The Leopard at the press conference to announce the production of the latest film
On 1 November 2023, a press conference was held to announce the production of the film The “Abunai Deka Returns”, the latest installment in the “Abunai Deka” (Dangerous Detective) series that brought the Nissan Leopard (second generation) to the forefront of attention. Three days later, on 4 November, the Leopard Open Meeting 2023 was held at Miyama Park, a roadside station in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture. Miraculously, as if by coincidence, the Leopard that appeared at the press conference with the actors was taking part in the meeting! Unfortunately, the participating car was not the car in the film, but the personal car of Mr. Ichikawa, a fan of the drama, but please take a closer look at his love for “Leopard” and “AbuDeka”.
The final specification he arrived at after driving five second-generation Leopard cars
Two early models. Two late models. Then, after a blank of more than 10 years, he got a first-term again about three years ago. In other words, Mr Ichikawa has now owned a total of five second-generation ‘Leopard’ cars.
“The first trigger, of course, was the drama: after getting my license at the age of 18, I took out a loan without telling my parents and bought a 1988, gold-bodied Grand Selection. At the time, later models were already on the market, but this was the limit for a young man to force himself to buy one. But the car in the film was a 3000 cc Altima, and my car was a 2000 cc, so I changed the emblems to disguise the grade at the time, but I couldn’t help feeling frustrated when the ‘real’ one lined up next to me at a junction. As a result, I only drove it for a year and then switched to a 1986 Altima.”
Mr. Ichikawa owned his second car, an early model, for about four years, but switched to a late model when the car in the drama changed to a late model. He was hit by a car and suffered total damage, but as he was not responsible for the accident, he was reimbursed by his insurance and got a late model again. After driving the car for more than ten years, he began to develop an interest in European cars, which is why he gave up the second generation ‘Leopard’ there.
I wanted to drive the Leopard one more time before I died
Mr. Ichikawa spent his days immersed in the fascination of European cars such as the MG “MGB”, Alfa Romeo “Spider 115” and “156” and the Maserati “Ghibli” (2nd generation). One day, he met Mr. Nakajima, the organizer of the Leopard Open Meeting 2023, and other Leopard owners, which made him realize anew the appeal of the second-generation Leopard. As a result, he rekindled his desire to “drive it again before I die!” and the search for his fifth car began.
“In the past, I had built a car for a play, so this time I was looking for a Leopard with the intention of enjoying it purely, without being caught up in the AbuDeka story. What I wanted was a late model, two-tone beige in color. When I actually came across the unit I wanted to buy, I was disappointed because the new owner had already decided. Then I heard from an acquaintance that there was a unit that had been lying around for about three years.”
That is my car at the moment. Fortunately or unfortunately, the unit is an early model Altima painted in gold two-tone. As a base, it could have been a play car specification, but the main difference is that this car had a sunroof.
“The play car doesn’t have a sunroof. So if I could have come across an early model gold, I would have preferred it without the sunroof. …… But it wasn’t the time for that kind of selfishness at that point, so I decided I couldn’t let the timing pass me by.”
Focused on the precise reproduction of the car in the play
The early model Altima with the sunroof thus acquired had been dressed up with wheels and various other parts according to the owner’s tastes at the time. However, Mr. Ichikawa’s preference was for a beautiful genuine article. Luckily, the genuine wheels were still available, so the wheels were returned to genuine and the car was delivered. From there, he started customizing his car with the goal of making it beautiful.
“The interior was not in a beautiful state, with some of the paint peeling off. Anyway, I wanted to bring it up to a state close to that of when it was new, so I polished it and repainted the interior, little by little, to bring it up to a beautiful condition.”
As he himself had remarked, he would not have been interested in the “AbuDeka” specification at first. However, two coincidences ignited Ichikawa’s heart and would determine his subsequent fate. The first. The interior was the same as the car in the film.
“The original color of this unit is pearl. The previous owner had repainted it in two tones of gold. Pearl and gold have the same interior combination, which is the interior of the AbuDeka’s car. And since only about 2,000 of the previous year’s 3000cc Altimas were sold, this brown interior is very rare.”
Another reason was the desired number.
“The number of the car in the play was ‘Yokohama 33 Mo 54-17’. I originally lived in Yokohama, so I could imagine that by using the desired number, the characters would be close to those of the car in the play. However, it just so happened that the “Mo” was removed! The three-digit part is the only part that can’t be done because of the era, but such a coincidence is impossible, isn’t it? If this happens, we have no choice but to aim for the car specifications in the play.”
Specification changes as close as possible to the 1986 model
In addition, Ichikawa’s aim for the car’s specifications in the play is not just to reproduce the mats and audio system, with the addition of a patrol lamp, car phone, and radio. It also includes changing the specifications of his 1987 model and the 1986 model of the car in the play, and the different parts of the same early-model Leopard, to make them as close to the 1986 model as possible.
Detailed explanations of the door locks, lumbar support switch covers, speed limit chimes, painted lines on the inside of the doors, number plate angles, etc. will be provided along with photos, but according to Mr. Ichikawa, “We aimed to create a beautiful 1986-style car” and the result was the film production presentation of “The Abunai Deka Returns”, The car even had the honor of being lined up with the actors who appeared in the film.
“When Toru Nakamura saw this car, his comment was the highest praise I could receive. It was worth the effort to finish it so meticulously!”
And what was that compliment?
“When it’s reproduced this well, I’m beyond impressed and feel sick (laughs).”
translated by DeepL