Exuberant, cocky, and risk-taking, Manabu Orido has earned his place in the pantheon of greats in the Best Motoring video series. His tail-out style has endeared him to many, as has his penchant for wildly tuned Toyota Supras, but occasionally that confidence which borders on dangerous puts him in a precarious position — especially when there are guardrails, natural cambers, and heavy sports cars involved.

As the Z is quite a portly machine, a long lockup preceded the collision. Photo credit: Manabu Orido

Unfortunately, this isn’t Orido’s first trip into the weeds while racing in the Touge Showdown. However, it is one of the more violent crashes he’s endured. The 395 horsepower offered from the Amuse 370Z fires it downhill at an alarming pace, and the torque of the VQ37 is enough to spin the rear wheels over bumps of the Gunsai Touge’s uneven surface.

Orido’s gutsy style occasionally lands in him trouble.

However, it’s his late braking, combined with the weight of the (admittedly lightened) Nissan, as well as a possible ABS failure which sent him into (and underneath) the guardrail. While the Amuse Vestito aero kit crumpled like papier-mâché, Orido emerged from the car unscathed and unshaken.

As a racing veteran of nearly 30 years, he’s no stranger to the occasional collision — in fact, he’s the most accident prone star in this Touge Showdown segment. Not detracting from his abilities as a driver at all — he’s simply the type who puts it on the line most of the time, and while that approach occasionally leads to an incident, it always provides the audience with spectacular driving.

Like a pro, he calmly shrugged off the incident. Photo credit: Manabu Orido