Top Secret is a Japanese automobile tuner and part manufacturer that specializes in high-performance updates for various sports cars, including Nissan, Toyota, and Porsche models. The company was founded by automotive engineer and driver Kazuhiko “Smokey” Nagata. They are mainly known for tuning, aftermarket parts, body kits, and performance engineering.
Top Secret’s current product line includes exterior, interior, aero, engine, exhaust, chassis, brakes, suspension, and powertrain parts. It is based in Chiba, Japan, and has a reputation for building some of the fastest street-legal cars in the world.
History of Top Secret
Kazuhiko Smokey Nagata started as the youngest mechanic at Toyota. After that, he became a tuber and fabricator at Trust Company Limited, and while working with them in 1978, Smokey started using their shop for personal projects, hence the name Top Secret due to his discreet work at the facility. As he was a skilled mechanic and an asset to the company, the employer did not mind his harmless ventures with Smokey.
Top Secret became independent from Trust in 1991 and set up shop in Chiba. In 1993, the company started exhibiting at the Tokyo Auto Show. Gold paint schemes are a distinguishing feature of many Top Secret-tuned cars. This special gold paint scheme is only applied to cars that Nagata considers his best work.
Who is Kazuhiko Smokey Nagata?
Famously known for the fastest speed ever reached by a car on a UK public highway. Smokey Nagata is a legendary car from the temple of drifting in Japan. Considering this, you might have an image of a menace to society; however, he is a softly-spoken man with a blanket of introversion wrapped around it.
He is best known for working with the tuning company Top Secret, founded in the early 1990s. Nagata is also known for his high-speed driving feats, including setting a speed record of over 200 mph in a Toyota Supra on a public highway in the UK in 1998, which led to his arrest and imprisonment for 6 weeks. He has also participated in various racing events and built several high-performance cars that have gained popularity among car enthusiasts.
Coolest cars built by Top Secret
8. Mk4 Toyota Supra
This is the infamous Mk4 Supra that was responsible for hitting 197 mph on UK public roads. Max Power, a well-known British tuning magazine, invited Nagata and his car to the UK for the show.
After the show, he was challenged to a speed test in his RB26DETT-powered Supra, and the rest is history.
7. Ryuji Miki’s S15
Top Secret built this S15 for the D1GP circuit, and Ryuji Miki drove it to victory after a close battle with Team Orange’s Nobushinge Kumakubo. The car has wider front fenders and side skirts, as well as a front bumper.
The engine received the most bizarre modification; when Top Secret was finished, it produced over 540 horses.
6. Long-Nose GT-R
This is an R35 GTR from Nissan. Nagata made some changes to the exterior, including a redesigned bumper and grille section with a consciously elongated nose.
It also gets a custom paint job that sets it apart from any other GTR. The aftermarket bumper looks aesthetically pleasing and fits like an OEM part.
5. V12-Powered Toyota Supra
The Mk-4 Toyota Supra had its engine swapped with a V12 variant taken from the 2000s Toyota Century. Top Secret performed the swap, and the company also gave the car extreme body treatments to enhance its performance.
Nagata also increased the power of the car with a pair of HKS turbochargers and a nitrous kit, resulting in a peak output of 930 hp and 745 lb-ft of torque.
4. VQ32 Skyline GT-R
This is one of the craziest builds done by Top Secret; they replaced the RB26 in this with the VQ35DE that comes with Nissan’s 350Z. They have fitted custom oversized 95.7mm forged pistons with a balanced bottom end. The car also gets dual titanium exhaust systems, and the engine produces 349 horsepower and 286 lb-ft of torque.
3. Gio’s Competizione R
The Competizione R is an R34 made by Top Secret and Smokey with a complete Nismo front end featuring an R-tune dry-carbon hood and a Z-tube bumper with flared fenders. Additionally, the vehicle was given a unique dark gray-blue pearl paint job.
The modifications under the hood were just as impressive, as an HKS GT2835R turbo was used to gain a peak output of 709 horsepower.
2. Nissan C210 Skyline GT-R
This platform is not the most popular Skyline chassis, but Top Secret made something special out of it. They went with the RB30 to give this car 300 horses, which is enough juice so it can be a fun car.
There are some exterior changes as well, like the Hakosuka-inspired fender flare and Road Glow Star wheels.
1. Nissan Skyline VR32 GT-R
The Skyline VR32 GT-R was created by grafting the R35 GT-internal R’s into the iconic R32 chassis.
The massive 380mm Brembo brakes from the R35 GT-R were retained as expected due to their impressive efficiency. Furthermore, the engine was significantly upgraded, and the R35’s interior was adopted.
