Hirumitsu Nagata is a Japanese mechanic who turned 70 in March. Despite having reached retirement age five years ago, Nagata is still at the helm of his workshop, Top Secret, which specialises in tuning all kinds of vehicles. Up to this point, it could be said that Nagata is a normal guy, in love with his job, unable to give up what he likes the most and what he has dedicated his whole life to.
But when you dig a little deeper into Nagata’s story, you discover that he is much more than just a mechanic. His nickname, Smokey, suggests not only his passion for speed, but also his reputation for pushing the boundaries in the world of motorsport.
Smokey Nagata’s Toyota Supra smokes during testing
YouTube / RetroGenGaming
Nagata has earned this nickname for his street racing exploits, where he has reached dizzying speeds. A hobby that has been impossible to hide since his student days. You only have to look back at his biography to discover that, at just 15 years old, a year before the legal age, he was already driving his own car to go to school. A recklessness that cost him expulsion from school and marked the beginning of his working life.
Nagata was on the verge of reaching 200 miles per hour after travelling expressly from Japan invited by a tuning magazine
Nagata was fortunate to be able to work in what he was most passionate about from an early age. He started working as a mechanic at Toyota, becoming one of the youngest employees at the company. However, his time at Toyota did not end well: years later, he was fired for buying a Toyota Celica to modify it on his own, which was not viewed favorably by the company.
After his time at Nissan, Nagata founded his own car tuning shop, called Top Secret, in the 1990s. At Top Secret, Nagata quickly rose to prominence with his impressive modifications of Japanese sports cars such as the Toyota Supra and Nissan Skyline, quickly spreading his fame beyond borders.
After spending a night in jail, Smokey Nagata was banned from the UK for 10 years
Smokey Nagata’s legend began to take shape in 1998, when he had already become a celebrity in the motorsport community. His modifications to racing cars had reached the ears of the editors of the specialist magazine Max Power, who offered to pay for his trip to the United Kingdom to participate in the massive Max Power Live show.
The challenge to reach 200 mph took place on the open road
YouTube / RetroGenGaming
Although he didn’t speak a word of English, Smokey set out on the mission with determination and courage. He drove his 1,003bhp Toyota Supra from Japan to the UK and once there came up with the idea of reaching 200mph (about 322km/h) in an illegal open road test.
November 4, 1998 marked a milestone in Smokey Nagata’s life. After taking part in a tuning show, the Japanese driver got behind the wheel of the Toyota Supra. He took the A1 motorway late at night to reduce the risks for himself and other drivers and pressed the accelerator in pursuit of the record.
The car’s logs recorded a top speed of 197mph, which was close to a target it failed to reach due to poor weather conditions. The presence of other cars on the road further hampered its attempt to exceed the 200mph mark.
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The night couldn’t have ended any worse for Smokey. Not only did he fail to achieve his goal, but he was also stopped by the police for speeding. Nagata was taken to the police station and spent the night behind bars.
The next day, Smokey was sent back to Japan with a ten-year ban from the UK. His international driving licence was suspended for a month and he was fined £155, plus an additional £35 in court costs.
