Veiled aggression (or not): 2003 Mazda RX8 Type E

The Veilside name is well-known in Japanese tuner circles, and it's a name that holds a lot of meaning to car enthusiasts who indulge in visual upgrades. Times have changed and most people nowadays move away from garishly aggressive bodykits and over-the-top visuals for their car, but we'd be lying if we say we never wanted a Veilside kitted Supra as a kid.

Zaid Qamar, owner of the blue Mazda featured here, has achieved that dream and then some. In a country where genuine parts are near impossible to come by, Zaid rolls around the streets of Dhaka in a genuine Veilside kitted RX8. We've come across quite a few people who would say the Mazda looks distasteful and unnecessarily aggressive, but that's the thing. No one cares what other people think and when you know what you want, it should matter even less. One thing is for sure, the RX8 Type E is a unique piece because of the bodykit, one of two Veilside kitted RX8s in Dhaka (the other one being an orange Type S).

The origins of the Veilside brand can be found in the street racing scene in Japan in the early 90's. Yokomaku Hiranao founded the Veilside brand as a tuner of high performance Japanese vehicles, and the company's location near the famed Tsukaba circuit meant they had access to a track where they could thrash their tuned monsters and refine them over and over. Initially focusing on performance parts and suspension and engine tuning, Hiranao pursued a new philosophy to tuning after the tragic death of a crew member involved in street racing. Ultimately, although Veilside was famed for its tuning abilities, the company found worldwide fame through its exciting visual treatment of Japanese sports cars. The Combat kit for the MKIV Toyota Supra was revolutionary, while Veilside's rapid expansion into the US import tuning scene made it a household name, as far as Japanese tuner shops go. Veilside kitted machines being feature several times in the Fast and the Furious movie series obviously helped.

The aggressiveness of Zaid's RX8 is something one has to get used to, since the futuristic styling of the RX8 gets a hefty leg-up with the flared front and rear arches and bumpers. A bodykit treatment as aggressive as this needs the right kind of wheels, and the RX8 sports a set of simple but very fitting 5 spoke 18 inchers. Overall, the Veilside package accentuates the original shape of the RX8 and takes it to a whole new level of aggression, something we can appreciate very much.

Words: Shaer Reaz

Photos: Tasdid H. Chowdhury