Southern Coast Racing's Takamasa Matsuda is a bit of an outlier. Not only did he build a 180SX that has all the equipment to be a capable drifter, he built one that is too nice to drift. Also, it isn't a 180SX, but a USDM 240SX he imported into Japan.

I messaged Taka and told him I wanted to shoot his car for the blog and he suggested we meet at Make Hirota, the shop that built his 240SX. I assumed he would have it there as he did the last time I visited. As it turns out he was just there hanging out and his car was actually stored close to Hadashi Tengoku. After a chat with Hirota we headed off to pick up Taka's car for the shoot. During the drive I was keeping an eye out for good spots, but when his storage spot turned out to be a huge hangar it was clear we didn't need to go anywhere else.

Taka's 240SX has gotten plenty of coverage over the past couple of years. He attends quite a few shows including Stancenation and Offset Kings. However, pictures most definitely don't do this car justice and it may be one of the the only Rocket Bunny kitted cars I like.

I think a lot of it has to do with how clean and well put together it is. I've alway loved white cars on white wheels. Overall it has a classy vibe where I find most Rocket Bunny kitted cars a bit garish. It's also worth noticing that it isn't covered in stickers.

The bodywork was done by Hirota (seriously, the guys does everything) and fitment is excellent. There are no gaps or waves in the panels. Also, while the rear wheels are wide at 18x11.5, there isn't a ton of camber like you see on so many "stance" cars these days. In fact, there is less than a degree in the rear.

I used my good (which is still sort of bad) camera to take these pictures. It took some work in photoshop, but I like the way this one turned out. The ride height is perfect in my opinion.

You can really see how clean it is from this angle. It's impressive because it isn't a trailer-queen. He drives it regularly and often times on long road trips to enter shows across the country. Despite all the running around, it always looks like it just left the body shop. You can see the Hirota one-off dual exhaust peeking out over the rear diffuser. It sounded amazing.

The 240 is running 18x10 up front with a few degrees of camber. You'll also notice that it looks like it has a factory hood. In actuality it's a very light one-off FRP piece from Hirota.

It's super-clean under the hood as well. More work by Hirota of course. Everything has been shaved (I think that's the correct term) and tubs were added so the wide wheels don't rub. Save for cams, the engine is normal internally. Power is bumped up via an HKS GT-SS turbo and it's running an HKS FCON-V gold with map sensor. Taka estimated power output to be around 320HP. It's so weird seeing the brake master cylinder on the left hand side in Japan...

The interior is well equipped of course. Twin Bride full buckets, Takata harnesses, suede steering wheel and Defi meters sit where the center AC vents used to be. There is also a bolt-in 6 point cage, which I assume is from Safety21.

Taka's 240SX is definitely a head-turner and I love the fact that it's well rounded and is ready for sideways action at a moment's notice, which it occasionally participates in. Big thanks to Taka for giving me a tour and make sure to follow him on Instagram at @taka_240SX.