The aftermarket is home to thousands of different body kit manufacturers with ever-growing stylistic inclinations.
But if you zero in on brands that have made a substantial impact on the industry, TRA-Kyoto’s Rocket Bunny has got to be in the top 3.
What Xerox is to printing, Rocket Bunny is to body kits. The name is too out there, so much so that people seem to view it as more of a style than a brand.
To some, Rocket Bunny cars are a source of inspiration to help them spruce up their blank slate of a car. To others, they’re simply eye candy.
Whatever your motivations, let’s take a look at some of the best Rocket Bunny cars the tuner world has ever seen. But first, here’s a bit of a background on Pandem.
Rocket Bunny / Pandem: An Overview
Also known as Pandem, Rocket Bunny body kits are made by aftermarket equipment manufacturer TRA Kyoto, and at one point, they were distributed by them as well.
While they’re mostly known for their engine and drivetrain upgrades, especially turbochargers, their Rocket Bunny and Pandem kits have skyrocketed in popularity over the last decade.
These kits first started appearing in the early 2010s and were among the first to ride the bolt-on flares and exposed hardware train.
The man behind the design is Kei Miura-san, who draws inspiration from old muscle cars, DTM legends, and even the controversial Bosozoku style.
Rocket Bunny kits quickly started to appear on custom car builds all over the world, and also in video games — a lot of Forza players would create Rocket Bunny kits using the livery editor before the developers added them officially.
Our Favorite Rocket Bunny Cars
RB kits were only available on a few notable tuner cars at first, but they have been expanding their lineup to include older European hatchbacks, sports cars, and even JDM pickup trucks.
Even with that, only a small subset of Rocket Bunny JDM cars can be considered the best. Let’s check them out.
Honda Civic (EG)
This is one of the more recent kits from the company’s newer Pandem line, but it’s a highlight. The EG Civic is one of the most iconic generations of Honda’s prolific hatchback.
It’s still very cheap, but it’s also a fantastic platform to build upon and extract additional power out of. Aftermarket support is plentiful, and the EG has no problem accepting major power gains.
Rocket Bunny offers a few different options to order the kit, including individual parts or the full kit. 40mm wheel spacers are also included.
The Pandem kit works amazingly well on the EG Civic. It’s not quite as ridiculous as some of the company’s kits are, but it gives it a time attack-inspired look, particularly with the stance and the wing, without being very ostentatious.
It’s very tastefully done, and it suits the car’s design very well. Despite the kit costing more than a lot of EG Civics are worth nowadays if you’re going for an all-out build, it’s an excellent addition.
Nissan S14 BOSS
We’ve all heard of fusion cuisine before, so how about a fusion body kit? This kit caused a bit of a stir when it first debuted, as it was unlike anything TRA-Kyoto had ever made before.
The S14 BOSS kit, as the name partially implies, is for the Nissan Silvia S14, or depending on where you are in the world, the 200SX/240SX. Whereas most of this kit is usual Rocket Bunny fare, the front part of it isn’t.
As part of the BOSS kit, you get a major overhaul for your front end. Gone is the usual S14 Silvia face, and in its place is a radically new design that’s reminiscent of old muscle cars.
Not only is this cool and unique, but it’s also a fantastic idea if you plan to give your S14 an American engine transplant.
There is already an S14 with the BOSS kit and an LS motor competing in Formula Drift, and although not implied by Rocket Bunny, that’s really where this kind of body kit makes the most sense, and we love it for that.
Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32)
We’re not sure why this one took a little longer than the others, but it was a little surprising that Rocket Bunny did not offer any sort of body kit for the R32 Skyline GT-R.
This is a more recent addition to the Rocket Bunny lineup, and it’s altogether far simpler, which isn’t a bad thing. With no giant canards or wings that could make a Boeing jealous, the R32 GT-R kit is a far cleaner take.
You do have the bolt-on flares, but the front and rear ends don’t get any over-the-top treatment. The spoiler on the back is comparatively small, and there is no giant splitter on the front either.
The standout feature of the R32 kit is undoubtedly its stance. Low, squat, and striking to look at. The only thing is, there aren’t that many of these kits, due to the R32’s future classic status.
If you want your R32 build to stand out, the Rocket Bunny kit is the way to go.
Scion FR-S
You can’t talk about Rocket Bunny without mentioning one car that put them on the map. Before we started seeing Rocket Bunny on practically anything else, the Scion/Toyota/Subaru sports car triplets were the frontrunners.
Sadly, the original V1 kit is no longer available, but the V2 and the more recent V3 very much are. The V2 kit refined the formula with better front and rear aero, while the V3 added more panache to the fender flares, making it look more like a race car than ever.
Going back to the original point about livery editor recreations in Forza, the Scion FR-S was the most popular car most Forza painters worked on.
Today, it remains not only one of RB’s most popular kits but also one of the most popular kits for the Toyobaru triplets. What’s more, Tra-Kyoto recently introduced a V3 kit for the latest GR86 as well.
Volkswagen Golf (Mk2)
Euro car fans all screamed in joy when Rocket Bunny finally expanded their lineup to include European cars. A few are in the catalog now, including BMWs and old Mercedes, but arguably the coolest one is the Mk2 VW Golf.
If the EG Civic could have its own Rocket Bunny kit, why not the Mk2 Golf? The idea is awesome on paper, and the kit looks fantastic too. The usual suspects, including the fender flares and the upgraded front and rear ends, are all here.
The idea of a Rocket Bunny Mk2 Golf is fantastic, as the Mk2 is one of the most popular platforms in the world of Euro builds, especially within VAG. People frequently swap in EA888s from the GTI and R, VR6s from R32s or old Passats, and even V5s and I5s.
A motorsport-inspired body kit to go with that performance, which, as we’ve seen from some modded Mk2s, can be insane, is a great way to round off the build.
Nissan 180SX (S13)
Along with the aforementioned Toyobaru siblings, another car that carried Rocket Bunny well into the mainstream when it came to body kits was the RPS13 Nissan 180SX, or depending on your location, the 200SX or 240SX.
The RB V2 kit for the S13 hatch is one of the most well-known tuner car body kits. The intricate aero and the unapologetically wide flares are business as usual, but the S13 added one aspect that the others didn’t have: the low-mount rear wing.
With a vast rear wing that is trying very hard to take flight, bolted directly to the chassis thanks to the absence of a rear bumper, this was undoubtedly the standout feature of the Rocket Bunny-equipped S13 hatch and one of the main reasons why it remains one of RB’s most popular cars.
Concluding Thoughts
It’s amazing to just look at how far Tra-Kyoto’s Rocket Bunny and Pandem kits have come. What started as a new take on body kits for everyone’s favorite tuner cars has transformed into an industry leader in the automotive aftermarket.
A great source of inspiration, combined with dedication and a penchant for thinking out of bounds has made Rocket Bunny and Pandem body kits some of the most instantly recognizable and beloved kits that you can put on your car, and it’s definitely well-deserved.
With a lineup including pickups, hatchbacks, sports cars, and tuners, Rocket Bunny offers a kit for a great variety of cars, and while their appeal is pretty specific, if that’s the look you’re going for, there’s nothing else quite like them.