Perhaps I relate to Dino Dalle Carbonare because he’s living my dream as a big guy with a beard and glasses fully engulfed in the Japanese car scene. Or perhaps I just find his videos intriguing because he’s digging into some of the coolest car stuff going on in the archipelago nation right now. Maybe there’s a little bit of “grass is always greener” sentiment here, but it seems like Japan always goes so much harder than the U.S. does when it comes to cars, culture, and enthusiasm. Whether you like the result or not, the cars of Japan are typically bolder and more hardcore, with the volume cranked up to 22. That, juxtaposed with the quieter and more reserved nature of Dino and the other folks featured in his videos, makes for an interesting video vibe that always has me clicking.
On the Dino DC channel you’ll see everything from his own Nakai-San RWB called Sunflower and the latest from Liberty Walk, to explorations of the Tokyo Auto Salon and drives in gorgeous vintage metal. I’ve followed Dino’s career for years, when he was the Japanese culture correspondent and photographer for Italian magazines, expanding to english-language car culture rags, growing through Speedhunters, and eventually starting his own video series. If you want to see more of what his career has been from his own perspective, the Dino DC put out a video about that. Check it out. He’s one of those YouTubers you should know.
The Best Sports Car Japan Ever Built Is One You’ve Never Heard Of
Dino’s most recent video covers a topic I could not be more excited to see up close and personal. If you have ever thought a Lotus Elise was too soft and heavy, then you need to check out the incredible Tommy Kaira ZZ. Weighing just around 1,400 pounds and powered by a 190-horsepower modified Nissan SR20 engine fitted with a quartet of Keihin carburetors, there’s a whole lot of good and not a whole lot of anything else when it comes to the original ZZ. Lightweight and revvy is the defining character of the car, which is totally right up my alley. Tommy Kaira has been building the ZZ since the mid-1990s and the formula hasn’t changed all that much, though the company has converted to a wider fiberglass body and a higher-power even revvier Honda K-series engine.
These are the kinds of insights you can get from Dino that don’t come standard on other YouTube channels. I could get lost in his back catalog of videos for weeks. Technically the channel started over a decade ago, but he got serious about publishing video blogs around three years ago, and they’ve been frequent and high quality ever since. If you aren’t yet convinced, maybe check this street-legal Porsche GT3 race car out and try it on for size.
