The absolute minimum requirement for a hashiriya street racer to join was to own a car that was capable of going at least 160mph, and competitive drivers were expected to be able to achieve racing speeds of 200mph or more on Tokyo’s public highways.Īt the time, all vehicles in Japan were electronically limited by law to a top speed of 112mph, and so members were also expected to have a high degree of mechanical know-how in order to boost their cars’ performance. Originally regarded as criminals, the Midnight Club became the darling of the burgeoning tuner scene and featured in hundreds of editorial features as leading car magazines like the UK’s Max Power aimed to capture and glorify the gang’s high-speed, high-adrenaline activities and semi-mythical existence.įormed in 1987, membership of the Midnight Club was not easy to obtain. One of the most well-known and highly-respected group of illegal street racers in the world, the gang shot to worldwide infamy thanks to its combination of dangerously high racing speed and aggressive driving styles, but also for its clandestine operations and strict code of ethics.
They were the members of Middo Naito Kurabu, also known as the Midnight Club. The silence of twilight splintered with the sound of highly-strung, highly-tuned engines, a dozen modified cars thunder past at savage velocities, their taillights ribbons of blazing crimson slashed temporarily across the still night air. You could hear them before you could see them, which, given the extent of their wild modifications, was an impressive feat. Lanes, three or four abreast, illuminated in the orange haze of sodium streetlights, the peace broken only by the occasional late-night street sweeper at work. Midnight in Tokyo’s Shuto Expressway, a 70km stretch of tarmac that traces the shoreline of Tokyo Bay.
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