise. But long before F&F became a household name, VeilSide had established itself as one of Japan’s most advanced tuners, building the fastest cars in the country with exteriors almost as loud as the exhaust notes.

The company’s distinctive look was inspired by the Batmobile of all things, and in the decades that followed it’s now synonymous with 1990s and 2000s Japanese car culture – think huge, sculpted rear wings and curved, ankle breaking splitters. During this time, Yokomaku-san wanted to create cars that he felt were ‘complete’ packages, something missing from other tuners at the time who would only focus on a single element. But a VeilSide car needed blistering performance, sharpened handling and bespoke aero before it could ever wear the hallowed ‘Fortune’ or ‘Combat’ name depending on the level of work involved.