A Kenmeri For The Family

Choosing which vehicles to Spotlight at the recent Nostalgic 2days event was tough – there were many cars that I wanted to show you in more detail, but only so much time. Given how unique it is though, I just had to take a closer look at this four-door Kenmeri.

While it’s hard not to have a rather soft spot for the two-door version of the car, the GC110 sedan is not exactly a ‘pretty’ thing.

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But as it can be said for a many Japanese cars, whether old or new, beauty is often overshadowed by straight-out character. That’s something this car – on display at the Restored booth – definitely had. The Kenmeri is owned by a member of the Shizuoka Racing ‘Ran’ – a group of owners that also call themselves ’70s Street Fighters. The name is cool, but their cars are even cooler!

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This GC110 has been given mild shakotan look –  just low enough to enhance its exterior form and highlight the 16-inch RAYS Volk Racing TE37Vs bolted up at all four corners.

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The body sports a very flashy electric blue coat of paint, which is bombarded with pretty big flakes to really make it pop. But one of the most distinctive features of the Kenmeri four-door has to be that rear fender design – a lower swage line running along the profile of the body merges to create the upper cut line of the wheel arch, giving it an instantly recognisable contour.

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It might not be a GT-R, but it’s still a Skyline and that stands for a lot.

Incidentally, if you ever wondered where the name Kenmeri comes from, you should check out the video above, which is a collection of the seven TV commercials that were run between 1972 and 1974 to advertise the ‘new’ Skyline. The names of the two characters who featured in the ads – Ken and Mary – is the way this model has been referred to ever since.

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Restored shared their booth with RAYS, who brought along a brand new wheel for everyone to drool over. Design-wise it’s nothing new, but being an SL version of the TE37V it’s pretty cool.

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Through the rear window you can spy the bosozuko-style half rollcage that is often fitted to these type of cars, as well as a modern take on Pioneer’s iconic TS-X8 box speakers.

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I think I might contact the club this Kenmeri belongs to, and see if they would be interested in meeting up for a shoot. There’s still so much I’d like to discover about the whole shakotan, zokusha and garuchan scenes. Would you be interested in finding out more too?

Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com

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1

Nice article Dino, more please.

2

Hnnnnnnng!

3

Ill take one generous serving of oddball noisy japanese metal please. Are any of the inspirational super silhouette cars are still seen on track? we need footage!

4
CameronPhillips

Do it, Dino!  We need more of this.  Somehow I feel like there's a leather jacket and a half smoked pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes sitting in the back seat.

5

I can see how it might not appeal to everyone, but I love it! The TE37s definitely suit it better than those stock hubcaps lol. The paint is great too.
This would be a fun car to cruise in :)

6

Those commercials were hilarious.

8
speedhunters_dino

SeijiInata かっこいい!連絡します!

9
speedhunters_dino

BlackMesa533i 70s awesomeness you mean

10
speedhunters_dino

CameronPhillips I'm sure there is. I'll go and check for you ....

11
speedhunters_dino

zapsnyder At the Nismo Festival occasionally

12
speedhunters_dino

Miketejero :)

13

I really like the color, not sure about the rims though.

14

@Niek THEY'RE FUCKING WHEELS NOT RIMZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

15

Is this how the kenmeri got its name? Japanese can be really weird.

16

Hella strange lol

17

I just wish they could put the GTR flares on these, but the rear door is in the way!

18

speedhunters_dino Exactly, but I'm not sure what they were getting at..if I bought the skyline I would end up dragging logs on a beach with a white girl in Japan? Actually I guess they got me sold on that pitch.

19

speedhunters_dino SeijiInata 
I am producing the two-door wide fender.
http://www.restored.jp/2doorkenmary.html

20

FunctionFirst I agree, it needs much thinner rims on those wheels...

21

AdamBezzegh and the first puritans that stepped off the boat were called Mary and Ken...

22
speedhunters_dino

Judau People do that a lot on these but I like the simpler look myself

23
speedhunters_dino

AdamBezzegh Yup

24
speedhunters_dino

mary_ken FunctionFirst lol

25
speedhunters_dino

SeijiInata speedhunters_dino Very cool!

26
speedhunters_dino

BlackMesa533i speedhunters_dino lol, it was the seventies, creatives were very experimental and random lol

27

As always, good work Dino, you write quick snap-features far better than some full articles we see out there!
Can i suggest something for 2015? A take on a bosozoku lifestyle meeting, for all the bad guys and bad girls watching speedhunters!
Also, we need another dekotora feature, perhaps a night meeting so we can enjoy the lights?

c'mon, i can't be the only one here into this stuff, am i?

28

speedhunters_dino There's something that can be said about keeping certain aspects original - I guess that's just the one piece I'm not that fond of on the Kenmeri - although rear wheels peeking out from the fenders was a lot more common place back then than it is now.

29

Yessir! More of this please! :D

30

It's sure interest me!!!

31

I am sure I rode in a 4-door Skyline GT (not a GT-R) which was running as a taxi in Abu Dhabi in 1981/82 .......

32

great car, I enjoyed it, especially its color
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