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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
Nov 06 2009, 08:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 12 comment(s)
This low-riding Porsche 914-6 belongs to Speedhunters.com reader Martin, who sent me this stunning shot of his car. It sounds like quite a beast fitted with a close to 300 HP 3.5L flat-6, replacing the stock 110 HP 2L. On top of all the mechanical modifications, which also include 930 brakes and GT stiffening suspension plates, Martin also fitted the steel GT fender flares and had the rear ones further widened by 1-inch. The car rides on the stock 15-inch Fuchs wheels that sit neatly inside the arches...
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Posted
Nov 06 2009, 03:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 14 comment(s)
I spotted this Ings-kitted Lexus LS this last summer at the Okayama round of D1, parked up in the VIP lot. It was probably running a ride-height controller to get the air-suspension to drop to their lowest setting I thought it looked pretty menacing. I think it could have done with more offset to get those 20-inchLS Sport LM VIII to sit a little more flush. Ings Website -Dino Dalle Carbonare
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Posted
Nov 05 2009, 09:45 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 21 comment(s)
As the sun set early on Tuesday afternoon the Super Class of MSC got down to the final battles. Here are the two Run Free AE86s flying past the apex of the judged corner, Yamashita grabbing second position overall making him the winner of the East-Japan league with 52 points. This is one car I haven't seen before, built by Auto Service Mori, a respected tuning shop well known for building some pretty powerful track cars. I've been meaning to drop by their workshop in Atsugi for some time...
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Posted
Nov 05 2009, 03:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 17 comment(s)
I thought that for this second post from the MSC final it would be cool to take a walk through the paddock at Mobara's circuit, a great way to get a closer look at some of the cars that compete in this drift championship. There is always a nice mix of cars at MSC, all the way from the pro-looking machinery that competes in the Expert and Super classes like this Sign 141 Silvia all the way to more low-budget projects driven by amateur drifters in the Beginner class. Needless to say they each have...
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Posted
Nov 04 2009, 05:50 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 29 comment(s)
I found myself back in Mobara circuit yesterday, on a bitterly cold autumn morning, ready to get another drifting fix at the final round of this year's MSC Challenge. All the regulars we saw at Honjo in August were back, ready to score some final points in a last attempt to climb the point standings. There were also tons of other cool rides participating in the various classes, including a grip event, making it an even a more action packed day out than usual! Despite the chilling wind, the weather...
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Posted
Oct 31 2009, 09:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 22 comment(s)
These are the posts I love the most, allowing readers to get a more down-to-earth look into companies and personalities. Away from the limelight it is always so refreshing to see just how normal people are and the guys at T&E were a great bunch to spend the best part of a day with. I dropped by their main shop in Yokohama to try to get a behind the scenes look at what is one of the most respected aero parts makers in Japan. The man behind it all is Takahiro Ueno, who currently drivers the 2JZ...
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Posted
Oct 28 2009, 06:30 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 24 comment(s)
If you were wondering what video I was talking about in my Retrospective about Taniguchi, this is it, shot by a couple of friends of his that really struggled to keep up with him!
-Dino Dalle Carbonare
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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...
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Posted
Oct 28 2009, 01:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 13 comment(s)
Time now to wrap-up the coverage from the Tokyo Motorshow starting off with some final pictures of the Honda CR-Z. Honda has promised this will be a fun car to drive, despite it being a hybrid. The CR-Z will run a 6-speed manual box, an interesting choice for a hybrid as they all seem to employ CVT transmissions to easily combine the assisting power of the electric motor. The interior is pretty much production ready, a few details and materials will need to be toned down before the debut of the CR...
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Posted
Oct 26 2009, 09:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 30 comment(s)
Toyota was on a roll at this 41st Tokyo Motorshow and right after presenting the FT-86, Akio Toyoda moved to the Lexus corner of the massive Toyota stand to take the wraps off an equally awaited sports car, the Lexus LFA. Lexus took its time developing its ultimate supercar, teasing us with three different concepts, a roadster concept and even a race car version that raced at the Nurburgring 24h race last year. But the production version is finally here and there is no doubting that Toyota has created...
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Posted
Oct 26 2009, 12:10 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 48 comment(s)
You are looking at what is without a doubt the most important car to be exhibited at this year's Tokyo Motorshow. Forget the green eco car theme, this is precisely what the world has been waiting to see from a Japanese manufacturer. The FT-86 perfectly represents a market sector which has practically vanished in the last decade, that of the affordable Japanese sports car. The 80's and 90's in Japan were the hay day of such cars, starting off with the legendary AE86 where the Toyota concept...
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Posted
Oct 25 2009, 08:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 50 comment(s)
Well here’s a sight you don’t see everyday, even here at Ebisu! Not only was this guy drifting an NSX, “the Japanese super car,” but a modified NSX! The car has a wide body aero kit and engine tuning that includes aftermarket camshafts coupled with remapping via an HKS FconV Pro. The most amazing thing about the day was the way he transported all his drift equipment, including 6 spare wheels! Check it out… The expensive front bumper was removed to protect it from damage...
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Posted
Oct 23 2009, 01:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 13 comment(s)
After 100 years of mass production it's not surprising car companies are looking to the future of the automobile, more specifically propulsion. Japanese manufacturers at the Tokyo Motorshow were keen to show their interpretation of future technologies that will evolve the car for the next century. It's all interesting stuff but I think that change is not as imminent as they would all like us to think. So to keep things real I have dug up some more "conventional" machinery that still...
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Posted
Oct 21 2009, 11:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 18 comment(s)
Check out this video of Jamie Corstorphine of Autocar magazine behind the wheel of the LF-A. That V10 is a true screamer!
Autocar.co.uk
-Dino Dalle Carbonare
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4,146
Posted
Oct 21 2009, 08:45 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 35 comment(s)
It's been a very long day today. I headed out to the Makuhari Messe exhibition center in Chiba nice an early ready for a day of shooting at the 41st Tokyo Motorshow. It was a very strange show, the quietest one I've ever been to that's for sure, with only the Japanese manufacturers participating for 2009, along with a handful of a few other exhibitors like Lotus, Caterham and Alpina. Despite this however there was plenty of interesting cars to feast my eyes on, and there is no doubt Toyota...
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Posted
Oct 20 2009, 04:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 29 comment(s)
With the D1 Grand Prix all done for a good five months I thought it would be cool to take a look back over the last few years and more to the point at some of the top drifters that have participated in the Japanese drift championship. I've picked two names that are synonymous with D1, drivers that for some reason or another are no longer competing at a professional level in Japan. First up is Katsuhiro Ueo, in my opinion the best AE86 drifter out there... ...driver of the unmistakable Racing...
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Posted
Oct 16 2009, 07:15 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 8 comment(s)
The GP Sports kitted RSP13 from the D1 post seemed to go down well so I just prepared a wallpaper of it. You can grab the widescreen and standard resolution versions over on the desktops section. - Dino Dalle Carbonare
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Posted
Oct 15 2009, 04:45 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 17 comment(s)
This past weekend when I was in Fuji Speedway for the D1-GP there was another event back in central Tokyo that I really wanted to check out, the yearly Mille Miglia Japan classic car race. 103 cars set-off from Harajuku, right in front of the Meiji shrine on Saturday afternoon and headed on a 3-day, 1000-mile drive that would take them all the way up to Fukushima-ken and back down towards Tokyo, passing Honda's Twin Ring Motegi race track in Tochigi-ken and the famous Umihotaru Parking Area in...
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Posted
Oct 14 2009, 01:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 54 comment(s)
We all know that Toyota teamed up with Subaru on its latest FT86 concept Jeroen posted about last week, but it looks like the rumored Subaru STi version of the car may be the one to wait for. According to Autoblog , where I found this image, the STi version of the car might be ready for the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show and pack a 250 HP EJ25 along with a rear-wheel-drive layout. I wonder if a turbocharged 300+ HP STi AWD variant may be on the cards too? -Dino Dalle Carbonare
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Posted
Oct 13 2009, 11:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 19 comment(s)
I really can't believe how fast the D1 Grand Prix season has gone by this year. The new twin-round format certainly makes it seem that way, but at least every race weekend was jam-packed full of action for 2009. Round 8 ended with the drivers thanking the crowds for their continuous support, with Imamura, the new Champion, taking the lead in a big group bow. The drivers had provided the usual close racing during the Best 16, with plenty of close calls and tons of smoke like Inose with his Friends...
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