Han Was Always the Real Star — And Sung Kang Is Proving It
Sung Kang’s IG post on visiting Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto
Fast & Furious is one of the biggest movie franchises in the world. To the general audience, Vin Diesel as Dom Toretto is the main character — and that's fair.
But to JDM fans? Sung Kang, who plays Han, is the main character. Full stop.
And what makes Sung Kang special is that he's not just playing a car guy. He genuinely is one — and he's using that platform to bring JDM culture to a whole new generation.
First — Why Han in Fast & Furious Mattered So Much
Honestly, Han deserves his own dedicated post — and I'll do that later.
But the short version: Han's most iconic moment is in Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift — the only film in the franchise that didn't star Vin Diesel (he appeared only in an end credits scene). Han wasn't even the lead. He played the mentor.
And yet everyone remembers him — and his VeilSide RX-7. That clip has been remixed so many times, especially with AI tools, that it's arguably one of the most viewed car clips ever. It turned that VeilSide RX-7 into one of the most iconic JDM cars of all time.
Han with his VeilSide RX7 in Fast & Furious: Toyko Drift
Beyond Tokyo Drift, Han's importance to the broader franchise is that he gave Dom's crew real depth. Characters with genuine backstory. Fast Five took the franchise to a completely different level because of that — and Han was a big part of why.
Sung Kang Created the FUGU Z
FUGU Z built by Sung Kang and his friends
Just Google "FUGU Z" and you'll find a host of articles about how Sung Kang wanted to build a track car with friends. With the help of GReddy, that build ended up winning the 2015 Gran Turismo Best in Show at SEMA — which led to the FUGU Z becoming a driveable custom car in the Gran Turismo video game. And you know a build has truly made it when it gets featured on Jay Leno's Garage.
Of all the Fast & Furious cast, Sung Kang and Paul Walker R.I.P. were the ones who were genuinely into cars. That matters.
I followed Sung Kang through the entire FUGU Z journey — and honestly, I thought that would be it.
I was wrong.
Partnership with Daniel Wu — Student Driver
Daniel Wu is a legendary Hong Kong American actor with decades of fame in Asia before Into the Badlands introduced him to Western audiences. My personal favourite of his is New Police Story alongside Jackie Chan — a role that showed a completely different side of him.
The story of how Sung Kang and Daniel Wu connected is that Wu was inspired by the FUGU Z build, their friendship grew from there, and Wu went on to build his own show-winning Honda S800. In 2020 they launched Student Driver together — a community built around bringing car enthusiasts together to share, learn and collaborate.
Two East Asian actors — Korean American and Hong Kong American — coming together to elevate car culture when it needed it most.
Pretty awesome.
The Drifter — and Sung Kang's Lola
Sung Kang had a TV show called The Ride Life With Sung Kang which I'll be honest — I didn't watch. The trailer didn't feel JDM enough for me.
But then out of nowhere, Sung Kang announced an original film called The Drifter — starring not just him, but his AE86 build, nicknamed Lola.
Sung Kang with his AE86 “Lola”
What's smart about Lola is that Sung Kang didn't try to recreate Takumi's AE86 from Initial D. That would've been a cheap copy and everyone would've known it.
Instead he went all in — an all-red Rocket Bunny wide body with an LS3 V8 swap. LS swaps into JDM cars aren't new, but seeing one featured this prominently in a film is a genuine nod to the kind of next-level builds that real enthusiasts actually do. Honestly it makes me want to look into a V8 Miata swap, which is hugely popular in the community right now.
Sung Kang took Lola to Japan Auto Salon 2026 to promote the film, then came to Toronto for the Canadian International Auto Show. The fact that he brought this project to Toronto — my city — makes it even more personal. Can't wait for this movie.
Car Culture Needs Legends — And That's Exactly What's Been Missing
JDM car culture in North America peaked during the Adam Saruwatari RX-7 and D2C Integra Type R era. Then two things happened that slowly started the decline:
First — car manufacturers shifted focus to SUVs. This didn't just slow the death of sports cars, it killed off vehicles like proper minivans too. The enthusiast market stopped being the priority.
Second — as more people gained access to building fast cars, the legendary mythmaking around figures like Saruwatari faded. When everyone has a fast car, no single name carries the same weight. The legends became harder to create.
That's why Sung Kang matters right now. He's not just a celebrity who happens to like cars. He's a genuine enthusiast who has consistently put in the work — from the FUGU Z to Student Driver to The Drifter — to bring car culture back to the level it deserves.
We need more of that energy.
