Japan's Cult-Classic Racing Show 'Hot-Version' Hits Amazon Prime

One of Japan’s most iconic car shows is about to hit Amazon’s Prime Video service. Hot-Version was developed as part of a spin off from Best Motoring, a Japanese car publication that has been defunct since 2011. The videos were released once every two months, and mostly featured heavily modified cars racing down tracks or Japanese mountain passes called “touge” with professional racers behind the wheels. Even drift king Keiichi Tsuchiya participated in the races on the show. Of course, there’d be a crash every now and then, but it wouldn’t be a typical crazy Japanese show without one.

Interestingly enough, Hot-Version quickly picked up in the US and Europe in the 2000s, with a cult-following that led to subtitled versions finding their way online. Nevertheless, those subtitled episodes were scarce as it depended on popularity, so fans of the series should be happy to know that Amazon will be bringing the show back with an officially subtitled version. There are currently two episodes on Prime Video streaming, and there’ll surely be more to come, as the announcement video above suggests, though how many episodes will make it onto the streaming service has not been officially revealed. Unfortunately, as with many Prime shows, Hot-Version will not be available in all regions either, so it might not appear on your feed depending on where you are.

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