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Falken's Nissan Silvia S15

The Falken Nissan Silvia S15 is one of Falken’s most notable vehicles in the quiver to rock the teal and blue livery. After 25 years, the S15 chassis is finally eligible to import in the United States for street-legal use; however, Falken obtained one for drift competition in 2009. With a few stints in Formula Drift in teal and blue with prominent drivers, this Japanese-imported machine is a history-rich, rare sight to behold.

Before the Teal and Blue

Falken’s S15 didn’t always sport the teal and blue livery, as it originally started as the HKS Genki Silvia RS-2 in the early 2000s, driven by the legendary and pioneering Nobuteru ‘NOB’ Taniguchi as a D1 Grand Prix Series competition vehicle. The S15 was fully tuned by HKS and powered by an HKS GT2835 Turbocharged SR20DET, making close to 500 horsepower for slips and slides. NOB showcased his exceptional skill as a drift pilot in the early 2000s, securing five victories in D1 and an overall D1 championship win in the 2001 inaugural season. In 2004, NOB and his team would forego the S15 to compete in a Toyota Altezza.

HKS then sold the vehicle to Pacific Rim, where a future Formula Drift Champion and future Falken team driver, Daijiro ‘Dai’ Yoshihara, piloted the car for a few years in Formula Drift before Falken took ownership of the vehicle in 2008. Dai was highly competitive throughout the season and won the 2007 Formula Drift Seattle and New Jersey rounds, with the S15 sporting the Rockstar livery.

2009: Calvin Wan

In 2009, the S15 debuted in teal and blue as team driver Calvin Wan’s competition vehicle for the Formula Drift series. Falken originally planned on Calvin to pilot the convertible Nissan 350Z, but it was given to Tyler McQuarrie in 2008 when he joined the team instead. Calvin competed that season in the Falken Infiniti G35, which was totaled at Sonoma Raceway, so he finished the remainder of the 2008 season in his personal Mazda RX-7 FD. There was a need to get Calvin into another factory Falken car for the 2009 season, so the Northern California legend forwent his personal 2-rotor machine and officially took the S15 sideways in the teal and blue livery at the Streets of Long Beach.

During this debut, Calvin made his way to the Top 32, where he matched up against Ryan Tuerck and hit the wall in the middle of the run, leaving damage on the vehicle’s right side and taking out the rear bumper. Calvin would compete in the rest of the series in the S15, finishing 23rd overall with 289.75 points. The S15 ran for its only complete season in teal and blue during Wan’s run with the car due to Falken’s factory team driver direction change the following year. Calvin would also retire this year from competing in Formula Drift, making the S15 the last car he drove for drift competition.

2010: James Deane

The following year, in 2010, the S15 was passed on to a rookie 18-year-old James Deane part-time for the following 2010 Formula Drift season. James had previously made his name known in European territory by winning the Prodrift Series in 2008, but he was relatively unknown internationally. Falken Team Driver Darren McNamara lobbied hard to have this obscure and young driver from the European drift scene compete in Formula Drift, so with a limited budget, Falken took the opportunity for him to rock the teal and blue for a handful of rounds.

The upcoming Irish rookie talent debuted on American soil at the inaugural Formula Drift starting event at the Streets of Long Beach, where he made his drifting prowess known internationally. In a Top 32 battle against veteran driver Ken Gushi, Deane shattered the S15’s rear spoiler after charging into the first turn. James finished his first event in the Top 8, an electrifying rookie performance that made him an instant fan favorite and foreshadowed his dominance as a competitor in his career.

Deane would go on to compete in the last races of the series with performances in Las Vegas Speedway’s After Dark, Infineon Raceway’s Point of Impact, and Toyota Speedway’s Title Fight. With showings that impressed fans and fellow competitors alike, James finished his part-time rookie season in 24th place with 202 points. James would then return to the Formula Drift series to compete in the 2017 season and go on a legendary run that cemented himself as one of the greatest drifters in the world, and the only competitor to win three Formula Drift championships in a row.

2011: Tyler McQuarrie

In 2011, the S15 transitioned to serve as a demo car for fans to ride and a running spare car for team drivers who needed it since drifting takes a toll on vehicles that could potentially render them temporarily or permanently undrivable. The competitive drift landscape was also changing regarding the engineering surrounding vehicle specifications. High horsepower V8s, competition in cold winter weather, and quick changes were rapidly becoming concerns for drift teams, and a new rule involving roll cage construction made it an easy decision for Falken to retire the car. For one event in the 2011 season, the S15 would return as a competition car as Team Falken Driver Tyler McQuarrie took the wheel at Las Vegas Speedway. Due to Formula Drift rules, drivers could not switch cars once qualifying started. At the time, fellow team driver Justin Pawlak was in serious contention for the championship. However, his Ford Mustang suffered an engine failure on the Thursday Las Vegas practice session. Pawlak's Mustang suffered vapor locking issues as ambient tempertures were around 105 degrees at night. After some tough decision-making, Team Falken moved Tyler to compete in the S15 for the round. Tyler gave Justin his more competitive 350Z to give the team a better shot at gaining valuable championship points.

2012: Darren ‘D-Mac’ McNamara

2012 was the last time the Falken Nissan Silvia S15 would officially see competition. Team Driver D-Mac totaled his Saturn Sky at the start of the 2012 Formula Drift season in Long Beach, so he needed a temporary vehicle to continue competing. The 2012 season had many changes for D-Mac: he transitioned from the Falken team in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the team on the West Coast, and SPD Metalworks also stepped in to be his crew chief.

Falken had an S14 build planned for Darren to compete in; however, it was still in progress and unfinished, so the stars aligned for the S15 to return to competition. D-Mac switched to compete in the S15 for the rest of the season, and SPD Metalworks helped swap the SR20DET engine for an LS3 engine. As a demo car, the turbocharged SR20DET produced too much heat. It became unreliable for 60+ runs a day, so the LS3, with a mild cam making around 475 wheel-horsepower, proved to be the perfect engine to give continuous hot laps without risking failure. D-Mac finished the remainder of the 2012 season with the LS3-powered S15, competing in New Jersey, Seattle, and Irwindale. He ended the series in 25th place with 184.5 points and went on to compete in the Falken S14 the following season.

2013 and Beyond

After the 2012 season, the Falken Nissan Silvia S15 would not see competition again and would remain as a demo car for ridealongs at events such as GRIDLIFE until 2022. The S15 is out of competitive commission; however, it is not over for the teal and blue drift machine. As a piece of motorsports history operated by several legendary drivers, Falken is now preserving and displaying the car for public viewing on special occasions.

Fun fact: Falken kept the HKS D1GP carbon fiber plaque on the dashboard of the S15 that lists all its drivers at its time with HKS as a nod to its heritage. As the vehicle’s last competitive driver, D-Mac wrote his name by hand on that driver list at some point over ten years ago, and it is still there.

Where would you like to see the S15? Are there any vehicles in Falken’s collection you want to see again? Please send us an e-mail at [email protected] or hit us up on social media @falkentire to let us know!