This is the 2013 Yatabe RS, orginally built as the 2010 Chez Nautilus Sports Car. This one-off machine, a tribute to the fictional “Dino Racing Special” from the legendary 1970s Japanese manga Circuit no Ōkami, was built over a decade by a group who never let go of the spark lit by the series. Starting with a bare tubular frame, the entire vehicle was built by hand, powering it with a 3.2-liter Ferrari V8 sourced from a 328 and enveloping it in a completely custom aluminum body shaped under the guidance of design sketches by Satoshi Ikesawa, the creator of Circuit no Ōkami (Circuit Wolf). The silhouette pays homage to the manga’s unforgettable race machine while standing on its own as a unique, fully functional creation. While it’s rooted in fiction, the craftsmanship is very real, blending performance aspirations with obsessive attention to aesthetic detail. The project’s construction began in 2006 with an initial presentation in 2010 at the Tsukuba Circuit. Paintwork began in 2013, and after years of iteration, the car was finally completed in 2016. Its inspiration captured a generation of gearheads in Japan by showcasing dramatic street races featuring iconic European exotics. Among those, the “Yatabe RS” emerged not from any showroom floor, but from the author’s imagination, a fantasy Ferrari variant driven by the manga’s protagonist after his Lotus Europa was destroyed. The storyline sees racer Yuya Fubuki survive a grueling public road Grand Prix, but at great cost to his car. With his rival Okita succumbing to illness and their sponsor Yatabe seeking to create something extraordinary, a new machine is born. With nods to the 1967 Pininfarina-designed Dino 206 Competizione, the vehicle incorporates similar butterfly doors and aggressive proportions, but with modern tweaks. The vehicle carries the name “Yatabe RS” to avoid direct conflicts with Ferrari branding.
How many made? 1
Engine: 3.2-liter Ferrari V8
Debut: 2010 at the Tsukuba Circuit in an incomplete state
Top Speed: n/a
0-60mph: n/a
Photo Credit: @ryu_nd5rc
Research: @rarecarsonly
2013 Yatabe RS
20.05.2025
Nautilus Sports Cars