Donuts not welcome

Tanoshi's meets are a new kind of modified car event. John Evans heads along

- John Evan

Anyone who doubts that Cobham Services is the UK's busiest motorway services wasn't there on the evening of Saturday 27 July, when the queue of vehicles to get in extended to the very start of the slip roads. No, Taylor Swift hadn't decided to hold an impromptu concert at the on-site Nando's, but as the modified car world goes, it was as though she had: this was a Tanoshi Car Events meet, a phenomenon that's taking the UK's modified car scene by storm.

Think about modified cars and you probably think of lowered Nissan Skylines, Mitsubishi Evos and Mazda MX-5s doing donuts and burnouts in supermarket car parks before being moved on by police. That Tanoshi has been able to host its meets at Cobham with the site owner's blessing almost every month since 2022 speaks volumes about its methods and the enthusiasts who turn up.

It all started when Owen Loynes, 21, decided to form a car group during the 2020 lockdown and began hosting virtual car events online. Soon he had 300 members, and to keep them engaged, he added online meets and computer game racing. When lockdown was lifted, he created the Surrey-based Tanoshi Events brand on Instagram and Facebook, and in June 2022 he arranged its first in-person meet at Cobham. The event was a success, with people coming from as far away as Scotland to show off their cars and meet fellow enthusiasts.

With Tanoshi's profile growing, he was joined by Cieran Allen, now co-owner, Kyra Gorham, website designer and manager, and Jack Lawrence, photographer, and plans are in place to take the brand farther afield.

By now, you may be wondering what 'Tanoshi' means. In fact, it's Japanese for 'enjoyable and fun'.