GALLERY>> TAS 2011 DAY2 – OVERVIEW
I just got home from my third straight day at the Tokyo Auto Salon and I’m beat. However, before I head off to bed for a much needed recharge, I thought I’d leave you with a brief overview of some of the cars that stood out the most to me over these two show-days. Hopefully this will keep you guys updated as Linhberg and I do our best to cover every angle of the show before we start getting into things in more detail.
The first thing I did Friday morning at 9 am when the show opened to the press was to grab a shot of the RE-Amemiya Hurricane 7, the tri-rotor FD3S everyone has been waiting for, and post it up on the Speedhunters Facebook page. Hopefully we will be seeing a lot of Ama-san’s latest creation as it joins the time attack circuit this year, but it wouldn’t be right if this main car stole all the spotlight, as the new wide-body RX-8 right next to it, if quite a lot prettier. Talking to Ken Amemiya I discovered the SE3P is an automatic and has only very basic modifications. However, the same body kit is being fitted to Suenaga’s D1 RX-8 when it finally makes its debut at Round 1 in Odaiba.
It’s taken a while, but more wide-body conversions are being released for the R35. Abflug came up with this new kit, which simply put is just wild!
The Japanese Police are really stepping things up to keep those pesky street drifters under control!
Suzuki-san’s Scorch S15 time attack car is looking far more serious for 2011, with all-new dry-carbon front fenders, roof, bumper and huge canards. With the new GCG turbo from Australia he is hoping to get his best time at Tsukuba down into the 54-seconds.
On top of two equally cool S30s, one powered by an LT1 the other by an RB25DET, all eyes were on this other Rocky Auto creation at the G-Works stand. The stroked L28 displaces 3.1L and is force-fed air by a supercharger. The car was just finished in time for the show so no final power figures have been released, but Watanabe-san thinks at least 400 HP will be available once tuned properly.
Nissan took advantage of the Tokyo Auto Salon to launch the $250,000 R35 GT-R RC. Strangely enough the RC is based on the per-2011 car so doesn’t get the 530 HP VR38, but has to do with the 485 HP unrevised motor. Still, with a lighter body thanks to heavy use of carbon, a full race-spec roll-cage, massive Brembo Racing front brakes, adjustable race suspension and Yokohama 290-section 20-inch tires it will be perfect for teams needing a production-car based racer. The RC is eligible to enter in many championships around the world so I’m sure we will be seeing more R35s on the race scene around the world this year.
You got to give it to Nissan, even the new Leaf was subjected to a little light tuning. Is this the first lowered EV??
Ahhh…this is more like it. The RH9 area was like a momentary step-back into the good old days where your car’s engine performance was far more important than pretty much anything!
Another widened R35, this time from Axell.
Rolls Royce, meet Junction Produce. Am I the only one that thinks modern VIP style really fits the Phantom?
Imports are a very big part of TAS this year, from expensive exotics to luxury sedans. The Panamera was an obvious hit with all the big name Japanese and German tuning companies.
I bumped into Otsuka-san from Check Shop, you may remember the feature on his M5 back in 2009. For 2011 he is sticking with BMW but has gotten himself a new M3 to play around with and fitted it with this new model of Absolute wheels sporting a very original blue anodized finish.
As Linhberg showed us yesterday the girlhunters were out by the hundreds at the show…
…getting those all-important detailed shots. I just had to take a peak at the angles some were going for! It is Behind the Scenes month after all right?
You can expect to see plenty of non-car related coverage too in upcoming posts, albeit tastefully shot.
The big news at the show yesterday was that Naoki Nakamura of Team Burst was once again arrested for illegal street drifting. At the same time the sentencing from a previous offense came through, consisting of a two-year driver’s license suspension and a pretty hefty fine. Upon hearing this, the D1 Corporation instantly banned him indefinitely from competing in D1 Grand Prix and D1 Street Legal. Today, some of the D1 Corporation people headed over to the D-Max stand where his cars are on display and removed his name from both, along with the D1 windscreen banners.
And on the subject of D1, I spotted Hibino, Orido and Koguchi at the Yokomo stand today in the middle of what looked like one of those much-loved Japanese talk shows. Mana P was doing his thing on the mic and Taniguchi was also present. Judging from yesterday’s D1 exhibition it looks like Nob might have taken over the role of judge in D1, but nothing has been confirmed quite yet.
I’ve decided the D’custom Freak Majesta and Century-faced Celsior are my two favorite cars of the show, I mean seriously, could they be more Japanese? I think Linhberg should do a spotlight on one of these…what do you guys think?
Kei van’s are probably one of the most unique things about TAS and there are more than ever this year, this being the coolest as it foregoes the usual VIP-ish, vanning look for a more vintage sports car feel with that Hakosuka-like bumper-mounted oil cooler and overfender-rubbing tires.
It might be hard to gauge from the picture but this Legacy B4 was sporting pretty wildly widened front and rear fenders!
The theme over at the STI booth was “Proud of Boxer” and that is a message that has been very evident over the last few months with all the cool cars they have been coming up with. Based on the new carbon roofed STI Impreza tS, this GVB is built to take on the Nurbugring 24h race this year, one of the toughest endurance races in the world.
The limited edition tS the race car is based on.
As I walked out of the almost deserted Makuhari Messe tonight I stopped for another look at the S & Company Ferrari GTO. The owner, Shikata-san allowed me to do a quick spotlight on the limited edition 599-based special…boy what a car!
That’s about it for now, Linhberg will be giving us a different angle on TAS soon, as he checks out the impressive selection of JDM goodness present every year in the parking lots of the Makuhari Messe.
-Dino Dalle Carbonare
