Speedhunters

GALLERY>> MSC LIFESTYLE AT HONJYO CIRCUIT

Antonio Alvendia — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:00:00 GMT

The end of the week is drawing closer, and I'll be going back up to the Fukushima area of Japan, so I can attend the D1 Grand Prix event at Ebisu Circuit. However, before I head back up to Ebisu, I thought I'd share some more photos from the MSC Event at Honjyo Circuit!

The pit area at Honjyo Circuit was full of wild colored drift cars, ranging from your standard 2 door cars, like AE86s and S13s, S14s, and S15s all the way to cool 4 door drift cars, like C33s, JZX100s and JZX110s! In this photo, I'd have to say my favorite car is that purple kouki AE86 3 door. Hmm, and also that black JZX100 from team Magician. I bet some of the Speedhunters readers have different favorite cars though... pick a car from this photo and post up!

I thought this S14 Silvia looked pretty cool as it crawled through the line to get onto the track! I like those aftermarket headlights; the super clear headlights make a world of difference on S14s, especially since the OEM headlights always seem to fog up and get all nasty. There were tons of people wandering around the pit area, but it was still a pit area, so there were cars driving kinda fast through there! I had to be careful and look both ways before crossing the pit areas, because I didn't want to get run over!

This cool black JZX100 Toyota Mark II from Magician looked super cool. I love the style of the car! It's kind of beat up, so you know it sees a lot of street and circuit drifting use, and the light weight TE37s show you that the owner of the car is serious about performance, while the aggressive wheel fitment, stickers, and the cool burnt-tip exhaust tell you that the car's style is just as important as its performance. I just love the balance of the cars in Japan. So well thought out and balanced, without trying too hard.

It was cool for me to see all these AE86s all over the place! It just seems to me that you see S13s and S14s everywhere you look at most drifting events... so I was very happy to see some normally aspirated 86ers holding it down and representing the 86 life!

I dont think this is a pretty safe way to work on your car. In fact, I'm completely sure this is super unsafe. There was a guy at Ebisu's summer drift festival who was changing his tires without using jackstands, and the jack fell over while the car was in the air, and the car fell to the ground with his hand underneath! That story is bad enough, but this guy in the photo has his whole upper torso underneath the car, and his car is just being held up by a weak, low quality floor jack - those things lose oil pressure all the time! Super abunai yo!

I was going to tell him he should be safer and use jackstands so he doesn't get killed by his S13, but I couldn't think of how to say it in Japanese at the moment... and plus, it was raining, so I wanted to get my camera gear to a dry place. But at least I'm telling you Speedhunters readers! Be careful kids! Don't do this at home!

This kouki AE86 Levin looked pretty cool with its Run Free aero kit and SSR/Modex Dori Dori wheels! The driver wasn't too bad either, but I guess I just kept overlooking any cool driving the 86ers were doing because the guys from Magician and Meister R pretty much stole the show with super smoky, high rpm runs every single time. Fresh.

If you're an AE86 guy, then these are definitely a familiar sight. What we're looking at here is a pair of kouki LSD axles and an AE86 pumpkin, outfitted with a TRD LSD. Act like you know.

I was extremely happy to see Yamashita Koichi from Running Free and Ryuji Miki from Formula D's Bergenholtz Racing/A'pex Integration team at Honjyo! They're both good friends of mine, but Yamashita was one of my AE86 style idols back in the day. He is the man!!! Super nice guy, and his AE86s always looked so clean and so cool. He still has a bunch of 86s, but I'm not a fan of the big 5-spoke Work wheels he's rocking now. Bring it back to the old days of Dori Doris and RS Watanabes, Yamashita!

This S14 is pretty clean, and I just thought I'd take a photo of this cool view of the clean white 14 in the parking lot, with the lushly green mountains and surrounding fog in the background. Honjyo Circuit looked so cool!

This purple kouki AE86 Trueno definitely looked super cool at the track... the sticker on the side of the car says Shino Kouba (which, roughly translated, means Shino's Garage). Shino is an English speaking Japanese lady who is super into drifting, and she's always welcoming American and Australian drifters to come and hang out with her and hit up the circuits. I'm sure we'll have a bunch of Speedhunters readers interested in chilling with Shino, huh?

MSC was super wet, and cars were kicking up lots of water, but in retrospect, I think it was nothing compared to what we experienced at Super GT at Suzuka. I hope you guys liked this gallery of MSC pics, I'll just end this abruptly now so I can put up some other pics for you guys to see!

-Antonio Alvendia

Pure drifting action at MSC Honjyo!

RANDOM SNAP>> WHITE SUPRA

Jeroen Willemsen — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:16:00 GMT

I noticed we didn't had a lot of Toyota Supra's on Speedhunters. It's not that we don't like the car, but its hard to find a really nice example. I think I have found one. The car has some nice features like the Top Secret carbon diffuser and the red color coded rims. Not sure on the make of the wheels but I'm sure you guys can help me out.

I haven't seen a lot of white Supra's but this one pulls it off very nicely. It also works very well with the red wheels.

-Jeroen Willemsen

Swedemix

EVENT>> THE SUPER GT EXPERIENCE AT SUZUKA

Antonio Alvendia — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:30:00 GMT

It's a beautiful sunny day in Tokyo right now - the rain has finally stopped (for a few hours, according to the weather report) but instead of going out to my favorite places in the city, I'm sitting in this dark cubicle in an internet cafe, because I know you all have been waiting to see my Super GT photos. Hopefully you guys like them - I'm doing this for YOU guys, Speedhunters readers!

I'll be very honest. Going to a big race event like Super GT while you're in Japan is super crazy. Super GT is incredible! I think it's the top racing series in Japan (Formula Nippon is great, but I think Super GT gets more media coverage and worldwide interest, not to mention sponsor money), and with good reason! Super GT is an event where you get to see and hear (and when the pit crew isn't looking, sometimes you can even touch the cars that you normally can only watch on Japanese DVDs or drool over in magazines.

In Japan, Super GT is also a race event where the casual fans in the normal spectator areas have more expensive camera equipment than some of us professional photographers, who do this day in and day out! LOL! I had to admit, I was trippin out at the fans walking around Suzuka Circuit's cafeteria and grandstand seating with camera bodies that cost $5000 and $9000, not including the lenses and flashes attached to them! Damn! Suzuka Circuit's media center is even crazier - most of the pro photographers there have top of the line camera bodies and lenses that cost $5000 and $10,000 USD each. You best believe I was drooling over the artillery sitting around on the media desks... there were so many pro photographers with super high end gear in there, both Canon and Nikon sent out their best technicians to clean and service the photography equipment of the pros - FOR FREE! I have to say big thanks to Sakamoto-san from Canon Japan for cleaning my Canon camera bodies and lenses. His technicians were surprised at how dusty and dirty my equipment was, compared to some of the others; they found tons and tons of tire dust in my cameras and lenses! Oh well, such is the life of a drifting photographer's camera. Haha!

Since it was the first time we had attended a Super GT race as the Speedhunters media outlet (I had only previously shot JGTC USA in 2004, and that was when I was with a different media outlet), the Suzuka media guy didn't exactly extend a warm welcome to us, so we had to get some assistance from some of our other friends in the Super GT scene - I'm telling you... who you know at the track is often times just as important as what kind of work you're capable of producing, and how many people see it. If we had left it up to the guy at Suzuka, this trip to Super GT would have been ruined, so I feel that we really, really have to thank certain people before we proceed in looking at the photos! Our deepest thanks go to Tanaka san and Wakasa san from Nissan Japan, Tsuzuki san from Super GT, our good friend Ryotaro Hoshi from EA Japan, Hamada san from Dunlop/Falken Japan, Kuriyama san and Matsuda san from Jim Gainer Motorsports, Chiba san from Team Taisan, and Naoya Yamano, the GT300 driver from Team Mach for being such generous and helpful hosts; they took good care of us, and helped me get into certain spots so I could take these photos at the circuit. Domo arigatou gozaimashita! Otsukare sama deshita!

Without the help of the above people, capturing these photos would not have been possible. I may not have had the full access granted to most of the other media guys (with the help of a Tanaka san at Nissan, we were able to get a single full access pass, but we had to assign more priority to shooting our video footage) or a $10,000 500mm lens, but I do have some skill as a photographer and a little bit of creative vision and street smarts, so I was able to shoot some different looking photos from some different vantage points.

Look at the photo of the Ogura Racing Clutch/RE Amemiya team during a pit stop above - their SGC-7 FD3S RX7 looks amazing! These guys are hard core and dedicated - they are the ONLY team in Super GT competition using a rotary engine, and in 2006, the legendary Ama-san and his RE Amemiya crew won their first GT300 title, after twelve long years of fighting their way through the other cars in the GT300 class. Amazing. If that doesn't inspire rotary fans, I don't know what will. Congratulations to Ama-san and the rest of the crew! The Seven will never die.

One car that I thought a lot of Speedhunters readers would love is the Weds Sport IS350 from Racing Project Bandoh. What makes this Lexus IS350 really special isn't necessarily the drivers of the car, it's the team manager - Masataka Bandoh! Masataka Bandoh is the son of Masaaki Bandoh - a legend in the Japanese touring car industry, and the creator of the super cool looking Bandoh aero mirror for AE86s. (Well, those mirrors aren't the reason he's famous, they're just the reason I personally like him alot! haha)

This IS350 has a V8 engine in there (you're not alone, Hiro Sumida!) that produces a bit over 300 horsepower, but they have to run with double restrictors, since the car is in the GT300 class. I really like the color on those 18 inch Weds Sport wheels, but I know some of my Japanese friends don't like the bright yellow fluorescent color... what do you guys think? Who else agrees with me?

I was extremely excited to see Toyota Team Tom's in action, with their Petronas Tom's SC430! This car was being driven by a team of Japanese Super GT stars - Juichi Wakisaka and Andre Lotterer. I actually bumped into Wakisaka a few times in the media center, and I have to say, he seems to be a really nice guy, despite his star driver status! I think it's awesome to find big name drivers acting really cool and polite, even to nobodies like me - I already had big respect for Wakisaka as a Tom's driver, but I have even bigger respect for him now that I found out firsthand how respectful and polite he is to people!

Okay, if you guys must know the story, he was about to walk out of the bathroom in the media center, when I pushed the door open, and accidentally bumped Wakisaka with it. I was thinking to myself "Oh sh!t! I just slammed a door into Juichi Wakisaka's shoulder" and right before I could even say Ah! Sumimasen! Gomen nasai! to apologize to him, he apologized to ME for being in my way!!!" What the hell?! I was thinking to myself, "Wow are you crazy, Wakisaka? We're at Super GT in Suzuka - and over here you're the man, and I'm just an idiot gaijin American who almost knocked you to the ground with the bathroom door! And you're apologizing to me?!" As shocked as I was, I still apologized to him before he left. Pretty crazy. I should be a little more careful, there's no telling what kind of international incidents I can cause when I push doors open harder than I'm supposed to. LOL

The Nismo team undoubtedly had a huge presence on the track. They campaigned two cars - the Motul Autech R35 GTR, and the Xanavi Nismo R35 GTR, which you can see above. These GT500 monsters sounded crazy every time they passed the pit area on the main straight! They had a hollow, metallic, high pitched futuristic sound... kind of sounded like the laser guns you hear in sci-fi movies. Incredible! The Xanavi GTR above is piloted by Satoshi Motoyama - an incredibly famous star in the Super GT series. Motoyama is always on TV, and he has a ton of fans lining up in the booth area to buy his official merchandise!

Here's the other Nismo GTR, being run by the Autech/Motul team. This car is driven by Michael Krumm and Masataka Yanagida, who I met at JGTC USA in December of 2004, back when the team was running their R34 GTR in JGTC's GT500 class.

Check out the cars!!! I think they looked so incredible as they were cautiously speeding through pit lane - up front, that's the GT500 Yellowhat Tomica R35 GTR (I think this car looks awesome), and right behind it is Nobuteru Taniguchi in the Team Taisan/Yunker GT300 Porsche GT3R, and following close behind is the GT500 Takata/Dome NSX! For those of you who like Taniguchi's Porsche as much as I do, keep an eye out for a special Speedhunters feature on it in just a couple weeks!

Here's the APR Lightning McQueen MR-S. I thought it was soooo cool to see a Toyota MR-S racing in Super GT competition, but I honestly wasn't a huge fan of the Lightning McQueen graphics - my fav was always the A'pex graphic scheme. However, I did see that the young fans connected to this car alot - there were tons of kids in the booth area asking their parents to buy them Lightning McQueen MR-S toys and souvenirs! I guess they must sell a lot of merchandise!

Okay, that's it for now... stay tuned for my next Super GT post, coming very soon!

-Antonio Alvendia

Suzuka 1000kms Coverage

NEW CARS>> AUDI R8 GT3

Andy Blackmore — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:06:00 GMT

The new Audi R8 GT3 'Customer' Racecar has been announced by Audi Motorsport. The new race car will conform to the FiA GT3 regulations, allowing it to run in many National and some International Series.

The car was developed by Audi Sport and is aimed at customer use. Unlike the roadcar, the 500hp race car is rear wheel drive. Four wheel drive is prohibited in the GT3 class.

The racecar is quite stunning. The front end has a new hood with air intake and subtly flared fenders. A splitter reduces front end lift and balances the car aerodynamically with the large rear wing.

The flared front fender ends abruptly near the door, allowing air to escape from behind the wheelarch. A new side skirt has also been added to help aero.

At the rear, additional air outlets allow air out of the rear wheelarch, while the typical race car diffuser and rear wing are also standard. The original stock lip spoiler, that raises at speed on the road car, is in a fixed position. On this car the licence plate area is left in carbon fibre, which looks great

The car has already been tested by Audi driver, Frank Biela and is expected to reach lucky race teams later this year, with its competition debut in 2009.

- Andy Blackmore

Images: Audi Motorsport.

EVENT>>H.A.M.B DRAGS 2008

Mike Garrett — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:30:00 GMT

For those who are fans and followers of grassroots style nostalgic drag racing and hot rodding from the 1950's and '60s, there are few better websites out there than the Jalopy Journal and its "Hokey Ass Message Board" (H.A.M.B). For these guys it's all about homebuilt, stripped down rods ,straight axle drag cars and the like. I also think it should also be noted that these guys were around long before the "rat rod" trend took off. Rod, is a hardcore lurker on the H.A.M.B forums and since he introduced me to the site a while back, I have been reading it quite a bit myself. Every summer, they hold an extravaganza in Joplin, Missouri called the H.A.M.B drags and it looks to be an amazing event by any stretch.

H.A.M.B forum member BinderRod has posted up tons of photos that he took at the this weekend's event and we wanted to share a few of them.

This photo was taken at one of the nighttime pre-race gatherings. While some people are fans of the "rusted" look when it comes to rods, I really like these period correct graphics on this car and the way the firewall is painted to match them. Love the exhaust dumps as well.

I am not an expert on old trucks, but this looks to be a 1940's Willy's Pickup done up in '60s drag car style. Nice flames.

The "Suicide King" is a wheelstanding altered wheelbase Chevy-powered Studebaker that is quite well known among the H.A.M.B community. Look at how far the engine sits back in the chassis!

This Ford Pickup looked a little familiar, then I remembered that it was at the Goodguys autocross event in Nashville which we posted about here a while back. Older pickups have been becoming quite popular among rodders as they offer a more affordable alternative to the traditional passenger cars.

This straight axled '55 Chevy gasser looks like it rolled straight out of a 1960's drag event. How can you not like the teeth in the grill? The super skinny front tires may seem strange to sports car guys, but they are perfect for cars like this.

Not all of the cars seen around the event are drag machines, such as this custom panel sled.

Just awesome. Apparently these sort of builds are known as "suicide rods" and have been getting some flack from traditionalists for not adhering to period correct standards.

This '55 Chevy with its radiused rear fenders reminds me of the '55 seen in the iconic movies American Graffiti and Two Lane Blacktop.

And why not finish up with this flathead-powered rail dragster.

I'm hoping that I will get the chance to see (and shoot) this event for myself someday. Until then, there is plenty of coverage to be found on the H.A.M.B forums and the Jalopy Journal. Also make sure to check out the rest of BinderRod's pics at the link below.

BinderRods's Event Pics

Jalopy Journal

-Mike Garrett

EVENT>>IDLERS GAMES AT TSUKUBA CIRCUIT PT.2

Mike Garrett — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:09:00 GMT

I had too much content for one post, so here's another batch of coverage from last weekend's Idlers Games at Tsukuba. Let's jump right into it. I took this opening shot during the first lap of the Super Cup race. Imagine over 30 fully tuned Porsches' and other makes taking to the track for fender to fender racing and you can imagine the spectacle. On top of all this, the track was wet making things even more tricky. Older Porsche cars are not known for being the most driver friendly, and you can bet that these guys were using some serious skill to keep their cars on the track. My heart was beating like crazy watching these guys scream past my camera in the wet. The second car from the front is the photo looks a little like a Porsche, but it's actually a converted NA chassis Mazda Roadster from a shop called Active. It has a GT-inspired look to it and backs up its looks with some serious performance.

The car that I had my eye on the whole day was this E92 BMW M3 from a Tokyo-based tuning shop called Sunbeam. Everything about the car just looked awesome from it's Voltex GT wing to its concave face TE37's. I would say that this car is just as cool as the E92 that Amuse/Ericcson has been working on. I'm thinking maybe a car feature might be in order for this bad boy.

Porsche + TE37's = perfect match. Then again, there probably isn't a single car out there that wouldn't look cool with a set of TE's. This car must have belonged to a spectator or crew member because I didn't see it out on the track. I just had to take a photo of it because it looked so right.

This AE86 Levin belongs to one of Rauh Welt's employees and we got a GOOD look at this car during our trip there last week. Expect to see more on it in the future. I am not exaggerating at all when I say that I think this is one of the best AE86's anywhere. Just look at the thing! Perfection.Obviously it is not just for show either.

More BMW action. The E36 is trying to fight off the E46 that is glued on its tail as they accelerate out of the first corner and into the downhill S-curve section. Even if you haven't been to Tsukuba Circuit in real life, I have a feeling that many of you probably know the track front and back from seeing it in so many car videos and games. I have no idea how many simulated laps I have done around this track in various video games. Hopefully we will see it in an NFS game sometime!

The Mini Coopers are taking a breather before hitting the track for their race session. The center exit exhaust looks so cool. Now I know who buys all the tiny sized Advan A048's.

The negative camber on this Porsche would make Antonio proud. This is the same root beer colored car that is in my first Idlers post. Another one of my favorites at the event.

This car is taking some racing gas from the on-site Shell station at Tsukuba. Full service as you would expect in Japan. I wonder if they also wash your windows like at the normal gas stations here?

There's the Sunbeam E92 again running in the wet during the Super Cup race.

Just another cool looking M3, this one an E46. After seeing all the cool Japanese-tuned BMW's around, I sometimes forget that these cars are actually German.

This beautiful red KP61 Starlet is like a street going version of the TS Cup cars. Check the exhaust dumped out the sides. I'm sure I don't need to point out the TRD flares and RS Watanabes. This car looked great running on the track next to the red AE86 I mentioned earlier.

I don't know enough about Porsches' to determine whether this a real 935 or not, but it sure looked cool when it was being worked on in the pits.

There's the Active Roadster parked near the scale. Who would have thought a lavender Miata could look so intimidating?

Lastly, there's Nakai-san's car running hard during the Super Cup race. He would end up finishing in second place just behind the red an yellow Idlers Porsche. An awesome performance given the slippery track conditions. I guess this another Prelude to our upcoming blowout of RWB stuff. I can't wait to post it.

Idlers Club

-Mike Garrett

EVENT>>MOTEGI SUPER AMERICAN SUNDAY

Mike Garrett — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:55:00 GMT

After spending last Saturday at Tsukuba Circuit for the Idlers Games, my busy weekend continued on Sunday with a trip up to Twin Ring Motegi to check out the "Super American Sunday" event. As the name implies, Super American Sunday is a celebration of all automotive things that are American or American inspired and it draws "Ame-sha" (American Car) fanatics from all over the Kanto area and beyond. The event includes a huge car show, swap meet, celebrity appearances, and even drag racing on the front straight of the Motegi oval course. I had been planning to go to this event for a while and I was quite interested to see the Japanese take on the cars from my homeland. Not to mention I haven't really had the chance to see any cool American machines for a while.

The cars at the event spanned the whole spectrum of American car culture from the past to the present. There was everything from rods and customs to muscle cars to lowriders and plenty modern day "Dub" style cars. Unfortunatley there were no donks though. There were also Japanese cars of various eras built with heavy American styling influences. With classic Japanese cars in particular, I have found that there always seems to be a lot of inspiration from '60s era American cars as far as modification goes.

Here are a few of the "domestics" at Super American Sunday. Both the Z and the 510 are left hand drive and the 510 looks to be a good replica of the BRE race cars right down to the 4-spoke mag wheels. If you look in the background of this shot, you can get an idea of the variety of vehicles that converged on the infield of the Motegi Super Speedway for SAS. Vans, 4x4's, sports cars, it was all there.

As you can expect with any American-inspired car event in Japan, Mooneyes was out in force with a huge booth selling all of their goods and it was packed with customers all day long. They also brought out their yellow Chevy Nova drag car. I love the way this car recreates early the '70s street machine style with the skinny slotted mags up front and the hole in the hood with twin velocity stacks peeking through.

There was a whole separate section of the show dedicated to cars with big stereo systems and the like. Although a lot of the cars were not American, I suppose they were all inspired by the stuff that they saw in the United States. I was digging this black Hiace on air suspension. Hrm... I guess the vanning craze DID start in the USA right?

Even cooler than the Hiace was this vintage Mazda Bongo van. This is a rare first generation model that was powered by a rear-mounted 4-stroke engine. Just seeing one of these at all is a pretty rare sight in itself, but this one was fully customized inside and out and was in immaculate condition. The wheels are the retro-inspired Mooneyes Speedmasters which are quite popular among custom car builders in Japan nowadays.

Check out the interior! It has a modern audio system combined with retro styling elements. The television on the table is a modern LCD unit housed in a '60s style wood housing complete with rabbit ear antenna. Also, take a look at the old school style upholstery and traditional Japanese tatami mat on the floor. I was in love with this van!

What is this EG Civic doing at Super Ameican Sunday? This car is built in the "USJDM" style. Instead of imitating the older "Spocom" style with crazy body kits and spoilers, some USDM enthusiasts in Japan are now building cars that replicate the so-called "JDM" style seen in the United States. You may have heard me mention this trend in the past. This car's Mugen M7 wheels are highly desired by Honda guys in the states. In fact, I think this is the first set of M7's I have seen on a car in Japan. I guess all the sets are in the USA now.

Back to something a little more "American". As you might expect, there were plenty of gorgeous 'Vettes on hand. I love the styling of the early C3 models. Some of the best looking Corvettes ever in my opinion. I know a good number of the readers here dislike American stuff, but how can you deny the beauty of this styling?

Here is a nice Astro/Safari van with some VIP-type wheels. These vans are very popular in Japan and I see them driving quite often on the streets. They usually don't look as nice as this one though. Don't you think something like this would make for a pretty unique project in the US. JDM-inspired Astro anyone?

Mopars are really popular here in Japan. I could probably almost do a whole separate post on this. I am bit of a Mopar freak myself and I drove a '73 Plymouth Duster in high school. Check out the license plate on the green Duster in the photo, the 340 stands for the displacement of the small block V8 wedged under the hood. The license plate on the yellow Barracuda is "1970", the year of the car.

Most of the cars at the event were from the mid '50s or newer. This blue two-door Chevy was one of the earlier cars. There are plenty of older Custom cars and rat rods in Japan, but I didn't see too many of them at Super American Sunday.

To be honest, I can't really figure out where this JZS147 Aristo ties into American style, but that didn't stop me from drooling over its stance. Maybe the owner's buddies roll in American cars and he tagged along?

The American influence on this Nissan Sunny Truck is a little more obvious. In particular the slotted mag wheels. It seems like every single Datsun in the USA was wearing a set of these wheels at some point and time. They are pretty popular among classic car owners in Japan as well and Sunny Truck owners usually seem to be big fans of American styling.

I know I am kind of strange, but I really liked this late model Dodge Ram Van with RS Watanabe wheels. I have actually seen several other Dodge vans like this before. I think these vans are popular among skateboarders and surfers and they usually load them up with American bumper stickers.

More Mopar love. The black Charger looks like an old school street machine with its Centerline wheels and jacked up stance in the rear. Also check out the duck hood ornament. Very interesting. There is also a fully restored Super Stock Dodge two-door sedan sitting next to the Charger. Doesn't look like much, but a real muscle car enthusiast should know all about these iconic factory-built drag machines of the early '60s.

And what better way to end my Super American Sunday post then with a Mustang. It doesn't get much more American that that right? At first look I thought that this Mach 1 was wearing an set of Watanabes, but upon a closer look revealed them to be Minilites or something similar. These are the wheels that were made famous by the SCCA Trans Am cars in the early '70s. The quality of this Mustang can easily rival anything seen the United States and in speaks for the passion of the American car enthusiasts in Japan.

Super American Sunday

-Mike Garrett

CAR SPOTLIGHT>>JAS MOTOTSPORT HONDA CIVIC TYPE-R R3

Andy Blackmore — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:30:00 GMT

This little rocket is the Honda Civic Type R – R3 Rally car. Based upon the European Civic hatchback, this rally version has been developed by Honda Europe’s Customer racing partner, JAS Motorsport.

The project showcases JAS’ talents outside of the WTCC and Endurance Racing. The car is built to new 'R3' class regs, which allows it to compete in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Its has also had success in National Rally campaigns including the British, Dutch, Italian and Asian Pacific series. JAS have also taken part in selected rounds of the WRC.

Their most recent success was on ‘Rally Finland’ last month where, British Rally Champion, Guy Wilks drove to a dominant ‘R3’ Class win.

Guy drives the JAS factory car on selected events, including Australia (above), Russia and Finland.

Italian team, Procar are running Alessandro Bettega in most rounds of the IRC.

The majority of cars are for customers. Over 20 chassis have now been built.

The Civic is powered by a 2 Litre VTEC engine, developing over 260bhp developed by Mugen. This is mated to a six speed sequential gearbox. Rally specification equipment includes new suspension, brakes, limited slip differential and a weight saving program.

The inside of the ‘R3’ looks very different to a standard Civic Type R. All unnecessary trim has been removed, including parts of the dashboard. In its place, Carbon Fibre, Fibreglass and rally switchgear. Roll cage, Sparco race seats and harness have also been chosen.

If your interested, you better start saving. A full rally prepeared JAS Civic costs over $130,000 (US). The good thing about this programme is privateers can choose the individual parts they really need.

The Civic Type-R R3 is a great rally car which can hold its own in the lower ranks of the WRC. Despite the large Honda branding on the car, the company doesnt really promote their rallying much.

JAS Motorsport have just expanded their Civic range and launched an Endurance Racing version for circuit racing. With their current Accord Euro now out of production, I wonder if they will switch to a Civic for 2009 World Touring Car Championship.

With bigger funding from Honda, both these programmes could see the Civic at the front of the pack in 2009.

Chassis: Honda Civic EU Type-R, built by JAS Motorsport with JAS Roll Cage
Engine: 1998cc DOHC i-VTEC.
Power : Over 260HP
Gearbox : 6 speed sequential
Brakes: Front: 4 pot Brembo, with completion ventilated Discs. Rear 2 pot Brembo with competition drilled Discs
Wheels : Gravel, 6x15”, Tramac 7x17”. Speedline

- Andy Blackmore

Images : JAS Motorsport, Honda UK, Guy Wilks, IRC

JAS Motorsport

Guy Wilks

Intercontinental Rally Championship

EVENT>>IDLERS GAMES AT TSUKUBA CIRCUIT PT.1

Mike Garrett — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:49:00 GMT

I was originally planning on joining Rod and Antonio on their trip to Suzuka for Super GT, but in the end I decided I would stick around here as there were two events going on that I wanted to cover. The first of them was the latest match of the Idlers Games at Tsukuba Circuit and although Super GT would have been awesome, I was quite happy with what I got to see at Tsukuba this weekend. If you are a frequent reader of this site or Auto Otaku, then you probably have seen my Idlers coverage in the past. Of all the events I have been to in Japan, this one is certainly one of my favorites. Idlers events always have the coolest cars to see and this one was no different. As typical for this time of year, skies were gray and rain was falling here and there, but that didn't stop anyone from coming to the circuit and running the wheels of their machines.

As you can see in the opening shot, the pits were full of Porsche 911's of every type. In fact, I'm not sure if there is a better place to check out Japanese style Porsche tuning anywhere else. As expected, Rauh Welt-tuned cars were out in force and Nakai-san himself was there racing his signature flat black 930 along with tons of his customers. Of course Porsches' aren't the only cars you see at the Idlers Games. There are VW's, Mini Coopers, BMW's, Alfas, as well as plenty of Japanese domestics.

There's Nakai-san's black car in the front with one of his customer's cars right behind. We have an explosion of RWB stuff coming next month, so I don't want to spoil anything right now, but you can expect to see plenty more of both of these cars in the near future.

Man vintage Alfa Romeos have cool looking front ends. This car is based out of the Yokohama area and not surprisingly has been worked on Alfa specialty shop Garage Goto. These guys rule the Alfa Romeo scene in Japan, or at least in the Kanto area. This car was running in a class matched up with other vintage cars including aircooled Volkswagens and a pair of Honda S800's.

Idlers events draw all the cool looking cars whether they are Japanese or imported. Check out this this DR30 Skyline. I love the over fenders and the classic RS red and black paint scheme. I had never seen this car before and I was pretty excited to see it sitting in the pits when I got to the track.This car was running in the Super Cup class against all of the high powered Porsches'.

Can't forget about Lotus either. There were two really cool looking ones battling all the Porches in the Super Cup. It was though for them to keep up with the higher powered 911's on the straights, but in the corners they were all over them. It was very exciting to watch.

There were tons of great looking Porches' at the Idlers Games, but this orange example really caught my eye. Amazing stance here. Like most of the really aggressive Porsches', it was equipped with a set of Work Meister S1's that happened to look great against the orange body.

The Italian Job comes to Tsukuba. Before I came to Japan I didn't know that this many cool looking Mini Coopers even existed. The cars in the Mini Class are definitely not as fast as some of the others, but they are very evenly matched which makes for some close racing action. Check out the headlight covers on the red car. Makes it look like it's angry.

Just beautiful. This RWB car does not need much else by way of description. Note the "Idlers" logo painted on the tires. The Porsche guys and Rauh Welt in particular are HUGE supporters of the Idlers events and they love sporting the logo on their tires.

I spent a good part of the event watching the cars navigate the Dunlop corner. This is always one of my favorite places to watch racing at Tsukuba. There is always plenty of tail out action as the faster cars pull accelerate through the corner after a high speed entry. Here is another RWB-equipped car that has a unique look with its retro inspired paint. I love it.

It's pretty rare to see circuit-tuned air cooled VW's, and the K-Project Karmann Ghia is certainly worthy of praise for both its on track performance and its style. This car is capable of running right with its Porsche-badged relatives and managed to finis in the top three in its race class.

Yep, just another awesome-looking Porsche leading the field out of the first corner. Sights like these are why I love the Idlers Games. I'll be posting more Idlers coverage soon in case this didn't give you your fill.

Idlers Club

-Mike Garrett

CAR FEATURE>> TEX MODIFY S15 SILVIA

Antonio Alvendia — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT

We're at the Super GT race at Suzuka Circuit right now, but we're on a break... so instead of walking around downstairs trying to get phone numbers from umbrella girls, I thought I'd just post some photos I shot from the Ebisu Circuit Natsumatsuri... here's some detail photos of the black S15 Silvia that I saw over at Ebisu West Course.

The car was built by Ohki-san at Tex Modify in Ibaragi Japan. You can tell from the exterior, the car looks pretty menacing because of the low stance, and the slant of the S15's projector lights glaring at us makes me think the car is scowling at us and getting ready to attack.

I don't have too many details on the car's specs... the owner of the car was leaving, and I only had a few minutes to talk to him while taking photos! However, from the photos, we can see that it's obviously powered by an SR20DET blacktop with a Greddy TD06N2 turbo, Greddy intake filter and radiator... I like the carbon kevlar radiator cooling plate - in case you didn't know what cooling plates do, they help isolate the air entering the grill, so the air goes into the radiator, instead of over the radiator. Not sure exactly how much of a difference they make, but I suppose every little bit helps.

Inside the car, we have a Bride bucket seat, padded rollcage (presumably Safety 21/Cusco), and a Momo Prototipo 350mm steering wheel. I think it's cool that the owner of this car is using an old school Momo wheel... it's the same concept as using a Nardi Classic 360, but not everyone has a Prototipo. In case you were wondering, Nardi Classics were OEM equipment in Ferraris, and Momo Prototipos were OEM issued in Porsches.

Doesn't this car look awesome in black?! However, it bears a striking resemblance to Kazuhiro Tanaka's Team Orange S15 Silvia formerly used in D1GP competition. Maybe that's because it's the exact same aero kit - Mac/M-Sports, and the wheels look extremely similar also! Maybe it also has something to do with the fact that Tex Modify (the shop that built this black S15) also built Kazuhiro Tanaka's orange D1 S15.

I love the wingless rear end of this S15! Gorgeous, yet aggressive. The aero mirrors and window visors are a nice, subtle touch.

Taking a closer look at the wheels, they look like either Work Meister S1s, or SSR Professor SP1... can't see from here. What you can see, however, is a good view of the Mac/M-Sports wide body fenders, which have been riveted on to the car.

Here's a photo of the car on the track... this car was running Ebisu West Course during the manji competition at Ebisu's Summer Drift Festival!

And again, on pit road... you really get a good view of how huge that Greddy front mount intercooler is - it fills up the entire opening on the M-Sports front bumper, and the opening is huge!!! I love how this S15 looks. Nice and low, with aggressive wheels and stance. After all, those are the keys to making any car look cool, aren't they?

-Antonio Alvendia

GALLERY>>THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME PART2

Rod Chong — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 07:39:00 GMT

The video camera I use to shoot the various Car Tours and Slomo videos is something quite special. It's a new generation HD camera which records video sequences direct to a PC card. No messing around with video tapes! At the end of each shooting session I'll pull the cards out of the camera and dump the footage on the two USB hard drives I travel with.

However, yesterday we had a little emergency as the hard drives reached their capacity limit; no more room! This means that I've shot over over 360 Gigs work of video materials (and rising) since I left Vancouver 4 weeks ago..... So last night we had to rush off to the local electronics shop to pick up a new external HD. We needed this, as I have 1 more day shooting left before the big flight back to Canada... It's something I've been looking forward to for many months now: the Suzuka 1000kms.

The experience so far at Suzuka has been remarkably different to the relaxed atmosphere we experienced at the Ebisu Drift Festival and Honjo Circuit. We've had to fill out form after form, send in passport photos, declare our blood types (!?) and enter into complex corporate negotiations in order to insure we have trackside access for our cameras. All in all arranging access to this event has been a bit of a challenge, but anyway it's been completely worth it. These quite simply are the wildest GT style race cars on the planet and then some and its a great privilege to see them in the flesh.

Our first day here was spent working with Nissan and their motorsports wing, Nismo to make a car tour film about their amazing R35 GTR Super GT race car. It was quite an honour they gave us access to this radical machineto film a car tour. They also provided us the race engineer for the car: Ricardo Divila. This guy is incredible: He's been with Nismo for around 5 years but was part of the F1 circuit for the previous twenty. The man is a living encyclopedia of racing history... As I'm a bit of an amateur motorsports fanboy-historian myself, you can imagine it was a great deal of fun chatting with him!

Learning more about the R35 Race car has been quite fascinating. I can't quite wrap my mind around the fact that it will pull 3.5Gs in cornering force (an average high performance street car can do maybe 1G) and develops an extra 2200 pounds of down-force at only 130 mph. Ricardo tells me that it's easily as fast as a Le Mans Prototype and is around 4-5 seconds a lap faster than a top class FIA GT car over a 1.5 mile course....And this is running restrictors that limit the power to 500 bhp. Without these air regulations the car would have around 800bhp... imagine that!

Hey so it may take us a bit of time before we get to finish this GTR Car Tour as we now have stockpiles of videos to make: FIA GT, Ebisu Summer Drift Festival, Porsche Leipzig, MSC, FIA GT, Team Orange drift etc etc..... I'll be getting stuck in to post production on these videos just as soon as I'm back at the Vancouver EA Blackbox studio on Tuesday... Expect to see some stellar films on the site over the coming weeks!

Later,

:Rod

CAR FEATURE>> GIRODISC EVO X

Jeroen Willemsen — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 04:30:00 GMT

After the release of the new EVO X and the Impreza WRX, there were a lot of mixed feelings. The new EVO X got a lot of praise but the Impreza failed to amaze. After reading magazines and seeing tv shows like Top Gear, I started to like the EVO more and more. I know that the Impreza can look good, after seeing pictures that Mike shot during Time Attack events on Tsukuba. But I still tend to gravitate to the EVO and even more so after seeing this example.

The car belongs to Girodisc who produce brake upgrades. They use the EVO as a democar so it had to be special. At first I was drawn to this car because of the unusual color. Then I noticed that they removed the original spoiler and replaced it with an all metal custom duckbill design; I love the clean look, don't you?

The color can make or break a car, so the owner decided it was time for something special. The car was resprayed in a metallic ‘drunken olive' paint. Not sure why it's called ‘drunken olive' but I really like the color and it works very well with the golden wheels.

The car is outfitted with a very aggressive exhaust setup made by ETS. The mufflers are items from Aspec. They had to modify the rear diffuser to make it fit, but in the end it looks like a factory fit.

For the suspension they relied on the experience of BC Racing. They supplied the perfect setup if you ask me.

The new wheels are from Volk and are called the GTF, they measure 19x9.5 +17 all around and are wrapped in 245/35/19 BF Goodrich G-Force T/A Tires. Behind the wheels we can see the Girodisc rotors, what we do not see are the Girodisc pads that replace the OEM pads.

The engine bay is treated by lots of ETS goodies. They supplied a new front mount intercooler, intake and upper and lower IC pipes. The electronics are being handled by a AEM boost controller. For the aesthetics, Girodisc painted the valve cover in the same color as the exterior of the car.

The perfect picture to end this feature, I really hope to see a well build Impreza that can compete with this EVO. Wich car do you like better?

-Jeroen Willemsen

First spotted on Farm Of Minds, for more info and pics you can also check the Lancer Forums.

MISC>>UNDERCOVER SPEEDHUNTING

Rod Chong — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 02:04:00 GMT

I just noticed that our site traffic just tripled in one day.... wow.....this must be the reason no? Our friends on the Need for Speed Undercover team have kindly put a huge billboard into their new website advertising Speedhunters. Cool!

THE 101>>KEI CAR TUNING IN JAPAN

Mike Garrett — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:57:00 GMT

If you are even slightly interested in Japan's car culture, then there is no doubt that you are familiar with kei jidousha, the tiny little cars with yellow license plates that can be seen in every corner of the country from the alleys of Tokyo to the fields of Hokkaido. Now how do you determine just what a kei car is? To fall into the kei class, the cars must meet certain standards that limit the overall size of the vehicle, and their engines must displace less than 660cc. Besides their tiny size, which matches up well with the size of Japanese streets, kei car owners also get a number of benefits by way of discounts on car tax, insurance, and parking fees.

Despite their tiny engines and small sizes, kei car modification is huge in Japan. In fact, the variety of kei car tuning is just as diverse as that of full size cars. Keis have a place in nearly every part of the Japanese tuning world and I have seen everything from kei time attack cars, to kei VIP cars, and of course the kei drift cars.

The predecessors to contemporary kei cars are vehicles like the Honda N360, a model which became popular as some of the first Japanese compact cars back in the 1960's. Although they were primarily designed as simple transportation, they also have a racing following and it's amazing how much power people pull out of the motorcycle-based engines found under the hood of these cars. I took this photo at the 2008 K&K Meeting at Tsukuba Circuit which is a gathering of microcar racing enthusiasts.

Many people run kei cars at the circuit, and although they are certainly not the fastest things around, they can still provide a very engaging driving experience when tuned a little. On the smaller, winding courses in particular, their agility can be a big plus. Because of the small displacement of the engines, many kei's come equipped with turbochargers from the factory and that means that easy power can be added with light tuning. Even at low power levels, the small weight of the cars can make them very potent.

One big drawback of standard kei cars is that they are tall and narrow, which can make the threat of rollovers a big of a problem when racing. This particular car spun entering the corner, just hitting the zeebra zones was enough to flip it over even though it was not going that fast. Something like this would not have happened in a standard car with a wider track and a lower center of gravity. Fortunately the car did not sustain much damage.

Then again not all kei cars are tall hatchbacks. There are a few well known "kei sports" machines including the mid-engined Honda Beat which is pictured above. Even though it originally debuted in the early 1990's, This car is still amazing even by today's standards. It is like a miniature version of an NSX combined with an S2000. Japanese Honda tuner Backyard Special even shoved an Integra Type R engine into the rear a Honda Beat. Talk about a scary fast car!

Another member of the "kei sports wave" of the 1990's is the Suzuki Cappuccino roadster. The Cappuccino has a traditional FR layout and is powered by a turbocharged three cylinder engine. As you can see by the Fighter Engineering Cappuccino in the photo above, the car has a very high potential for tuning. Some prefer to work with the car's stock engine and others have swapped it out for even more powerful engines including the 13B rotary. I haven't seen a ton of modified Honda Beats here, but I have been surprised at the number of tuned Cappuccinos I have seen on both the street and the track.

Of course it is not all about racing. The majority of fixed up kei cars are usually modified for looks alone. Kei wagons are often modified in the same style as their VIP sedan and van counterparts. Air suspension, custom interiors, aggressive wheels, big audio systems, its all here. If you go to a Super Autobacs or Up Garage store in Japan, you will see a special section full of custom wheels just for kei cars, usually in incredibly small diameters and narrow widths.

Something like this slammed Daihatsu Tanto would be a great daily driver. You can drive it anywhere, carry a lot of stuff, get great gas mileage, and even look stylish while doing it. Actually, many drifters and racers in Japan have fixed up kei cars for daily use.

Other kei car owners prefer customizing their cars with a touch of old school American hot rodding style. Mooneyes Japan offers a number of parts and accessories for those people looking to bring some vintage SoCal style to their keis. Also, check out that crazy looking custom delivery truck in the background of this photo!

Some kei owners go beyond simple aftermarket parts and have turned their cars into complete custom creations. Check out the woodgrain finish and SSR Mk.II's on this car. This car has had a ton of time and work put into it.

This car, (which is from the same team as the woodgrain car), has taken things even further. Gullwing doors, custom overfenders, and widened steel wheels with stretched tires. It's so over the top, and I love it. It looks like nearly every part on the outside of this car is one-off.

There is also a special band of kei car drifters in Japan. These guys absolutely rip it up and can make their cars do things you would never think are possible. This photo is from the 2008 D1GP Odaiba event where the guys from "Rex Tomo No Kai" were out there performing five-car tandem demo runs in their Subaru Rex's.

My most recent exposure to kei drifting came last weekend at the MSC Honjo event. The Daihatsu Mira driven by Mr. Suzuki from Team Always! defeated a bunch of S13's to take the first place in the Middle Class competition. It sure was a sight to see and we will have more on this car coming up soon.

As you can see, kei cars are capable of nearly anything when in the right hands, and they are a very important part of the scene in Japan. Hopefully that gives a little overview of Japanese "kei style".

-Mike Garrett

NEWS>> WIN A RIDE IN A TIME-ATTACK IMPREZA

Andy Blackmore — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:59:00 GMT

Thought this might interest Time-Attack fans in the UK, plus its for a good cause and celebrates the life of Colin McRae.

Roger Clark Motorsport is offering up a passenger ride in their 800bhp Subaru Impreza 'Gobstopper' in the Colin McRae Gathering convoy. The Gobstopper will be second in the Subaru only convoy behind McRae's championship winning Prodrive Subaru! As I write this, the highest bid is just 300GBP!

The McRae Gathering takes place on 31st August and has been organised, with the full blessing of the McRae family and Prodrive as a tribute to Colin, who died last year. The Convoy starts at Lanark, Scotland (where Colin lived) to Banbury, Warwickshire, home of Prodrive. Almost 1300 Subaru's will take part in the convoy, which will set a new world record.

Please note, entry for the convoy is now closed, but it should be a great viewing and photographic opportunity - which you can share on the forums.

-Andy Blackmore

Gobstopper Ride Auction Details

McRae Gathering Website

EVENT>>UK RETRO RIDES GATHERING

Mike Garrett — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:14:00 GMT

There a few things better than spending a weekend hanging out with fellow enthusiasts, talking about cars, and just enjoying the hobby in general. This is exactly what happened last weekend at the meet that was hosted by our friends at Retro Scene Magazine in the UK. The UK has a thriving classic car scene, and I must say that it looks quite different from anything I have seen in the states. In the US everyone is sort of divided into their own "scenes" and there is little interaction between them. The UK "retro" scene is much different, and at the meet you could find everything from vintage air and water-cooled VW's, to classic Japanese cars, to UK market Fords, and even classic American cars. That is the most impressive thing to me about this meet, people with all sorts of cars coming together to celebrate the love of vintage machinery.

There is a huge photo thread on the Retro Scene forums where you can easily kill some time drooling over the cars at the meet.

Here are just a few photos from the event-

This Golf looks beautiful with its super wide BBS RS wheels. European VW style at its best. These cars may not seem classic, but the older ones are about 25 years old now right? This is honestly one of the nicest looking MKII's I have seen anywhere. Everything about it is so tasteful.

Also a VW, but of a completey different style is this chopped Type 1 "Volksrod". A lot of people seem to be trying these sorts of builds lately, and it makes a lot of sense given the high prices and rarity of traditional American rodding platforms.

I love the theme on this old wagon. Looks a little similar to the 3SGE-powered fire department Corona wagon here in Japan.

A little bit of miniature Mad Max style and its even sporting V8 power. I love it.

Maybe I am strange, but I really like old school vans like this Ford. Perfect for hauling stuff in retro style. It looks there was a few cool old vans at the meet.

Lastly we have this B110 Nissan Sunny/Datsun 1200 wagon with Hayashi Street wheels. A very rare car that is built right.

There are tons more photos in thread on the Retro Rides forums so be sure to check them out.

Retro Rides Gathering Pic Thread

Retro Scene Magazine

-Mike Garrett

CAR FEATURE>>RASTY JZX100 MARK II

Mike Garrett — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:50:00 GMT

When I was at the MSC event last weekend admiring all of the cool-looking drift cars, I noticed a black JZX100 Mark II that looked a little familiar. I had never seen the car at a drift event before, but being a big fan of the JZX chassis, I clearly remembered seeing the car at a grip event at Tsukuba Circuit back in March of this year. It was built by Car Make Rasty and you may have seen a photo of this car in my 101 post about the JZX series. Just looking at the car, you can tell that it is a bit different from the typical JZX drift cars you see in Japan. The car's aero parts are of a different style than those usually seen on drift cars, and the car's vibe just screamed "function".

As I watched the car first take to the course at Honjo, I wondered how it would do. After a few quick runs to get a feel the course, the driver swung out the tail and the car ripped through the corners sideways with smoke pouring from the rear tires and the air filling with the sound of Toyota inline six goodness. Watching the car make its practice runs and seeing the ease in which it could smoke the rear tires, the Rasty JZX100 could easily be mistaken for one of the top D1 cars. Obviously this car is more than a one trick pony.

I took this photo as the car was finishing up its run on the final part of the course. While most of the lesser powered cars would finish their runs at this point, the Mark II would continue the drift all the way down the back straight with plenty of manji thrown in for extra style points. This shot also is a good place to look at the car's unique aero parts. The front bumper, side skirts, and rear mud guard are all from Rasty's Meister R GT-Spec series and they have a noticeably different look then something like a BN Sports kit. As you would expect, these parts were also developed for use in time attack events. All the other exterior parts are also from Meister R and include FRP doors, the GT wing, and a carbon kevlar hood and trunk. All of these parts help to trim weight from sedan's larger chassis and I really liked how the hood looked in particular.

This car did not ride nearly as low as say, the cars from Team Magician, but it still had a nice stance and it had obviously been set up for drift use quite well. A look at the spec sheet shows that the car is running Meister-R-spec Aragosta coilovers with Swift springs. Other suspension parts include a lower brace kit from TOMS and sway bars from a company called Largus who's parts can be see on many pro drift cars in Japan. The Brake upgrades include a set of F50 calipers in the front and OEM JZA80 Supra calipers in the rear. The rotors are two-piece units from RDD and the pads are Endless. For grip use, the car usually runs a set of 18x9.5 +15 Volk CE28N's all around, but at the MSC event it was running a pair of less aggressive mesh wheels in the front.

If you look under the hood, you might think you are seeing a standard 2.5L 1JZ powerplant, but actually the block comes from 3.0L 2JZ making this the so called "1.5JZ" hybrid engine. Other engine tuning includes an HKS V-cam setup, SARD 800cc injectors as well as a nitrous kit for added juice. On the turbo side of things, the car is equipped with an HKS 3040 turbine with an original Rasty exhaust manifold. The exhaust system itself is also an original titanium set up from Meister R. Power output is estimated to be in the 600ps range.

And here you see all that engine tuning being put to use as the rear end of the car becomes engulfed with tire smoke. If MSC was judged on smoke production alone, this car would have easily walked away with the victory. It was just awesome to see this car running the course and the crowd seemed to love it as well.

This car's race car-like build quality is obvious when you look in the interior. Almost all signs of the original Mark II interior are gone, and in its place is number of race-spec parts like the full bucket seats, which are also from the Meister R catalog. When I looked inside the car, I expected to see a sequential transmission, but the car is actually running a standard 5-speed manual from a JZX110. The power than goes to a Tomei Technical Trax Advance LSD planted in the rear differential.

Here is a better look at the custom dashboard which is filled with a number of custom gauges from PIVOT. The Meister R original steering wheel measures 330mm and the roll cage is 13-point setup from Safety 21. Again, very racecar-like.

Here is the same car running at Tsukuba earlier in the year at one of the Amuse circuit meetings. In 2005 this car became the fastest four-door rear wheel drive car at Tsukuba Circuit with a lap time of 59.6 seconds with Tarzan Yamada behind the wheel. Recently though, the car has been shifting to drift use and it has been seen in a couple MSC events this year.

In the end, with this car Rasty has proven the same machine can be very successful in both drifting competition and in traditional grip racing. Even for a more "universal" platform like a Silvia, being able to do well at both is feat worthy of applause, but doing it in a big four-door sedan is even more exciting. In a way it reminded me of the Signal R34 GT-R which has seen action as a drag car, a time attack car, and most recently as a drift car in Formula D. The Rasty JZX100 was certainly one of my favorite cars at the MSC event, and I know it will be very interesting to watch how this car continues to evolve in the future.

Rasty

-Mike Garrett

EVENT>> R35 GTR MANIA AT SUPER GT SUZUKA

Antonio Alvendia — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:24:00 GMT

As some of you might know, we've been on a long and crazy trip across Europe and Japan. Right now, I'm chillin out with a fellow American friend, Andrew, in the Suzuka Circuit media center - he is shooting this event for Import Tuner, so make sure to check the magazine in a future issue of the mag.

One thing I noticed while walking around the pit area at Suzuka Super GT... the R35 Nissan GTRs look amazing! I can't decide which R35 livery I like best... the Hasemi Motorsports/Yellow Hat R35, the Clarion/Wood One R35, the Nismo Xanavi, or the Nismo Autech teams all have awesome liveries. I think race car builders around the world could learn something about the way the Japanese Super GT teams design their liveries to work around their aero.

Speaking of aero, just look at the high tech aero technology being used on the Hasemi/Yellow Hat R35 - humongous wide body aero fenders, aggressive rear air splitters, and huge rear wing for downforce, of course.

The Nismo/Xanavi R35 GTR looked so moody in the Suzuka pit garage... it was like a sleeping tiger, ready to pounce on the competition. Again, I can't help but notice the incredible aero technology utilized by these cars... these GTRs look so crazy!

Here's the Xanavi/Nismo GTR again, sitting in the pit area. Check out the humongous AP Racing brakes peeking out from behind those single lug Rays forged racing wheels. I'd love to have some of those wheels sitting on a wheel rack in my living room! The scenery here at Super GT is just amazing.

Here's a photo of the Clarion/Wood One/Advan R35 GTR during sha-ken car inspection. I absolutely love the silver, blue, and teal livery - it looks awesome! I can't wait to see this car on the track!

-Antonio Alvendia

Suzuka 1000kms Coverage