I'm sorry to bring back an old thread, but I feel that I need to, as either Mr. J is misinformed, or not telling the truth.
My name is Steve Neill, and I am not only the main contributor to the Wiki article, but also the author of the Cardomain article, the YouTube user of the most popular MNC video on YT, and friends with numerous members of the club. I also work for a company run by some members (whose names I won't divulge) called Kuruma Shashin. Please look us up on FB!
Myself and a colleague named Dan Levkov are the only Gaijin outside of the club in the world, to have privy information shared with. We are aware of the names of all members, but personally only keep in touch with a few "top dogs" who respect us as much as we do them, so while I cannot divulge much about the members, I can correct some things here.
A bit about me; I have been a member of this forum now for a couple of years, and rarely posted. I tend to keep to myself, and I haven't visited it in awhile. I only passed by now as I did a search for the club on google, and this was in the results. I too (like all of you) am into WM, because it is very loosely inspired by the real Mid Night Club. My first experience with the real club was when I was 6, and they passed my mothers rental car at top speed on Wangan at about 4AM. Ever since, I've been enamored and continue to be surprised by new stories I am told, and cool new modifications being added to existing cars. My friends within the team are kind, and all seem to respect me as well. Perhaps it is because I am straightforward, and keep their identities anonymous.
"The J" mentioned that perhaps Smokey was part of the club. Kazuhiko Nagata was not part of Mid Night. In fact, he applied to be a member in the early 90's only to be denied due to reckless driving. He's a kind fellow, and he built TS out of spite. Nothing wrong with that.
The J also mentioned that the club no longer exists. This is extremely false. Not only does the team still exist, but they still race on Wangan regularly. Since the demolition of Yatabe, this is the only place besides a circuit to test their cars, and as everyone knows, they are only into "Maximum Velocity", so them racing on ancircuit does not allow for that. So Wangan-sen is their only viable alternative.
They still actively meet as a full team every 6 months for a dinner, and meet casually on small sections of the Tokyo Expressway system to race. It is unannounced, and entirely spontaneous. They have in no way disbanded, nor has any member left. They simply no longer accept new members.
The Air Breathing Research Hosoki S130Z and the 930 Yoshida Special shown above were the basis for Wangan Midnight. They were the team leader cars. Over time, leadership was passed down. It now belongs to someone else, who will remain anonymous.
There is also a real "Blackbird" 930, ironically enough owned by a Surgeon. It utilizes the turbo setup from Ayrton Senna's McLaren MP4/4, which makes it a priceless car. The real Devil Z is the Speed Shop Shinohara car. It is hidden away however. These cars were both used in the 1991 movie, and have been massively modified since, to well over 600PS each.
If anyone has any questions about the club, they can email me at
[email protected], and I will answer them to the best of my abilities. The club would prefer that disinformation or lies are not told about them, as every lie told leaves the door open for disrespect or a trail of following disinformation. The club is happy to share their cars with the world as well and they are no longer in hiding as a club. Only as individuals do they remain anonymous. I'm sure you can all understand how false statements, exaggeration or lies can make them concerned with their image.
Please don't hesitate to drop me an email, with any questions.
I just wanted to clear this all up.
Regards,
S. Neill.
[ Post merged on May 5 2013, 02:51 AM ] Also I apologize if I offended anyone, as that was not my intent at all. Any spelling mistakes were made due to me replying via an iPhone, so apologies for that as well.