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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Nice article Dino, more please.
Hnnnnnnng!
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!
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.
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
Those commercials were hilarious.
Wide body kit making
http://www.restored.jp/ayamaryaya.html
SeijiInata かっこいい!連絡します!
BlackMesa533i 70s awesomeness you mean
CameronPhillips I'm sure there is. I'll go and check for you ....
zapsnyder At the Nismo Festival occasionally
Miketejero
I really like the color, not sure about the rims though.
@Niek THEY'RE FUCKING WHEELS NOT RIMZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Is this how the kenmeri got its name? Japanese can be really weird.
Hella strange lol
I just wish they could put the GTR flares on these, but the rear door is in the way!
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.
speedhunters_dino SeijiInata
I am producing the two-door wide fender.
http://www.restored.jp/2doorkenmary.html
FunctionFirst I agree, it needs much thinner rims on those wheels...
AdamBezzegh and the first puritans that stepped off the boat were called Mary and Ken...
Judau People do that a lot on these but I like the simpler look myself
AdamBezzegh Yup
mary_ken FunctionFirst lol
SeijiInata speedhunters_dino Very cool!
BlackMesa533i speedhunters_dino lol, it was the seventies, creatives were very experimental and random lol
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?
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.
Yessir! More of this please!
It's sure interest me!!!
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 .......
great car, I enjoyed it, especially its color
---
http://www.clickjogosclick.com/
I enjoyed over read your blog post. Your blog have nice information, I got good ideas from this amazing blog. I am always searching like this type blog post. I hope I will see again.
usps tracking @ http://uspstrackingtool.com
Netflix @ http://netflixsecret.com/
iphone 7 release date @ http://iphone7releasedate2016.com/
facebook video downloader @ http://face-video.com
youtube to mp3 @ http://youtubetomp3online.com
weather @ http://weatherchannel.today
I found lots of interesting information here.Great work
Thanks for the share loved reading the article, please do share more like this wiht us .
<a href="http://subwaysurfers-games.com/"> Subway Surfers</a>
<a href="http://temple-run2.com"> Temple Run 2</a>
<a href="http://run3online.com/"> Run 3 </a>
<a href="http://clickjogosbr.com/"> Click Jogos</a>
I found lots of interesting information here.Great work
Thanks for the share loved reading the article, please do share more like this wiht us .
[url=http://subwaysurfers-games.com/] Subway Surfers [/url]
[url=http://temple-run2.com/] Temple Run 2 [/url]
[url=http://run3online.com/] Run 3 [/url]
[url=http://clickjogosbr.com/] Click Jogos [/url]