Browse by Tags
Posted
Oct 25 2011, 08:00 AM
by
Charles Kha
with 73 comment(s)
In this month's editorial I discussed the art that goes into street cars; the certain je ne sais quoi that many of us strive to capture. Glenn Austin is one such person, having dedicated the past few years to chasing his idea of the perfect street car. What resulted is this stunning Toyota Altezza RS200 Z Edition. Glenn is a Sydney-based car enthusiast with an obvious soft spot for Toyotas. His garage comprises of a street/track SW20 MR2 and a couple of Altezzas, with his pride and joy being...
More...
Posted
Sep 20 2011, 06:00 PM
by
Patrick McGrath
with 76 comment(s)
One of the biggest divides within the automotive community in recent times has been the constant and continuing argument regarding form and function, stance and performance. So many believe you can either have one or the other but never both. It still amazes me how riled up some can get over this difference in opinions and the amount of hate that can be generated. On one side of the argument, you have those who are primarily interested in aesthethics and creating something which can be seen as an...
More...
Posted
Apr 18 2011, 07:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 14 comment(s)
Andy at Powervehicles has really been busy bringing us all these scoops from Ebisu Circuit! After Kumakubo's New D1 Laurel it's now the turn of Daigo Saito's 3.2L, 800 HP, 2JZ-powered Altezza, the car he will be using during the course of the year in the Formula D Asia series. The Altezza sports the sort of stance we have come to expect from Saito. He was only there for a short practice but Andy captured plenty of action including some detail shots of the engine, interior and suspension. Don't forget to turn up the volume!
Powervehicles.com
Ebisu Circuit
-Dino Dalle Carbonare
More...
Posted
Feb 20 2011, 02:30 PM
by
Patrick McGrath
with 22 comment(s)
On a rather wet and winter's day at Mondello Park, I finally got to see and be a part of something that I've been waiting for, for quite a long time. Some of you may remember the exclusive feature on Martin Ffrench's Wexican Motorsport Toyota Altezza , just last week the car returned from an intensive mapping session at Pro Tuner in the UK and finally made it's on track debut yesterday at an open drift practice day Mondello Park. For its first time in action, the car went and behaved...
More...
Posted
Nov 29 2010, 03:00 PM
by
Patrick McGrath
with 4 comment(s)
Before I wrap up my coverage for the Haulers & Sedans theme for the month, I've updated the desktops section with three images from the 'Recessionary Tale' feature we ran last week. The first is a typical three-quarters view of the car ... ... the next a profile shot ... ... and the final is a wide shot taking in the surrounds of the photo shoot. - Paddy McGrath
More...
Posted
Nov 26 2010, 03:00 AM
by
Patrick McGrath
with 131 comment(s)
This story and this car mean an awful lot to me. I hope you can bear with me as I try to convey the full story for you. It won't be easy but I'll try. Recession is defined as a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced. It's a pretty cold way of looking at what the economies of the world have been experiencing for the last few years and it is especially cold if you've been hit harder than others. I suppose I don't really need to...
More...
Posted
Oct 28 2009, 05:30 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 19 comment(s)
It was hard to pick a second D1 driver to do a small retrospective on, following the post on Ueo's career as a professional drifter. There are just so many great drivers in Japan to choose from, but after much deliberation it just had to be Nobuteru Taniguchi. Taniguchi is one driver I have great respect for, having managed to build a racing career with his own two hands, starting off in small one make racing sereis making it all the way to Super GT. In fact as I write this he is preparing to...
More...
Posted
Mar 10 2009, 03:21 AM
by
Patrick McGrath
with 40 comment(s)
When Rod asked me to write an article on some up and coming builds from Ireland, I already knew what and who to write about. Some of you may remember Martin Ffrench's Altezza build from January, some of you may have seen him drifting the Race of Champions track on the new Redline Magazine DVD and even more of you will be aware of his talent behind the wheel. I've known Martin a few years now and I've come to learn that he won't settle for anything but absolute, one hundred percent...
More...
Posted
Feb 26 2009, 08:48 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 25 comment(s)
After checking out Paddy McGrath's coverage of the AE86 track day in Ireland, I came away very impressed with the quality of the cars that were on the track. These days, "JDM" is the most overused automotive term around, but lot of those Irish-built carsgenuinely looked like they came straight off a Japanese racing circuit. After getting those heart-warming feelings from Paddy's post, I thought I'd answer back with some photos of rear-wheel-drive Toyotas I've captured at various events at Tsukuba Circuit. This includes not just AE86's, but MR2's and other RWD Toyotas....
More...
Posted
Feb 12 2009, 02:16 PM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 27 comment(s)
With all the different theme months going on at Speedhunters it is sometimes hard to keep up. But luckily for me I have a vast collection of magazines to look for cool features and friends in the automotive industry that can point me in the right direction. When I was reading through some old Banzai magazines I came across this Lexus IS and remembered it made a real impact when it was introduced to the public. Engine swaps are all the rage these days but back in 2005 it was all about pioneering....
More...
Posted
Jan 18 2009, 07:24 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 22 comment(s)
I don't really consider myself to be a "purist" when it comes to cars, but I can see how hardcore Mazda enthusiasts would have a tough time with all the people swapping V8's and other piston engines into RX7's these days. Occasionally though, you'll find someone going against the current and dropping a rotary into a "traditional" platform. This SXE10 Toyota Altezza is one of them. It's being built by Martin Ffrench for use in the UK-based JDM All Stars drift series, and from what we hear, it's shaping up to be one of the coolest drift cars in Europe. Besides the RE powerplant, a full carbon kevlar aero kit is in the works for the exterior. Martin obviously isn't a purist because he also has a sister-car to this that's powered by a Nissan SR20DET. We'll be sure to update once the car is finished. Thanks to Paddy McGrath for the tip and for the photo....
More...
Posted
Jan 10 2009, 07:45 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 18 comment(s)
Continuing on with Tokyo Auto Salon 2009 coverage, let's look at one of my personal favorites - tuned Toyota RWD sedans. Mark II, Chaser, Altezza, Aristo - they were all represented well at this year's Auto Salon. I didn't notice quite as many JZX cars as last year's show, but the ones on hand very impressive. Take a look at the 396 Motoring JZX100 Cresta, seen above in the Drift Tengoku booth. Intricate paint designs like this are getting more and more popular on tuner cars in Japan, and seemed to be one of the big things at TAS 2009....
More...
Posted
May 22 2008, 03:15 PM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 5 comment(s)
I have been following the D1GP for a very long time, and I really miss the old days. Sometimes I even put one of the old JDM Option DVD's in my DVD player just to watch Kazama, Miki, Ueo and Nomura battle it out with each other. Besides these four names there is one other that springs to mind and that is Nobuteru Taniguchi (NOB). I always loved his Nissan S15 with the Super Advan Racing wheels in yellow and red. After his switch to this Lexus IS220 he never got back to his old level. Could be...
More...