It's 9 am on Friday morning in Japan now and as you read this, the doors of the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon are opening to the members of the press. However, I know most of you are dying to know what crazy show cars tuning shops have thought up this year and can't really wait for me to get back home after a long day and start sorting through thousands of pictures. So it's a good thing I attended the set-up day of the show yesterday, to get a behind the scene glimpse as the most anticipated JDM show of the year came alive before my eyes, or should I say, before my camera! I've put together a small selection of the best and most anticipated cars for this first post, just to give you a taste of what is on offer. From what I saw yesterday, the Kazama Auto widebody Lexus IS is one of the most intriguing cars of the show. Kazama-san told me a few months back that he was planning on building a 2JZ-powered IS but I had no idea it would turn out to be such a crazy looking machine! The car is on display in the main area of the Rays Engineering stand.
A lot of people in the GT-R community have been talking about the upcoming Tommy Kaira Ebbrezza-R R35, and after seeing the first pictures earlier in the week I was happy to see the car up close in the halls of the Makuhari Messe. We will have to take a more detailed look in later posts.
The sneaky people at Toyota kept their most important cars covered most of the day, but I managed to get this quick shot of the tuned up version of the FT-86 Concept, the FT-86 G Sport Concept from Gis. This is one car I can't wait to get a proper look at today. You can expect a nice and detailed spotlight on this!
By mid-afternoon tons of cars began appearing all over the place, which meant I needed to pick up the pace to see everything that was on show on the three huge halls.
I was very impressed by the brushed aluminum look of this S & Co. Lexus IS F, which had been wrapped in a vinyl to achieve the effect. The car is on display at the Toyo Tires booth.
Starting from the Fuji round of the D1 Grand Prix, Masao Suenaga will drive this new RE-Amemiya & M7 Japan 13B powered RX-8. Glad to see more drivers are challenging themselves with new drift cars!
Not too far from the RX-8 was last year's show star the RE-Amemiya Genki 7, now painted in a darker and better looking shade of blue.
Apart for the Nismo/Autech version of the 370Z and the Nismo Club Sport package R35 GT-R I didn't spot much else of interest on the Nissan area. Oh yes they did have this very nice Super GT GT500 racer!
Ever since Toyoda-san's speech at the Tokyo Motorshow Lexus and Toyota have been impressing enthusiasts with more sports oriented cars and versions of existing models. On top of a beefed up iQ and FT-86 there was also this IS F CCS Concept on show, which looked like a lightweight version of the regular street car. We very much like Toyota's new way of thinking as of late!
Here are a few more shots of the Tommy Kaira GT-R. You can see the massive carbon rear overfender from this angle and the AVS Model F15 20-inch wheels. The car was due to be fitted with Endless 6-pot monobloc calipers at all four wheels but it looks like they didn't have time to fully complete the car prior to the show.
Aside from the upgraded titanium exhaust system and Quantum dampers all other modifications are to the body and interior.
I went to check out the parking area that has been cornered off for todays D1 drift exhibition. Kumakubo, Suenaga and Tanaka from Team Orange were already busy practicing the lines and helping the Drift King, Keiichi Tsuchiya, set up the course.
Here he is moving some cones around to give the best layout for some pretty cool drift action. I was surprised they could all drift so hard in such a small area!
All the Team Orange guys are fans of Speedhunters so I stickered up all three of their cars to make sure they would represent!
Back in the halls I couldn't believe the stunning machinery that was on show like this Impulse AE86...
...and other old-school vintage rides.
Next to the Kazama Auto IS on the Rays stand was this metallic orange Z34. I have no idea who built it but it was fitted with a very unique front bumper.
RX-7 goodness, the widebody Magic FD3S.
If Nissan had ever created a 4-door version of the BNR34 this is what it would have looked like. More on this ER34 soon!
I will have to concentrate of the Zero Force NSXs that showed up late in the evening, making themselves heard via their loud, raspy exhausts.
There is always something curious at TAS and on top of the crazy cars created by the students of NATS I spotted this ARK Z34 with a weird snout.
OK I've been criticizing the new Legacy and Legacy Wagon at every opportunity I get, but looking at this particular example fitted with Prodrive wheels at the Bridgestone booth I came to the conclusion that it doesn't look so bad. There is definitely some potential there...kind of! What do you guys think?
The Final Konnexion ER 34 GT-t was one of the most eye-catching cars I saw, fitted with an extreme wide-body kit...
...and rims, sporting some serious lip! Will have to take a closer look at this Skyline today.
J's Racing never fails to impress, just check out this new widened S2000! They even had a tuned Prius!
Vans are always a big part of TAS and I'll be dedicating one post to the best tuned up people movers I can find.
Mugen was a no-show this year but the Modulo section of Honda has been busy creating some futuristic looking concepts like this Insight. Not sure what was up with the wheels!
Option lined up the best tuned GT-Rs in Japan for the 20th Anniversary RB26 Tuning World exhibit. I will need to be careful I don't spend the whole day on this one stand today!
I've just began to scratch the surface of all the crazy creations that are on show at TAS this year. Make sure you check back soon...
...for the first show report! I'll leave you with this shot of the new limited-edition, Japan-only, STI R205 Impreza!
Kazama Auto
Rays Engineering
Tommy Kaira
RE-Amemiya
Team Orange
Impulse
Total Car Produce Magic
ARK
Final Konnexion
J's Racing
-Dino Dalle Carbonare