With touge being a niche motorsport subset, it can sometimes be challenging to find quality driving content buried in the sheer volume of YouTube videos in 2023. We post fresh videos every Friday on Ridge Chaser, and that's understandably not enough for those who crave more. Here are our top 10 picks for touge-based YouTube channels from around the world.
10. o_O S2000 (United States)
o_O S2000 is practically the grandfather of original touge YouTube content, with videos listed back to 2012. As the name suggests, the channel features the AP2 Honda S2000, using onboard POV footage to display the owner's grip-driving capabilities.
Even though there were other canyon driving videos floating around, o_O S2000 had unmatched video quality and sound design during its peak popularity. For many, this was the first touge channel they discovered. Followers are still asking the driver for more videos to this day.
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9. nea soonhuat (Malaysian Peninsula)
The nea soonhuat channel, based in Malaysia, features some of the most unique road layouts. The route blends the elements of a conventional highway and twisty canyon road together.
These roads are well-populated even at night, demanding situational awareness similar to that of Kanjo-style street racing as traffic alters the driving line. However, cornering ability still takes a high precedence. Soon Huat Nea's preferred vehicle of choice is the Mitsubishi Evo 9.
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8. GoSattyGo (California, United States)
GoSattyGo (formerly TougeEvo) is another case full of American touge lore and history. With over 13 years of canyon driving experience, he's known as one of the fastest locals in his repsective area. His interview with TougeSociety is a must watch for those who learn about modern California touge history.
GoSattyGo's YouTube page mainly comprises of raw onboard footage. Even with minimalist production, these videos are wildly entertaining due to the high level of driving skill showcased. There are a variety of cars featured, with the Saturn Ion Redline being the most recent addition.
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7. 偷泥的賽車紀實器 (Taiwan)
Roughly translated to "Tony's Racing Recordings", this channel features a variety of performance cars driven in the Taiwan mountain ranges. They appear to have access to newer cars such as the 2023 Yaris GR, Nissan GT-R R35, and Civic Type R (FK8) but also feature more down-to-earth cars such as the Honda Civic EF and Nissan Livina.
Tony's onboard footage is one of the few to implement a dual cam setup - one to capture the driver's inputs, and one for viewing the road. Taiwanese hill climb events in fully-built rally cars are also featured. Tony's videos are only available in Mandarin, but his driving speaks for itself.
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6. Touge Trash (Czech Republic)
Touge Trash is a street and touge drifting crew from Czech Republic, shooting cinematic videos with both drift and grip street builds. They also compete at a professional level with a 2JZ-swapped Nissan Silvia S15.
It's no surprise that Touge Trash posesses professional-level skills once you see the level of precision in their drifting videos in the streets of Prague and the mountain pass. The BMW E30 and E36 are the chassis they rep most on the channel.
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5. Rev Lox (United States)
Rev Lox is one of the newest touge channels, quickly gaining a reputation for his daredevil performance driving. His car of choice is the BMW E36 323is featured with a custom 3rd-person camera setup and classic POV-style angle (see below).
What distinguishes Rev Lox videos from the rest is his professional-level cinematography skills used to capture the true nighttime touge experience. His video library may not be as substantial as others, since he only wants to showcase the absolute best driving possible.
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4. NIGHTRIDE (Poland)
NIGHTRIDE is an automotive media group from Poland that encompasses overall car lifestyle. They have a fascinating collection of videos that cover project car builds, drift events, and car owner interviews.
Their popular touge street drift videos include cars such as the 400 horsepower BMW E30 and a 1UZ swapped Nissan S13 200SX. Even though they are based in Poland, NIGHTRIDE content is all in English which has allowed them to gain an international audience of over 675,000 followers since their debut in August 2018.
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3. corners cz (Czech Republic)
Corners cz is a track day organizer group based in Czech Republic, offering performance driving lessons on various race tracks throughout Europe. They also go beyond the famous circuits like Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, and Monza to host events on closed ice circuits.
The team also believes in having a great experience outside the racing circuit, travelling to the best European roads for spirited driving. Here's the best part - they actually apply their track skills to go full send on these roads. No excuses, just consistency. It doesn't matter which car - whether it's the Toyota GR Yaris, Alpine A110S, Porsche Boxster S, they drive the way it's meant to be driven. It surely makes for some of the best driving videos on YouTube.
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2. Touge Crimea (Crimea)
Touge Crimea videos truly capture the essence of Eastern European street drifting. Their well-videographed drift scenes spark a reminder that there is still a part of car culture alive that values action over having a spotless vehicle.
No need for a wallet-breaking budget to have a good time - Touge Crimea showcases cars tailored for the Soviet Union and much of the Eastern Bloc, such as Zhiguli (VAZ-2101).
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1. Best MOTORing official (Japan)
Once Japan's number one automobile magazine, it's no surprise that Best Motoring takes the top pick. Their video library for their sub-series Hot Version is available on this channel.
On Hot Version, cat-and-mouse touge battles are conducted among the premier racers of Japanese racing series such as JGTC (Super GT), D1GP, and Formula Nippon. Some of the regular hosts/drivers included the "Drift King" Keiichi Tsuchiya, Manabu Orido, Nobuteru Taniguchi, Juichi Wakisaka, Akihiko Nakaya, and Naoki Hattori.
This format, filmed in a professional enviroment on the famous Gunsai touge, gave viewers the opportunity to see performance cars driven at their full potential. Even though this is a "simulation" of true touge driving (risk factors and other nuances are removed), it's hard to beat the entertainment value of these quirky drivers at their best.
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Conclusion: Best Touge YouTube Channels
Touge drivers aren't always wary of search engine optimization, so it's easy for high-tier driving content to be buried by YouTube's algorithm. I've dug through to create this list based on driving ability, video quality, and existing library available to watch. I hope you've found a new source of insipring and fun driving content right for you.
Any other channels I missed, or good for an honorable mention? Leave a comment so others can see as well!
1 comment
Now THIS is epic. Great 1st also bruh ngl ur lk top 1 touge yt channels but keep it up big dog. Appreciate the grind. Always enjoy your work