NISSAN BEAT PORSCHE AT THE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX THANKS TO A LEGENDARY AMERICAN HOT- RODDER

Should you ever find yourself in Tokyo, head on out to Yokohama, and find the little nook where Mooneyes Japan is hidden. It makes no sense at all: here in the heart of Japan, surrounded by kei cars and top- heavy vans, are hotrods, chopper- bikes, candycoat paint, and dune buggies.

There’s a strong connection between Japan and Californian car culture, and it often comes out in strange ways. One odd vehicle that exemplifies this intersection of cultures is the 1968 Nissan R381 racing car. The only factory- backed effort from Nissan to ever have an engine sourced outside the company, it was designed by the father of the Skyline, but has a motor built by one of Carroll Shelby’s buddies.

Dean Moon was a Californian hot- rodder and Bonneville racer who came up with dozens of iconic products. It was at his shop that he and Carroll Shelby swapped the first V- 8 into an AC shell to create the very first AC Cobra.

Shinichiro Sakurai, the Japanese engineer responsible for the first Nissan Skyline and founder of the GT- R legend, was introduced to Moon on a trip to the U. S. in the 1960s. When Nissan’s racing team ran into trouble with the development of their V12, they turned to Moon.

He supplied three 450- hp 5.5L Chevy V8s, and with this unlikely combination of American muscle and Japanese chassis design, the R381 went on to beat a Porsche 910 at the 1968 Japanese Grand Prix.