Why was Smokey Nagata, Japan's Top Tuner arrested, and where is he today?

Why was Smokey Nagata, Japan's Top Tuner arrested, and where is he today?

Smokey Nagata has been instrumental in the automotive industry as one of the top engineers in Japan. As a race car driver, he has had a controversial history.

Who is Smokey Nagata?
Nagata has a Bruce Lee-like hairstyle and specs. Photo: @Drifting lover (modified by author)
Source: UGC

Smokey Nagata was born to a family that introduced him to the automotive industry, and his passion for cars cost him his pursuit of education. In hindsight, he acquired enough knowledge to secure a job and later, started a business. Where is he today?

Smokey Nagata's profile summary and bio

Real name Kazuhiko Nagata
Nickname Smokey
Gender Male
Date of birth 25th February 1964
Age 58 years (as of December 2022)
Birthday 25th February
Zodiac sign Pisces
Place of birth Hokkaido, Japan
NationalityJapanese
EthnicityAsian
Sexual orientation Straight
Hair colourDark brown
Eye colourBrown
Marital status Single
Famous asA renowned automotive tuner, engineer, driver and entrepreneur
Social mediaInstagram

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How old is Smoky Nagata?

As of December 2022, Smokey Nagata's age is 58 years. He was born on 25th February 1964 in Hokkaido, Japan and is a Japanese national.

What is Smoky Nagata's real name?

His birth name is Kazuhiko Nagata. He acquired the name Smokey because those around him noticed he had a tendency for swelling burnouts almost everywhere he went.

Smokey Nagata's education

There is not much information about his early life, and according to sources, he did not have the privilege to complete his high school education. Unfortunately, he was expelled for violating laws in his country by driving to school, yet he was underage.

Smokey Nagata's career

Smokey Nagata wiki
Smokey is on a mission to bring revolutionary change to cars. Photo: @Japanese cars (modified by author)
Source: UGC

Smokey's father was a mechanic; hence, Nagata had the chance to tinker with cars at a tender age. The fascination led him to acquire his first car, a Mitsubishi Galant GTO when he was 15 years. The car needed extensive work to restore. Since he lacked the technical know-how, he hung around an engineer who trained him.

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Unbeknownst to Smokey, restoring his Mitsubishi Galant GTO was a significant step in his new life; he attracted the attention of a local Toyota manufacturing plant. The technician who helped him fix his car offered him a job as compensation for contributing to his expulsion from school. At 16 years, he became Toyota's youngest employee at the time. He got fired four years later.

Tokyo

Nagata relocated to Tokyo when he was 20 years old, determined to expand his skills beyond Toyota. He joined Trust, an autotuning company, as an expert and would be handed less complex tasks dealing with Turbos and mufflers. He was dissatisfied with his roles; hence, he would spend extra time creating automotive marvels in the company's garage.

Top Secret Co.Ltd

Just like his previous employment, the management at Trust discovered that Nagata was overqualified for his role, although they did not fire him. Instead, they gave him leeway to nurture his creativity. He collaborated with officials from Trust to establish Top Secret Co.Ltd, and the name was a tribute to his bosses for the time he spent polishing his skills in secret.

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Top Secret Co.Ltd is primarily renowned for drag racing, high-performance engineering, professional circuits and high speeds. The company is responsible for creating the V-12, the twin-turbo and the Skyline GT-R, the renowned V-8-powered engine. These designs have put the company on the autotuning map as one of the best manufacturing race car companies favoured in the USA and Japanese underground racing circuit.

Is Smokey Nagata part of Midnight Club?

Smokey is a speed enthusiast and owns several well-modified cars capable of circuit racing and pro-level drifting. As a result, he is rumoured to be a member of the notorious Midnight Racing Club.

Smokey Nagata's wife

There are no records to prove that Smokey is married, nor are there allegations insinuating he has a wife.

Is Smokey Nagata still alive in 2022?

Smokey is still alive even though rumours have been peddled to insinuate he died. At one point, word went around that his love for speed would lead to his death, especially since he was arrested for exceeding the set speed limits in England in 1988. His misdemeanour resulted in a night in jail and a 28-day driving ban, and a $270 fine for the illegal act.

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Nagata allegedly suffers from hearing impairment even though he is actively involved in his business as the head engineer at Top Secret Co.Ltd. He is determined to break the 400mph goal. He previously eclipsed the 200mph mark in 1988.

Smokey Nagata has set himself apart as an automotive engineer and entrepreneur. He is actively pursuing his goal as an entrepreneur and the head engineer at Top Secret Co.Ltd. He still believes his goal to eclipse 400 mph is attainable.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Priscillah Mueni avatar

Priscillah Mueni (Lifestyle writer) Priscillah Mueni is a lifestyle and entertainment content creator with more than 4 years of experience. She graduated from Meru University of Science and Technology with a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering in 2019. In 2023, Priscillah finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. She has been writing articles on Briefly.co.za since 2019. Email: pshmueni@gmail.com