Wangan Midnight Wiki
Register
Advertisement
"You can refuse as much as you want, but I am like you Devil Z!"
Akio Asakura

The Devil Z (Japanese: 悪魔のZ Romaji: Akuma no Zetto) is known as the S30Z with supernatural speed and Akio's car all through out the series. The previous owners of this car died in car accidents, and it's former owners often had accidents when driving it, then this car soon being drove by an another owner. It seems like this S30Z is a devil. Hence the name. One of the mentioned owners is not only Akio Asakura, but also Eriko's late brother, also named Akio Asakura.

About the Car[]

Akio's Second Car (Devil Z)
Ce6da8e179dafdc36e826600739c326a

The Devil Z has a highly modified L28 motor, originally found in models like the Nissan Laurel, Gloria, Cedric and even the Dome Zero concept car. It was bored and stroked to 3.1L, has triple carburetors (presumably triple twin-barrel carbs as opposed to S30's standard twin carbs), a twin turbo with intercooler that eventually produced a healthy 600 hp. On the outside, it is equipped with an S30 race aero kit, standard S30 lights, fog lamps and a set of RS Watanabe F8 eight-spoke wheels (Volk Racing TE37V wheels in Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 6RR). Based on the styling alone, the Devil Z may be based on the rare 432 variant of the S30 Fairlady Z from 1969.

It was once owned by a young man named Akio Asakura, who died two years before the story began (with Tatsuya Shima witnessing the crash). Two years later, another young man, also named Akio Asakura, bought the car just before it was about to be scrapped, and restored it to its former glory.

In the anime/manga, it is said to be so fast that it seems that the car is "possessed", where in reality, its is a challenging car to get the most out of. This is due to its absurd amounts of power and speed at the expense of control. This, coupled with its lightweight body (likely weighing below 1,000 kilograms, therefore giving the Devil Z an astonishing power to weight ratio), its short wheelbase, and torque curve that is smoother at higher RPMs, may also make the car prone to excessive wheelspin, which needs to be carefully managed with precise throttle and steering inputs, which can lead to an ugly danger if not handled properly.

The Devil Z took inspiration from a specific Ferrari Testa Rossa Corsa red Nissan Z-car (from the following generation, the S130, as opposed to Wangan Midnight's S30) of Mid Night Racing Team fame. The car was originally tuned by Ekibasha, but the third and current owner took it to Air Breathing Research (ABR) Hosoki. It had 680 horsepower (600 at the wheels) and ran on L28E electronically fuel-injected engine instead of the anime car's triple-carbureted L28, which was capable of speeds upwards of 300 km/h. In 1985, the car set a record time of 4 minutes, 54 seconds on the C1 loop.

The Devil Z's (and Wangan Midnight's) popularity has led many people to replicate, or take inspiration from the car, in real life and in various video game franchises like Shutokou Battle (also known as "Tokyo Xtreme Racer"), Forza and Need for Speed. Eventually people started to buy old 280Zs, so there are many replicas, but in the end you’ll never know if you have the real Devil Z.

Trivia[]

  • Like the Blackbird, players cannot use Devil Z because it has a different car name. Akio Asakura is only owner of Devil Z in entire Maximum Tune series. It also cannot be used in the any of the Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune arcade games since the 240Z owned by the player differs from the actual Z.
  • In the WMMT1, Devil Z's license plate is read as "MAM", later Maximum Tune games would be used as 53-68.
  • The origin story of the Devil Z may also be a reference to Stephen King's Christine, which depicts a cursed Plymouth Fury. It may also be based on the real story of the "Little Bastard", a Porsche that is said to be cursed as it killed not only its driver, but some people visiting the museum it was put on display in.
  • It is also believed that Devil Z's real-life counterpart (history-wise) could be that of a DeTomasso Pantera that had a NASCAR-tuned Chevrolet Big Block engine owned by a driver named Garry Mitsunaga, which was apparently too difficult to control, and was reportedly capable of reaching speeds in excess of 300 km/h (190 mph) and even set the first Japanese 300+ km/h record in Yatabe for a street-legal car.
    • Said car was supposedly totaled on November 28, 1981. Just before the accident, it was transporting a journalist as a passenger on the Tomei Expressway, with a recorded time of 6 minutes and 20 seconds, with an average of 250 KM/H ( ~160 MPH) during the journey of more than 38 kilometers (~24 miles). Tragically, Mitsunaga died in the accident, apparently instantly.
    • It is rumored that the Pantera had its engine removed and was swapped inside another, unknown car. The whereabouts of both the chassis and the engine were completely lost.
    • The engine builder is also believed to be the inspiration for Jun Kitami, from NASCAR engine builder Mario Rossi. His whereabouts are a big mystery, since he supposedly died in a plane crash that never happened, and he is even believed to be in the United States witness protection system.
  • The Devil Z (hence its driver as well, Akio) also made its appearances in Tokyo Xtreme Racer, TXR2, TXR0 and Genki's Import Tuner Challenge, which were named as "Unknown" or "???". This reference is believed to be because Michiharu Kusunoki (WM's author) did not want his character and car to be in the game, so Genki took advantage of a copyright loophole by making him an unnamed character (although the car stories " ???" coincide completely and unequivocally with the legend of Devil Z).
Advertisement