Bosozoku is generally an all-or-nothing style - you end up with improbably large jutting spoilers and church organ exhausts; unique cars that edge ever closer to the borders of the undriveable. However, it is possible to take certain elements of the genre to enhance and uprate a Japanese classic, using the sublime but not the ridiculous. This '75 Toyota Celica is a case in point.
The external oil cooler with its ostentatious pipework entering through the inner headlight is pure boso. You may have noticed that there's a second oil cooler behind the grille - this is because in the car's homeland of Australia, external oil coolers are illegal. You can see in the bottom picture how he rolls when he's on the road.
Complementing the aggressive snout are cartoonish arch extensions housing deep-dished rims with stretched tyres... and, of course, the Tokyo subway grab-handle hanging on the inside, an essential bosozoku souvenir.
The aesthetic sits well with the Celica's muscle-car styling, looking almost American in its muscular curvature. It has the thrust to back up the machismo too - under the bonnet sits a 2T-G 2-litre twin-cam on twin-45s.
What this car achieves is a workable blend of bosozoku style, sympathetic restoration and period tuning. It all comes together perfectly.
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