Mad Mike Hits Up Gunsai Touge In His Four-Rotor Station Wagon

Mad Mike drops another epic viral video, this time taking the legendary ‘FURSTY’ wagon for tandem action on Japan’s legal touge.

Gunsai Touge is tucked away in Gunma Prefecture, about three hours northeast of Tokyo.

Gunsai’s 5.89-kilometer street-style course gained fame through the likes of Best Motoring’s old school Hot Version series, which saw Japan’s top drivers go head-to-head.

The closed location features everything you’d expect from Japanese touge street drifting. Sharp hairpins, super steep inclines, unforgiving guardrails at nearly every corner, and barely enough room for tandems.

One wrong move here, and you’re likely to come face-to-face with a rock wall or a tree stump (which happens more often than we’d like!)

Where It All Began For FURSTY

FURSTY might not be Mad Mike’s best-known creation (there’s no shortage of them, either!), but it arguably has the best story behind it.

The blue 808 wagon is the car that shot Mad Mike to fame way back in 2004 at New Zealand’s Skidfest.

The 808 (also known as the Grand Familia in Japan) was originally the four-cylinder equivalent of the rotary RX-3. Since the wagon-style only came with piston engines, it made for the perfect candidate for a (trademark Mad Mike) rotary swap and RX-3 front-end conversion.

As 22-year-old Mike rolled into the Manukau Velodrome in his ratty Mazda wagon, he got out mid-skid while keeping the 13B rotary screaming and stole the show from the typical V8s.

Sadly, to fund his drifting career, Mike was forced to sell FURSTY in 2005. “It was the hardest ownership-paper signing I had ever done,” he admitted.

After the sale, the 808 bounced around through different owners for nearly two decades, sometimes looking pretty rough, until Mike finally bought it back in 2023.

FURSTY’s Resurrection

Keen to make FURSTY the best it’s ever been, Mike shipped it out to TCP Magic in Japan, where Kawato-san completely transformed it into a true D1GP contender.

The lightweight chassis was gifted a naturally aspirated TCP Magic 26B four-rotor engine, based on the legendary Mazda 787B, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991.

With the newfound power, FURSTY now produces 600 wheel horsepower, with an additional 100 whp on tap with nitrous. Power gets sent through an HGT 6-speed sequential gearbox with Haltech Nexus R5 engine management.

During the overhaul, it also received a full FIA-spec roll cage, 150mm body drop, a completely custom suspension setup, and a thicc Rocket Bunny wide-body kit, adding 180mm to each side.

With this, it became the car we see today, and you’ll get to see its drifting potential and eargasmic rotary noses in the video above.

When you hear the 4-rotor screaming through the trees at ridiculously high RPMs, you’ll soon understand why rotary engines have such a cult following.

Needless to say, it looks like an epic day out with a crazy selection of JDM cars.

While watching, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for Rocket Bunny‘s very own Kei Miura hanging out with drifting legend Robbie Nishida in the paddock.

There are also plenty of other familiar faces, including Casey from shirtstuckedin, and a surprise cameo from Temu’s very own David Attenborough!