Posted
Apr 27 2010, 01:10 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 30 comment(s)
When BMW introduced the current generation M3 a couple years ago, I was damned impressed. How could you not be? The previous model M3's were awesome, but there's something about a high-revving V8, a chassis to match, and the subtlety aggressive styling of the E92 that inspires. Everytime I see one on the streets (and that's rather often here in LA), I can't help but stare, and roll down the window to get a hint of that exhaust note. Being such an incredible car off the showroom floor...
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Posted
Apr 27 2010, 03:03 AM
by
Linhbergh
with 41 comment(s)
When you hear of the name Top Secret, or of the legendary tuner, Kazuhiko "Smoky" Nagata, you'll conjure thoughts about cars with million-billion horse power and are driven at massively illegal speeds in various countries. If you're unfamiliar with the name of Top Secret or Smoky Nagata, let me direct you to this youtube video . Your education will thus be complete upon viewing. You'd be hard pressed to believe me that these two Nissan 370z a far fetch from the legendary titans...
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Posted
Apr 26 2010, 12:54 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 30 comment(s)
When we talk about time attack cars, we usually find ourselves focusing on the monster that run in the higher classes of competition. But as impressive as cars like Rado's Scion or the HKS CT230R are, they bear little resemblance to the cars that everyday dudes can afford to build. That's just one of the makes things this Evasive Motorsports-built Honda S2000 worth a look. What you are looking at is car that's just as happy navigating rush hour traffic on the 101 as it is setting class...
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Posted
Apr 24 2010, 03:36 PM
by
Linhbergh
with 45 comment(s)
When in the market for a car, you can always buy the latest model of a Toyota Camry and just be the happiest person alive. You'd be dropped into the life of luxury and comfort. The ride would be smoother than silk. The car will have heated front seats to toast those buns, an acoustic noise-reducing front windshield for an even quieter ride to-and-from the grocery store and the office, and you'll have a futuristic voice activated touch-screen DVD navigation system with an integrated backup...
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Posted
Apr 23 2010, 03:22 PM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 43 comment(s)
What car would you drive if your profession was building race cars for others? If I named a few off the top of my head one of them would be the R34 Z-tune. The only problem is it isn't for sale, because only 20 were ever built. A dilemma for me perhaps, but not for Bene Janssen the owner of the car and driving force behind Japo Motorsport in Germany. He set out to build a replica Z-tune; to showcase his building skills, and to show his customers that not all Japanese cars have crappy plastic...
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Posted
Apr 21 2010, 07:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 24 comment(s)
There is nothing more Italian than a FIAT 500. Forget your Ferraris and Alfa Romeos, it was the tiny 500 that became the car of the people during the late fifties and sixties. They were cheap, practical and economical and gave mobility to the post-war generation of Italians. The little FIAT captivated the minds of enthusiasts with special Abarth modified versions like the original 595 which sported a more aggressive stance with pumped wheel arches and powered by a more powerful stroked version of...
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Posted
Apr 16 2010, 07:23 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 23 comment(s)
I know how a lot of people that read Speedhunters appreciate vintage JDM machinery. And it's thanks to this site that I've also been able to dive deeper into the world of Japanese classic cars, expanding my knowledge and at the same time getting to see some stunning rides. Back when I visited TA Auto , Ando-san kindly had another Fairlady enthusiast drop by in late afternoon to show us all his pride and joy. His SR311 has to be one of the cleanest Datsun Fairlady 2000 I have ever seen and...
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Posted
Apr 14 2010, 03:57 PM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 16 comment(s)
Last month during the Streetpower event at Zandvoort, a few cars stood out to me and because this is Motorsport month I waited to feature them until now. One of the cars that got major attention during the event was this E36 built by DBM Engineering in Holland. At its first outing on Zandvoort the BMW didn't disappoint with a second place finish of 1:50.063. The car belongs to Dirk Bonder who got bitten by the racing bug and has never recovered. He asked DBM Engineering to build him a race car...
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Posted
Apr 13 2010, 01:30 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 37 comment(s)
You are looking at a very special Fairlday Z. Unique doesn't even begin to describe this completely custom project that has become very well known in vintage car circles in Japan. The owner and creator of this S30 is Tomimatsu-san, an engineer and development team manager at OS Giken in Okayama. Tomimatsu has been working at OS Giken since 1994, driven by an incredible passion for cars, but more to the point tuning them with state of the art parts. Away from his day job he enjoys looking after...
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Posted
Apr 05 2010, 02:09 AM
by
Patrick McGrath
with 76 comment(s)
Because it's Motorsport Month here on Speedhunters, you may be asking why you are looking at a street FD RX7. I might struggle to justify this but, to me at least, this is a proper, realistic race car on the road. The highlights are 450BHP, full cage, single turbo conversion, bucket seats and harnesses. A lot of race inspired street cars are just race cars with registration plates or are those which just try to exploit or just avoid local road legal requirements. This has a full interior, it...
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Posted
Mar 15 2010, 01:40 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 26 comment(s)
There are very few shops like RE-Amemiya in Japan. On top of their activity as tuners, catering to everything the rotor-head may require, they have also proven themselves in the competitive racing world with their successful Super GT team, D1 team and at events like the Hot Version organized Touge Battle series. Amemiya-san understands what a performance car needs to offer the driver to both satisfy and be competitive, but he also gives great importance to looks having created, thanks to his great...
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Posted
Mar 10 2010, 04:45 PM
by
Linhbergh
with 42 comment(s)
It was my phone that cracked the silence. I groaned as I reached over to the bright and loud object that was a mere blur in my eyes. I squinted. My eyes started to focus as I made out a text message saying "WAKE UP!!" I set my phone's alarm to do just that a few hours before hand. The time was 4:30am. It was still dark and I had somewhere to be in a few hours time. Red eyed and still groggy, I rolled back into that sweet spot of my bed thinking and anticipating about the long drive...
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Posted
Mar 09 2010, 06:58 PM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 42 comment(s)
I've seen a lot of this car recently as I've been spending a bit of time at Paul Vlasblom's garage for my own BMW E30 and have been planning to do a feature for some time. Unfortunately though, I've had to wait for the winter weather to clear before I could organize a shoot. So as soon as we got a sunny day here in Holland I pulled out my camera to take some snaps. The car is a Porsche Cayenne that's been tuned by Techart and is officially called a Magnum... I'm not sure if...
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Posted
Mar 06 2010, 04:08 AM
by
Ross Ianson
with 27 comment(s)
If you are a follower of the Time attack series, you cannot have failed to notice the be-winged Lotus Elise of Steve Guglielmi. In amongst the myriad of Japanese machinery, the little British sports car has proved more than a match for the huge horsepower Japanese saloons. Winning by a massive 1.5 seconds at Brands Hatch and being no more than a fraction of a second off the top step of the podium in every other round of 2009. Steve was kind enough to give me a few hours of his time and give the low...
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Posted
Mar 04 2010, 04:34 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 24 comment(s)
I thought I'd show you guys another cool BNR34 which after the Garage Ito/ProStock time attack monster proves just how versatile the Skyline GT-R can be. As the name suggests, this is a complete Top Secret project, a car that one of my friends here in Tokyo had built with a specific set of goals in mind. It didn't need to be the fastest R34 out there, nor the most extreme looking, it just had to be the kind of supercar that you wouldn't think twice about using on a daily basis. Every...
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Posted
Mar 04 2010, 06:34 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 50 comment(s)
You are looking at one of the most far out GT-R time attack projects ever created. It cost a massive $350,000 to build and has yet to see the light of day on a race track. It all started back in 2006 when Hiroya-san, a very good customer of Garage Ito in Osaka, decided to see if he could challenge the lap time record at Tsukuba set by the HKS CT230R. Hiroya-san is a very successful business man, and with his company pretty much taking care of itself he decided to dedicate some more time to his passion...
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Posted
Mar 03 2010, 12:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 28 comment(s)
To kick off the March 3rd R33 celebrations I have picked one car that I will forever remember for scaring me silly. It all started with one of those phone calls I often get from Miguel at Newera Imports . Sourcing cars for export means Miguel often gets his hands on some pretty cool rides, but this car was something else. Don't let the 400R graphics on the side fool, you this is not one of the 33 authentic 400Rs that were built, but something dare I say more special. Miguel let me have the car...
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Posted
Mar 02 2010, 09:15 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 24 comment(s)
For the true Skyline connoisseur there is one model that has for years been enjoying legendary status. It isn't the Nismo 400R or even the Z-tune but a car that was conceived well before these. Back in the early nineties HKS decided to do what RUF in Germany was doing with Porsches, and started to create a high-performance bespoke version of the BNR32, the Zero-R. The idea was to inject the tuning knowhow HKS had accumulated after years of tuning the RB26 and help the GT-R achieve its fullest...
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Posted
Feb 27 2010, 12:10 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 87 comment(s)
After seeing a widebody JZA80 at Fuji Speedway last month for the HKS Premium Day I was instantly reminded of this Abflug - Curve Supra I shot a few years back. To this day it is one of the most extreme body conversions I have seen, along with another mega-wide Abflug JZA80 I snapped years ago. You can always count on the guys at Abflug to shock and come up with unique designs with this particular GT-05 kit taking inspiration from the Supras that used to race in the JGTC championship, now known as...
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Posted
Feb 18 2010, 01:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 33 comment(s)
Cars are like food. Their main aim is to satisfy and fill your appetite for a variety of motoring cravings. And as of late I fell like my diet has consisted of too much boosted Japanese machinery sprinkled with the odd tasting of more tantalizing Euro exotica. So the other week I thought I'd get myself the motoring equivalent of steak and mashed potatoes, although this particular car came with dollop of hot sauce! I wanted to see for myself how driving and living with a modern day American muscle...
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