In a near-future world where international racing has become an ultra-violent and often lethal blood sport, the villainous Black Shadow team, led by the mysterious and ruthless figure known as the Demon King Ayab Mobil Dick, seeks to dominate the racing world through murder and sabotage. Ken Hayabusa, a gifted and impulsive 18-year-old driver, joins the rival Saionji Racing Team to exact revenge after his older brother is killed in a race engineered by Black Shadow. Ken’s brother had been one of many victims of the team’s campaign of terror, which routinely results in the deaths of numerous drivers.

Ken pilots the Machine Hayabusa, a revolutionary white racing machine designed by his late father, Engineer Hayabusa, and developed further by the team’s eccentric, hippie-like leader, Dr. Saionji. The vehicle’s primary feature is its interchangeable Cavalier engine system, with Ken successively upgrading from the V1 to the more powerful V5 engine to keep pace with increasingly dangerous opponents and tracks. He is supported by a colorful team of fellow drivers: the sturdy and kimono-wearing Tetsuo Iwata (Gantetsu), the airborne green car pilot Hiroshi Kamikaze, the bear-helmeted Gorou Mutsu, and the former fighter pilot and team mechanic, Shingo Yamato. Dr. Saionji’s spirited younger sister, Sakura, also joins the team, later piloting a flying support vehicle to provide aerial refueling and reconnaissance.

The narrative follows a consistent and brutal pattern as the Saionji team travels to race courses across the globe. In each episode, Black Shadow devises a new and treacherous scheme to eliminate Ken and his comrades, deploying an array of weaponized vehicles equipped with spikes, oil slicks, and even sleep-inducing rays. The races are depicted as gladiatorial battles where crashes almost invariably lead to explosive fireballs. Ken and his team must use their skill and courage to survive these murderous tactics and defeat Black Shadow’s henchmen, often winning by a narrow margin.

A major narrative arc involves the appearance of a rival ace driver named Ryu the Shooting Star, a fair-play competitor whose incredible skill and signature jumping technique initially surpass Ken’s own. Their rivalry pushes Ken to develop new techniques, culminating in a dramatic duel where he masters a skiing stunt maneuver to defeat Ryu. Throughout the series, the true identity of the armored and masked Demon King Ayab remains a central mystery, as he watches from his throne, sending his top subordinates, the engineer Mephisto and the fearsome driver Baron Nero, to destroy the Saionji team. In the final episode, Ayab is revealed to be Benny Kramer, a brilliant but bloodthirsty driver who was permanently banned from the racing world for his crimes and who was personally responsible for the death of Ken’s father. Ayab challenges Ken to a final, decisive race. Ken ultimately defeats him, and as the Black Shadow fortress burns, the defeated Ayab disappears, leaving his fate unknown.