Chapter 040

An Unexpected Victory (意外なチューニング, Igai na Chūningu, "Unexpected tuning") is the fortieth chapter of Initial D.

Plot
Ryosuke says that after tuning the FC now makes 260PS. Keisuke is surprised he would drop the power so much, but Ryosuke explains that he hadn't intended to lower the power, and had made a mistake somewhere. He says his pride will only give him one go at tuning, so he'll have to deal with less power. He looks forward to the challenge, however, as it will allow him to face the Eight-Six on equal terms.

At Lake Akina, Natsuki snaps Takumi out of his daydream, and wonders what he was thinking about. He tells her that she wouldn't understand, but when she pretends to leave he relents, and explains to her the challenge from Ryosuke. She's surprised to hear that he races, but can tell that he's excited for it.

Back at the Eight-Six, Natsuki asks to sit and talk for a while before they leave. She tells him that she knows he only punched Miki to defend her, and she apologises for being angry at him for so long. She leans over the centre console, and the two kiss.

The next day at the gas station, Iketani and Kenji talk about the hype over the battle between Takumi and Ryosuke.

Itsuki drops Takumi off at the Fujiwara Tofu Store, and notices that he's a lot more spaced out than usual.

Japan

 * May 6th 1996 (Weekly Young Magazine, 1996 Volume 20)
 * August 6th 1996 (Tankōbon, Volume 04)

Chinese

 * April 1st 1998 (Tankōbon, Volume 04, Sharp Point Press)

English

 * October 22nd 2002 (Tankōbon, Volume 04, Tokyopop)
 * April 17th 2019 (Digital re-release, Volume 04, Kodansha USA)

French

 * August 27th 2009 (Tankōbon, Volume 04, Kazé)

Italian

 * March 28th 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 02, J-Pop)

Polish

 * April 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 02, J. P. Fantastica)

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Keisuke Takahashi
 * Ryosuke Takahashi
 * Takumi Fujiwara
 * Natsuki Mogi
 * Kenji
 * Koichiro Iketani
 * Itsuki Takeuchi

Cars (in order of appearance)

 * Mazda SAVANNA RX-7 Infini III (FC3S)
 * Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
 * Toyota Sprinter Trueno 3door GT-APEX (AE86)
 * Toyota Corolla Levin SR (AE85)

Tokyopop/Kodansha USA version

 * Page 4 of the Kodansha release has placeholder text just barely visible on the side.