Rocket Bunny - Everything You Need to Know | Up to Speed

**The Art of Customizing Cars: An Exclusive Interview with Kei Miura**

Kei Miura, the mastermind behind Rocket Bunny, has been in the game for a while. He's been designing custom body kits for cars, and his creations have taken the world by storm. As he sits down to chat with us, it's clear that he's not just passionate about his work, but also incredibly humble.

**A Lifetime of Designing**

Miura has been using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) for over 30 years, since he was around 20 years old. He designed rides for Disneyland and bought a Mac for about 1 million yen back then. "I don't think there are many people in the world who have been using CAD for 30 years," he says with a smile.

**The Birth of Rocket Bunny**

What's most impressive is that Miura has taught himself everything he knows. He figures out what he wants to do, looks it up on YouTube (or the equivalent in the 90s), and voilà! His creations are the result of this self-taught expertise. "He has all the details correct," says an admirer. "He can upload the data to a multi-access carving machine, which uses it to make a mold out of polystyrene."

**A Revolutionary Process**

The process is revolutionary in that most manufacturers take months to create body parts. Miura's way of doing things allows him to go from concept to part in just a couple of weeks. This efficiency is what makes his kits more affordable and, as an added bonus, they fit perfectly on the car.

**A Perfect Fit**

As every Rocket Bunny owner will attest, these custom body kits look best on very low cars. Japanese roads are notoriously smoother than those in other countries, making it easier to drive over there. However, despite the less-than-ideal road conditions in the US, buyers are hungry for Miura's kits.

**Controversy and Love**

One of Miura's most infamous creations is the Boss Kit, which transforms Nissan S14s and FD Mazda RX sevens into alternate-universe Japanese muscle cars. The design is polarizing, to say the least, but Miura confesses that he loves it too. "It's not just a bumper replacement or a fender cut; it's a face-lift," he says with a grin.

**Mid-Engine Magic**

Miura has worked on Porsche and the new Corvette C8, both of which have been blessed by his custom body kits. The Acura NSX is another mid-engine car that's been tweaked to perfection. As one admirer puts it, "Rocket Bunny can turn any car into a Japanese muscle car."

**A True Artist**

Miura is a true artist, and his canvas is the car itself. His brushes are made up of bits, cutting into polystyrene, and keyboards. He's not just a designer; he's a master craftsman who brings joy to people all over the world.

**The Verdict**

Rocket Bunny is for those who want to stand out from the crowd. Life's too short to be boring, so why not catch some eyes, make a scene, get a fricking Jason mask and cruise? Get fat, indeed!

**A Final Thank You**

We'd like to thank everyone involved in making this video possible: Grant our writer, Jesse, and Zach who directed. Follow Donut on Instagram @donutmedia, me @jamespumphrey, Dionne from Toyo Tires, Kenji from Greddy, and OMGMIATA's YouTube channel @OMGMIATA.

**And that's a wrap!**

We hope you enjoyed this exclusive interview with Kei Miura. Let us know if you'd like more big UpTo Speeds in the future!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(upbeat music)- I'm backOn, Up To Speed.This is a Tuner car from 2010,and this is a Tuner car from 2020Wider, what happened?Well, Rocket Bunny happened.That's what (beeps) happened.Rocket rocket buuny.♪ Bounce with Rocket Bunny ♪Two words, Rocket Bunny.- It just looked crazy.- People will shoot mevideos and like, Heythis is your car fromthe back, I'm like damn.That looks bad ass.- Rocket, two words, Rocket Bunny.- Rocket Bunny.- Rocket Bunny.(speaking in foreign language)- So what is Rocket Bunny?Where did it come from and whydid it make such a huge impact?Well, that's what I've spentthe last two months tryingto figure out.I talked to a few of theguys really close to it.I talked with mirror son himself.It's been far too long.I've missed you guys a ton.I've missed this freaking store.I miss whatever's going on back here.This is everything you needto know to get Up To Speed onRocket Bunny.We're back.(upbeat music)A big thanks to carparts.comfor sponsoring this monumentalrocket fueled seasonpremiere of Up To Speed.And because this is such ahuge episode, we wanted toget a special sponsor.Like our friends@carparts.com.Clumsy Carl, what are you doing?- Tee tee, collision alert.(Carl shouting)It's okay, cousin, you hada spider on your car thing.It was a Brown reckless, I got it.Don't worry.- No, we all have a friendwho always find some wayto break something on your car.For us, it's our new intern, my cousinClumsy Carl.And with a friend like clumsy Carlreplacement parts can really add up.That's why I trust carparts.com.- It's okay, it's just a wiper.- They're your one stop shopfor collision, repairand maintenance parts.Who saysthat you have to sacrificequality for reasonable price.There are smartand easy way to get whatyou want whenever you want.No matter what you drive.So if you need a newheadlight or side mirroror side trim or grill.- What about bumper?- Why would I need a new.- Sorry.- Even if you need anew bumper carparts.comhas you covered.Get your car running great todaygo to carparts.com.And now back to the show.- Hey, you almost done.You told me mall youtake me to Harry Potter.- I've been wanting to makethis video for a while.The first time that Isaw a Rocket Bunny carit was in a Speed Huntersarticle and they were profilingMuris on shop and there wasthis white S 13 Sylvia parkedout front and had four sixeson the side and Good Yearstickers all over it.Those stickers pairedwith the box fenders and tiny duck pill.Spoiler on the back somehow made oneof the most Japanese carslook like a fricking NASCAR.I loved it.(upbeat music)- I've always liked NASCARand cars from the 80's.I didn't intend for the kitto look like those cars.It just kind of happened.It wasn't initially acceptedin the Japanese marketbut then the Americans loved it.- Whether you're a fanof Rocket Bunny or notyou cannot deny its impact on car culture.How?(bright music)We begin our journey whereevery great story starts.A bypass highway tall room.This is the Kanjo loop.It's the outer beltof the hunching highwaythat surrounds the cityof Osaka Japan.And it's right up therewith the Autobahn forplaces to drive stupid fastexcept unlike the Autobahn stupid faston the loop is very, very illegal.And I just wanna say for acountry, that's given us a lotof cool cars and underpantsfrom a vending machine.Japan is pretty stringent.So naturally the Kanjoloop was the home turfof a particular set of cargo.The Bosozoku.- The Bosozoku.The Bosozoku.The Bosozoku.- These guys wore a loosecollection of clubs.They wore coveralls.They had bright dyed hair.It's like if the hell'sangels were like very, veryvery Japanese.And in the words of theBosozoku they were rebellingagainst a culture that rewardedmoderation and restraint.They were trying to be loud.They wanted to make a scene.I can relate.Now that might explain whythey drove cars like thisand this and this one and rightin the middle of this wasa guy named Kei Miura.Big blonde perm and all.- He comes from a backgroundof old school street racingscene where everything's super slammed.Everything is wild.The old school, JDM threeracer mosozoku kinda style.- He'd skipped the toll on the Kanjo loopby sneaking through thegate behind other carshe took off his license plateand wore fricking JasonVorhees mask to keepfrom getting caught on camera.You know, regular stuff you dowhen you're obeying the law.But in 1988, this punkwould start down a pathto automotive greatness.(upbeat music)Miura's son had just turned 18.He was driving down the streetin Kyoto when suddenlysomething caught his eye.- At that time,I was on a truck at a transporter.And when I pass through a nearby car shopthere was a cool Datsun.And I wanted it.- Hey man, I'd like to buy that sunny.- No.- And what's the deal, man.It's not for sale?- Not for you.You're a punk.- What tha.- Look at your hair, you'reobviously up to no good.- And the owner, Miura'sson calls him crazy guy.- Crazy man.- All crazy.- Get out of our store.- Kei was how should I put this?Not pleased.(beeps)But, he's not the kindof guy to give up very easily.- I got a plan.(upbeat music)- I cut myhair and dyed it blackand went back to the store the next day.- All right, man.Fixed my hair and I hope it pleases you.I don't look like I'mup to no good anymore.Let me buy the car please.Here's my money.- What car?(upbeat music)- I'm freaking.The sunny.- Oh yeah Sunny.Sorry, kid that guy just bought it.- What the (beeps)- Hey kid.I like your attitude.I like your spunk.Can you drive like really drive?- Yeah I can (beeps) drive man.- I might have something in the back.- So the ownershowed Kei a Nissan, 510that he had parked in the back instead.- I decidedto buy it for 500,000 yen.The car was delivered two weeks laterand I was told to bringa helmet and gloves.I was taken to the circuiton the day of delivery.My mentor is a crazystranger who suddenly took meto the race.- Now this guy realized thatKei was a certified car maniac.So obviously he put him to workmaking parts for Disneyland.That's right.The happiest place onearth was being suppliedby a bunch of hoolians.Kei learned how to design using CADwhile making rides andattractions for Disneyland Tokyo.Now, apparently he playeda big part in the designof a ride or attractioncalled Cinderella's windowbut I couldn't find itanywhere on the internet.He continued to work in the shopholding his skills withfiberglass and his off time.He put that knowledge touse fabricating Aero piecesfor his car.And it wasn't longuntil someone asked him tomake arrow parts for their car.Okay. I didn't know it, butthose parts were installedon a Ferrari Dino racecar, not bad for a kidwho's like 20 years old.When I was 20 years old,I slept on the porchof a comedy club twicebecause the train shut downI couldn't ride back to long beach.So basically we're pretty much the same.Kei was doing greatbut the good times wereabout to hit a speed bumpwhich is extra bad when your whole thing'sbuilding really low cars.- I was 22 at the time,but I was caught too oftenby the police and was brought to trial.I got my license revoked for eight yearsand didn't drive on my ownfrom the age of 22, until 30.- So it would be yearsbefore Kei Miura coulddesign and drive carsat the same time, he was like 30.It was a tragic love story.Once he could be unitedwith his love of driving and making stuffKei set out to make hisown way to be his own man.It was time for Lyft.(upbeat music)So that is how he got into making parts.But why these parts?What made him want to make huge flaresand slam cars like so manydoors shut by my father?The Japanese car scene wasabout to experience a reset,a renaissance okay.In the early 80's, deaths from car crasheswere on the rise and fairly or unfairlyBosozoku took the blame.This led to one of the mostfateful moments in car historythe famous Japanese automanufacturer gentleman's agreement.- Gentlemen, thank you for coming.As you know, car crashaccidents are on the rise.It seems as if thesepeople can't get enoughof killing each other withour cars because of thisthe government is threateningus with regulations.- Regulations.- Regulations.- Hell no.- No.- No.- I think I speak for everyone when I saythat regulations are theworst thing that can happento anyone ever.- We know, yes we know,but we've found a solution.- We propose an agreement.None of us will make any carswith more than 276 horsepower.- The (beeps) you talking about.- I just wanna say, Ithink it's really nicethat you guys invited me.- Gentlemen, please.If we voluntarily capour horsepower ourselvesand we won't have to worryabout the government doing it.- But then how the (beeps)are we gonna make sports cars?- Yeah.- Well, here at Honda, we're gonna focuson handling and wait.- Seriously. You guys, this islike the best day of my life.- All right listen, becausethis is the most important partwe're gonna make ourengines extremely sturdy.That way all these gearheads out there, huh?Can tune their cars to makeas much power as they want.- More power?- More power babe.- More power babe.- More power babe.- More power babe.- Okay. Settle, settle, settle.- And if anyone complainshow are we supposed to knowthey were gonna do that?- Exactly. We just sold thema car with 276 horsepower.- A focus on quality and efficiency.Genius.- We're all gonna break thisrule all the time right?- Oh yeah, totally.All right.Let's go bet on some guysfighting in a parking garage.(upbeat music)- That agreement designedto limit car crashes isin many ways why cars fromJapan are so sought after today.It's white Tuning exploded in Japanand with Tuning came a numberof different subcultures.Kei was influenced byall of them, but threein particular stood out.The Kanjo scene was allabout taking regular consumer carsand turn them intorockets, windows too heavy.How about nets?Backseats? How about just nothing.Got a dent, leave it.You got to Jason mass.No fricking get one.Here's something that'sinfluenced by the Bosozoku style.And also the ethoson the Kanjo that whatever youwere driving can be awesome.If you put enough work into it.That's why he makes kits fornot only high-end sports carsbut also things thatregular people can afford.Now while driftingin Japan was slightly moreorganized than the Kanjo scene.(upbeat music)It was still home to punksand misfits and scallywagskind, nearest people.The cars had style, they had flarebut they were also functional.Kei's first car ever just sohappened to be a Toyota AE86one of the most legendarydrift cars of all time- My first car was the 86,which was just the timefor the Bosozokuto turninto street racers.Since I lived in Kyoto, Iwent to Touge road in Kyotobut there were too manycars lined up from the topto the bottom.So at that time I often wentto Nara, Osaka or Rokuoka.The number of people was too largeand the police could not crack down.(upbeat music)(car engine roaring)- And finally, another Japanesecar scene that influencedMiora's son is a little bitmore abstract, but he saysthat it was the most influential on him.It was the quiche.It was the key.It was the cue.It was the q-shipit was the Kyusha scene.I know that I'm probablymispronouncing that.I'm talking about the Kyusha scene.(bright upbeat music)♪ I'm talking about the Kyusha scene ♪Kyusha, translates to oldcar and it really just means,you like old cars.Specific subcultures aside, Miura was justlike a fashion mogul.He saw styles from the past that he likedand brought them back to life.- He gets a lot of his inspirationfrom race cars, basically time attack carsPikes, peak, Hill climb cars.He loves that stuff.Ruby stuff.He loves race cars.- Over fenders, big wings, wide bodies.These are all things thatwere on old race cars.He didn't invent over fendersthat 70's Trans-Am baby big wings lookat our Canem and a numberof other racing circuits.Widebugs, that's old school DTM.The parts tried to convey a senseof power and performancefrom a bygone era.And if you've subscribedto Donut, congrats.You're a Kyusha here.♪ I'm talking about the Kyusha scene ♪You didn't even know it.This dude just thought, manI wish that these current cars looked morelike these old cars that I love.And then he put together someplastic and made it happen.- The carsof the 70's and 80'shave a cool shapeand the style is differentfrom the current cars.I don't know why I like itbut I tend to convert newcars in the old styles.- Now don't go looking for a Rocket Bunnycorporate headquarters insome sleepy industrial parkbecause you won't find one.In fact, there is no Rocket Bunny buildingbecause it's not really a company at all.Kei Miura manufacturersthe body kits at his shopTops Racing Arts in Kyoto.And he has since 1995.His website also lookslike it's from 1995.TRA Kyoto is less of yourtypical garage and moreof a mixed up menagerie ofmotor sports and old technology.Knickknacks are strewn about the space.Ready to impart inspirationon Kei at any given moment.Let's just say if you're OCD,don't go there, you'll puke.Personally, I love it.(upbeat music)Today's Rocket Bunny kits are namedafter a parts line that Keideveloped in the 1990s for KVM.And the name was just toocool to not use again.Inside TRA Kyoto is wherethe magic fricking happens.That's where Kei Miuradesigns Rocket Bunny kitswhich also goes by Pandem herein the States because of copyright issues.He also has a wheel company.He called for 46 Customswhose two piece meshdesign was crafted to complimentany of Kei's body kits.46 also was the nameof his old drift crew.- The 46 is the wheelsthat he came up withwith collaboration, with Inky.So it was the Rocket Bunny, 6666,or we just called it the 46that's the wheel line thathe launched back then.- That story seems simple enough, butlike everything with Kei Miurawhere that name comes fromcomes with a dope backstory.Sometimes multiple ones.- When they started drifting with his crew6666, they just all do allsorts of stupid (beeps)because you know, you're a nervousand you're going out thereand you're doing stupid things.So that's what happens.You see accidents, peoplehit cars, trails, hop tyres.So he changed 666 to 6666.Because he got scared,he was like accidents.So we're gonna change the name.- Chapter four, the legend of Miura.Kei's inspirations may have comefrom the Japanese undergroundand motor sports all over the world.But like Miura's son said,the scene in Japan justwasn't super stoked onhis unique wide body stylebut it wasn't until hisdesigns got to the Statesthat it really got big thinkTim Horton's or democracy.So I just wanna be clear here.All right.Miura's son had beenmaking Rocket Bunny kitsfor a hot second S 13 kitsand previous stuff was alreadybeing imported to the States.But when he changed the worldwas when he released the kitthe newly debuted ScionFRS, Subaru BRZ, Toyota 86.He changed the world.- I think the community reallyaccepted it really well.You know, taking brand new carand cutting up the defendersand the quarter panels.And from that launch, it just,I think everybody was reallythey all fell in love with the stylingand it really blew up.- When the FRS came, I'm just like, Ohso that's Rocket Bunny.That's crazy.So S 13 for sure, whatkind of broke the ice.And then what really justwent nuclear as the FRS.And it just snowballed from there.- The FRS kit debuted at SEMAthe largest aftermarket carconvention in the world.And it made a huge splash.These days, Kei Miurainfluences all over SEMAbut it's not just his designs.It's the process that allowshim to do those designs.- Usually when body kitsare made, they shape itand form it on the existingcar and start shaping it.And they have to make a plug off of that.But the way he designs itis just everything's drawnon his computer screen and sends that dataand gets, you know, CNCmachine for the first sample.- He starts with a laserscan of the entire car.It's important to him thathis kits highlight what's bestabout the car rather than hide it.So making sure he has allthe factory details rightis very important.And one thing that everyone saysabout his kits is theyfit very, very well.Then he starts to play- The way he designs,he's so good at that.I mean, he's been doing it for a while.He's drawing the actualwide-body body kits on the carspinning it on the computer screenand just like click click.- I bought aMac for about 1 million yenwhen I designed rides forDisneyland, since thenI've been using CAD for 30 yearssince I was about 20 years old.I don't think there are many peoplein the world who have beenusing CAD for 30 years.- What's maybe most impressiveis that all of this stuffis 100% self taught.The dude is a full on nerd.He's just like us.He figures out a thinghe wants to know how to do.Then he looks it up onYouTube or whatever.The 90s equivalent of YouTube was.Books?I don't know.But he has all the details, correct.He can upload the data to amulti-access carving machinewhich uses it to make a moldof the part out of polystyrene.And once the mold is formed, it's filledwith fiber reinforced polymer,resin and left to harden.When it does, the polystyreneis removed, you're leftwith a beautiful body part.And what looks like abunch of packing peaks.Because of this processwhere most manufacturers can take monthsTRA Kyoto can go from conceptto part in just a coupleof weeks.- That's what kind of makesthese kits more affordablebecause he doesn't hand mold things.He just it's all computerized.It's kind of why theyalso fit really well.- And that perfect fit iswhat every Rocket Bunnyowner will mention that in the fact thatthey look best on very, very low carsbecause Japanese roadsare way nicer than oursand it's easier to drive over there.But these days, despite theless than ideal road conditionsover here, US buyers arehungry for Kei's kits.Inspiring him to fab up must have stufffor pretty much everycool car you can think of.And some of them arejust straight up bizarre,but like sick bizarre.For instance, we got the boss' kitwhich transforms Nissan S14's and FD Mazda RX sevensinto weird alternateuniverse, Japanese muscle carsinstead of just replacingbumpers and cutting fenders.The boss kit requires youto remove the whole frontof your car and replace it witha face that would look moreat home in a 70s, Moparthe bulging hood completesthe look it's controversial.I'll admit it.Guess what?Fricking love it.Another controversial kit would bethe one he made for the Acura NSX.It's not the most radicalby Kei Miura standards.The opposite.It's very subtle almost.And the NSX isn't the only mid-engine carthat he's worked on.Porsche came inand the brand spankingnew Corvette C8 have alsobeen blessed and they both look amazing.Just more proof thateverything from a Nissan GTRto a Toyota Yaris canbe Rocket Bunny verb.Kei Miura is one of those guysthat I'm truly jealous of.All right.He's blessed with this giftof being completely carefreeor at least coming off in that way.He does things his own way.And if you don't like it, so what?He's still gonna be makinghis stuff and peopleother people are still gonna like it.In that respect, he's a realartist and he's canvas is a carand his brushes are bits cuttinginto polystyrene and keyboards.His work gets visceralreactions around the worldand he's not slowing down.Rocket Bunny is for peoplewho like Miura's son want to stand out.Life's too short to be boring.Catch some eyes, make a scene,get a fricking Jason mask and cruise.Get fat.I wanna thank everybody who helpedmake this video possible.Grant our writer, Jesseand Zach who directed.Follow Donut on Instagram @donutmedia.Follow me @jamespumphrey.Dionnne from Toyo Tires.Go subscribe to hisYouTube channel @OMGMIATA.Kenji from Greddy.So full of knowledge and awesome.Thanks for talking to us and especiallyto Kei Miura for taking thetime and even more so the kits.And thank you again to Miurafor sending me that kit and Dionnefor making it all possible.And I really wanna thank you guysfor sticking around and waiting this out.We needed the lights andfires under our butts.This is a bigger episode.Let us know if you'dlike these bigger videos.Let us know what big UpTo Speeds you wanna see.I miss you guys.I love you very much.♪ Better late than never ♪♪ For all that was lost once again ♪