Hoshino Impul Co., Ltd., commonly known as Impul, is a Japanese automotive aftermarket company and racing team based in

Setagaya-ku is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the Habenaria radi ...

, Tokyo. Founded by

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

's factory driver, Kazuyoshi Hoshino, the company exclusively produces aftermarket parts for Nissans, such as bodykits, engine components as well as wheels.

History

The company was founded in 1980 by the

works driver, Kazuyoshi Hoshino in Maruko-cho,

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

. Within months, Impul produced its first product, the ''IMPUL D-01'' wheel, which to promote it, it found its way on Hoshino's Gr. 5 Silvia racing competing in the Formula Silhouette, a Fuji Grand Champion support series, as well as starting a Tokyo-based sales center in Sayama-shi, Saitama-ken. A year later, that was relocated in Kichijōji, Musashino-shi. In 1983, Hoshino formed Hoshino Racing Limited, a racing team to help promote his products and because of expansion, he relocated his company in Shimorenjaku, Mitaka as well as establishing a depot nearby. In 1987, Impul offered its first fully tuned car, the IMPUL 630R, a tuned Y30 Gloria/ Cedric. In 2002, the racing relocated to

Gotemba, Shizuoka is a Cities of Japan, city on the southeastern flank of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 88,370 in 36,096 households, and a population density of 450 persons per km². The total area of the city ...

. After that, the company began to focus on tuning cars and has since tuned the Infiniti M, which became the Impul 651S, and the Nissan Juke. Both of these examples of Impul's tuning has changes to the bumpers, engines, brakes, tires, exhaust system, among other things. VIP style is the common element Impul has incorporated on.

Motorsport

Since 1983, the company ran its own racing team which found success in domestic series such as JTCC, Formula Nippon and

Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a sports car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is the top level of ...

. Hoshino was the first driver to win in the team's R32 GT-R during a JTCC race in 1990. In addition to Hoshino, notable Impul drivers include Masahiko Kageyama (1993 Japanese Touring Car Championship winner), Satoshi Motoyama (2001, 2003 and 2005 Formula Nippon champion), Benoît Tréluyer (2006 Formula Nippon champion), Tsugio Matsuda (2007 and 2008 Formula Nippon champion),

Yuji Ide (born 21 January 1975) is a Japanese racing driver. He is the 2005 Formula Nippon runner-up and the 2010 Suzuka 1000km winner. He competed in Formula One with the Super Aguri team in 2006, but was demoted to third driver after four races and ...

, and Kohei Hirate. From 1988 to 2022, auto parts supplier Calsonic served as their primary sponsor in touring car racing. Their partnership continued for another two years following the rebranding to Marelli until the end of 2024. In 2025, Tokyo Radiator became their new sponsor in Super GT.

Racing results

Complete JGTC results

Sources: ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Super GT results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.

References

External links

* {{Automotive industry in Japan Formula Nippon teams Super Formula teams Japanese auto racing teams Automotive companies based in Tokyo Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Automotive companies established in 1980 Wheel manufacturers Automotive motorsports and performance companies Japanese brands Super GT teams Super Taikyu teams Toyota in motorsport Nissan in motorsport World Sportscar Championship teams