Tucked away quietly in the back of a shop in the city of Sakai is an old race car that hasn’t seen competition since the late ‘90s. I’ve become a bit familiar with it over the years because I see it every time I come to Charge—but it has never moved. I’ve never seen the “Voice” PS13 Silvia be anything but a sentimental memory hidden under parts and sheets since I started visiting some years back….

Charge (aka Tatsumi Eng) is an engine-building and bodyshop that works closely with Yasu from Exceed Japan. We stop by every time I’m here in Japan because Yasu is often dropping parts off for his engines. The father/son duo here are diehard car enthusiasts with the dad being the builder and the son as the driver. They participate regularly in one-make races for the thrill but cut their teeth doing a little bit of everything at their shop…

Charge itself looks frozen in time with cars strewn all over and engines of all types being taken apart for reconditioning. On any given day you’d find a Ferrari Dino engine just sitting under a Civic. Sakai is an industrial city and the shop reflects that grit…

Inside one of the warehouses, the Silvia sits under dust that’s been layered on from years of inactivity. Its modifications are dated, giving off a retro-feel like it was done purposefully to pay homage to a different time. It’s not an homage however, it’s a literal time capsule. The owner jokes of selling it, but the fact that it’s sat this long tells you this S13 means more to him than we could ever fathom…

I try to get at least one photo of it every year I see it. Perhaps to let him know it’s intrinsic value to him is not lost on others like me, who likely do the same to keep things that remind us of a different time when we felt differently about the world in front of us. They’re always too busy talking to care about anything I do there, but I move things around ever so slightly on top of the Silvia so he knows someone else has looked at it. That it’s appreciated…

How do you tell people that don’t understand cars that there’s something so romantic about being in love with a hobby that makes your heart beat just a little differently?…

Maybe it’s not supposed to be understood…

Thanks for looking…