What do Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and James Garner all have in common? They were part of a very small club of Hollywood stars whose faces were just as likely to be spotted in a dingy garage, or behind the pit wall at the race track, as at a red-carpet event. To that list we can easily add Sung Kang, star of the Fast & Furious franchise, and early muse to its long-time director Justin Lin.

Perhaps more than any other working actor, Kang has solidified a reputation not just as a box-office draw, but also a legitimate gearhead. Kang’s status as the patron saint of automotive enthusiasts on the silver screen springs from deep ties to the same community that made the franchise that shot him to fame a multi-billion dollar behemoth. His latest project—Drifter, a movie he wrote, starred in, and directed—drives even deeper into the automotive world that has embraced him both creatively and, perhaps even more importantly, as a human being who simply can’t help but be enthralled by anything with four wheels.

It’s rare that I speak to someone as personable and genuine as actor and filmmaker Sung Kang in the course the work that I do. I had a great time talking with him about his new movie, Drifter, as well as his first car, his ‘real’ first car, and the ‘Honest Angle’ in this feature for Driving.ca