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Dino Dalle Carbonare'S BIO
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Name: Dino Dalle Carbonare
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Previous Locations: Italy & UK
Career Path: Journalist & Photographer
Previous Carrier Path: Been covering anything and everything car related since my return to Japan in 2000 after finishing Uni in the UK. Collaborating with motoring publications and websites around the world as well as maintaining a couple of my own blogs.
Cars: ‘99 Skyline GT-R V-spec, ‘04 Subaru Legacy Wagon 3.0R, ‘05 BMW 330ci M-sports
Fav Past Cars: ’93 Accord, ’88 Citroen AX, ’87 Alfa 164, ’85 Alfa 75, ’83 FIAT 131 Mirafiori L
Next car: Probably something boring
Car Passions: I have been obsessed with cars for as long as I can remember. Growing up in the UK this love grew and everything I did seemed to revolve around cars. toy cars, RC cars, car magazines, car computer games, cars on TV, car races. As long as there were wheels and some form of propulsion involved, it was for me. Moving to Japan however is where this passion turned into an obsession as I think no other country in the world is the car-craze so widespread and diversified. Became a certified GT-R otaku and as they say, the rest is history. Just recently rediscovered RC cars, more specifically RC drift cars.
Personal Style: I like my jeans, as long as they are Diesel
Favorite Band of the Moment: Wide range of musical tastes, most of which I'm ashamed to mention ;)
Personal Motto: If you want it done right, do it yourself.
4,146
Posted
Feb 08 2010, 04:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 31 comment(s)
We cover a lot of grassroots drift events here on Speedhuntres.com but what about those that prefer to grip around a track? Well don't worry because a couple of weeks ago I attended a BE-Circuit event at Tsukuba Circuit where I got to see, after quite a long time, some proper time attack action. There is nothing amateur about the cars and drivers that participate at this event. Sure most of them are simple owners out to have some fun, but their competitive nature has pushed them to create some...
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Posted
Feb 07 2010, 06:30 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 16 comment(s)
After checking out the GT-R from Flatwell everyone was talking about at the HKS Premium Day, I think it would be a pity of we didn't take a look at this equally impressive BNR34 built by Koizumi-san at Auto Gallery Yokohama. Looks wise this particular car is far simpler, fitted with only a few choice Nismo parts like the side and rear skirts as well as the rear overfender strips . But it's under the hood that things get very interesting. To any GTR- otaku out there, this set-up would be instantly...
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4,146
Posted
Feb 05 2010, 11:45 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 35 comment(s)
Among all the highly tuned Skyline GT-Rs at the HKS Premium Day there were a few that really stood out, one of them being this black BNR34 from Osaka-based tuning garage Flatwell . With lots of experience building time attack machines it's not surprising this latest creation of theirs looks so damn hot! The owner of the car, yes this is a privately owned street-driven car, has kept all of the exterior modification functional starting with that massive bi-wing carbon spoiler. Up front the C-West...
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Posted
Feb 04 2010, 11:59 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 26 comment(s)
I feel like I need to show you guys as much as I possibly can from the HKS Premium Day, as this event was simply packed with some of the best tuner cars in Japan. We have already seen the HKS demonstrators and the Time Attack machines, not to mention some of the privately owned Hyper Challenge cars, so to finish the coverage it's time to take a look at pretty much everything else that was on display on the paddock. There was a good mix of old and new, like this original HKS Kansai Service BNR32...
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4,146
Posted
Feb 04 2010, 11:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 28 comment(s)
Uniqueness is sometimes the cause for confusion, and this particular car being built by Auto Bahn out in Ibaraki-ken is the perfect example. I spotted it inside their workshop the other month when I stopped over to check another of their cars out. I thought it looked pretty cool with that nice carbon front diffuser and canards on each side of the bumper. Covering tons of grassroots drift events throughout the year means I have cultivated quite the attraction towards older JDM rides like the JZZ20...
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Posted
Feb 04 2010, 04:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 11 comment(s)
Just found this shot I took the other month of one of Auto Bahn's most extreme time attach machines, a car owned by a loyal customer of theirs. This R32 Skyline GT-R runs some of the best components out there including a Hollinger sequential gearbox which helps shave precious time from gearshifts. Power is around the 700 HP, enough to guarantee 57-second laptimes at Tsukuba. For a street registered car that is beyond quick! While there, I also spotted another interesting machine that was being...
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4,146
Posted
Feb 03 2010, 10:30 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 11 comment(s)
Before I start i must make one thing clear, I dont own this hardcore track focused Evo VI RSX you see before you but I know a man who does, Tony Elrick. Unfortunatly at this moment in time Tony is in hospital recovering from a serious road accident (thankfully not in his Evo) so he can't give you the story in his own words but I hope I can do Tony and the car justice, hopefully seeing this will help his recovery that little bit extra! So lets start from the beginning, purchased back in 2005,...
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Posted
Feb 03 2010, 08:30 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 16 comment(s)
Tsukuba may well be where the whole Time Attack thing originated from but it made for such a refreshing change seeing some of Japan's fastest tuner cars blasting around Fuji on Sunday at the HKS Premium Day. The long straight and the faster corners throw in a whole new challenge for competing teams with factors like aerodynamics coming in to play more. A lot of cars run longer final drives to gain extra top speed and resort to new suspension settings to tackle the challenging F1 track. The Autech...
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Posted
Feb 01 2010, 11:50 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 25 comment(s)
To open the coverage on the HKS Premium Day it only seems fair to first dedicate some space to the best HKS cars that were present at Fuji this year, starting with the one everyone is talking about now, their SST Evo X. After bringing us the extreme CZ220S in 2009, based on the manual version of the CZ4A and proving the new 4B11 can generate just as much power as the older 4G63, it is now time to shift development to the 6-speed Getrag dual-clutch transmission that is fitted to the SST model. HKS...
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Posted
Feb 01 2010, 02:20 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 27 comment(s)
The 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon left me feeling very positive, as the tuning industry seems to be slowly making a recovery after a troubled period. The show however, much like last year, was missing one of the biggest players in the Japanese tuning world, HKS. They had a tiny stand showcasing a few of their latest exhaust systems, but nothing like what we have been used to seeing at TAS from them. There is a reason behind this, and it took me all of ten minutes to realize why yesterday as I strolled through...
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Posted
Jan 30 2010, 05:15 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 21 comment(s)
This final post dedicated to the imports of the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon will wrap up the coverage of what has been a pretty impressive show. I know people in the US are probably tired of seeing modified Camaros but they have just hit the dealers here in Japan so you will have to bear with me here as I personally think they look pretty wild! While the green Libery Walk Murcielago entertained me with its constantly rising and dropping air suspension for all of twenty seconds, it was the little Lambormini...
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Posted
Jan 27 2010, 11:45 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 36 comment(s)
If there is a will, there is a way. The Team Takeuchi Lexus IS you see here is quite an interesting car, it was created out of need, and as we will see shares very little with the Lexus IS you and I know. The project was handled by Shift Racing , a highly technological outfit that for years has been building cars that participate in Super GT, Super Taikyu and the Japan Porsche Cup. With the phasing out of the little MR-S, used by some teams up until 2008, Shift knew that they needed to look to the...
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Posted
Jan 27 2010, 02:15 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 33 comment(s)
I know a lot of you have been waiting to see some old-school rides from TAS so I've put together this gallery of the best vintage machinery I could find at the Makuhari Messe, starting off with a shot of the Rocky Auto Fairlady Z. Pretty mean no? Read on to find out more! Impulse were really rocking some top cars this year and next to the red LHD Levin we have already seen was this 4-door GC110 "Yonmeri" Skyline, oozing style from every angle you looked at it from! The super clean body...
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Posted
Jan 25 2010, 02:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 53 comment(s)
Walking through the various halls of the Tokyo Auto Salon I really do wonder at times how many people are actually there to check out the cars, and not the women!! I always like to take these shots from behind the girls just to show the crowds that tend to gather around them. Most of them sport better equipment than most pros covering the event! I won't even bother attempting to come up with interesting captions for each of the images that will follow. I'm pretty sure nobody that is looking...
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Posted
Jan 25 2010, 10:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 19 comment(s)
There was no ignoring the underlying Hybrid theme at this year's Tokyo Auto Salon. With Toyota shifting more than ever hybrids in the home market it's no surprise tuners are beginning to take notice. Soon the Honda CR-Z will be with us, the first hybrid sports car and the first to use a manual transmission. Later in the year Nissan will launch the hybrid version of the Fuga (Infiniti M) that will no doubt be a worthy candidate for some VIP style. Add to this the already vast Toyota and Lexus...
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Posted
Jan 24 2010, 11:45 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 16 comment(s)
We have seen a lot of coverage from TAS over the last week but I still haven't touched on all the cool modified Subarus and Mitsubishis that were present at the show, like the blisteringly fast Tomei/Cusco/Voltex Impreza that was on display at Tomei next to their Z33 demonstrator. I'm really glad to see how well and how fast the CZ4A has come along in the last year, with most demo cars out there boasting power figures well over the 500 HP mark with a few even over 600 HP! I really like the...
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Posted
Jan 22 2010, 06:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 22 comment(s)
It is sometimes pretty amazing just how many styles have originated from Japan. For this post I've selected the best of two worlds, two types of tuning that are as Japanese as the cars they are based on, VIP sedans and vans. Opening the post is the Aimgain Lexus LS460 wearing new style aero and dropped onto 21" Weds Kranze Vishunu, a perfect example of the modern side of the "bippu" style. This was probably one of vans I remember the most from the show as it was fitted with a wide...
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Posted
Jan 21 2010, 03:10 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 42 comment(s)
OK time for some Skyline and GT-R coverage from TAS, and not wanting to make a separate post on Fairladys I've decided to add them in here to create a nice line up of Rs & Zs! I have a lot of respect for Toyota's decision on making their future cars more exciting, but I can't hide the fact that my heart lies with Nissan, more specifically with the GT-R. There were a ton of great examples this year at TAS like the old Abflug BCNR33 demo car above in the center of the Option RB26 20th...
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Posted
Jan 20 2010, 07:15 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 51 comment(s)
Time to shift our TAS coverage to Toyota, one manufacturer that has won back the respect of car enthusiasts since the announcement of the FT-86 in fall last year. To everyone's surprise Toyota's new tuning outfit, G's, created a turbocharged version of the new hachiroku , leaving most stunned at just how damn hot this car can look dressed up with some tasty carbon parts. The G Sports Concept gets a more chiseled front bumper with a carbon fiber contoured central air damn to help convey...
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Posted
Jan 19 2010, 07:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 34 comment(s)
Silvias and 180SXs are always big favorites at the Auto Salon and when looking for some nice examples I headed straight to the Drift Tengoku (Doriten) area, a place that is always packed with some of the coolest drift cars around. This Odyvia we first saw last year down in Nagoya for the Exciting Car Showdown was invited to participate at TAS to show if its bespoke front end conversion. This is one of my personal favorites as it just works from every angle you look at it, the Honda Odyssey headlights...
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