There’s Something New In The SH Garage…

In my almost two and a half years with Speedhunters I’ve owned a few different cars and bikes. They’ve all been interesting enough to the enthusiast, but nothing really worthy of the official ‘Speedhunters Project Car’ title. Well, that’s about to change.

Since making the move to Japan 10 months ago, I’ve been plotting to acquire a vehicle to join me on the journey through this crazy car-loving country. The list of potential candidates was long and diverse: Japanese and European, turbocharged and naturally aspirated, three pedalled and two. Comparison tables were drawn, endless websites were bookmarked, and weeks’ worth of sleep were lost to the frenetic analysis of every car enthusiast’s perpetual question: what car is next?

The list was whittled down over the last few months and in the end only one contender remained. With the help of a few friends, including Speedhunters’ own Ron Celestine and Kikuchi-san from Saitama-based shop Autoworks k2, the pipe dream has now became a reality.

So like any good Speedhunter, I’m inviting you along for the ride (it’s already had some ups and downs, and I’m yet to even collect the car!). Take a guess at what it might be in the comments below. Hint for our long-term readers: it’s a first for a Speedhunters project.

Blake Jones
Instagram: blaketjones
blake@speedhunters.com

Photos by Ron Celestine
Instagram: celestinephotography

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104 comments

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1

something with a Wankel

2
Amirul Makhtar

is it a rotary ?

3

Is it a Rotary? definetely a Mazda. I think...

4

It looks an S2000 / RX7?

5
Flavien Vidal

It looks like the trunk is opened on the picture... And it does indeed look like an FD trunk...

6

Someone else mentioned a trunk below... what are you guys talking about? Was a photo taken down before I got here? That's clearly a shot of the front fender/wheel. I can see the lower-front corner of the side window, the glass side of the wing mirror... that fender looks modern to me (late 90s or newer), and not like an FD's unless the it has already been modified.

7

Seconded.

8
Flavien Vidal

I am not sure how you see all that lol. Well done Speedhunters! We are now all like school kids trying arguing about a picture and what's hidden in it haha

9

*kid walks up and looks at illusion for no more than two seconds*

"Wow, a sailboat"

10

Mission success! All will be revealed soon.

11

Call me crazy, but I'm seeing a C6 Corvette. Hey, there are some rolling around Japan!

Author12

I see a good amount of Corvettes here - the good weather brings them out on a Sunday. Owners aren't afraid to modify, either!

13

Mr2?

14

Im going with a Hyundai Getz! ;)

15

Too much power for me...

16

Cappicinno

17

I guess it might be a MR coupe like MR2 , MRS , or something like that

18

One problem with 'speedhunter worthy' is that it's probably been seen a million times. However, I love the garage perspective! Congrats?

19

It's a Supra MKIV

20
Mike Donnelly

Looks vaguely like a panda paint job, so I'm gonna say AE86.

21

https://www.google.com.br/search?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=712&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=supra+trunk+lid&oq=supra+trunk+lid&gs_l=img.3..0i24k1.109841.113338.0.113536.20.14.0.0.0.0.481.1978.0j5j0j2j1.8.0....0...1.1.64.img..12.8.1971.0..0j35i39k1j0i67k1j0i5i30k1j0i8i30k1.oglQesf20ck

Second image. Yup, it's a MK IV Supra

22

Where in this photo are you seeing that? The blurred out vehicle has a rear view mirror present, thus being the front 3/4.

23
Andrei Rosas Sánchez-Silva

Please let it be an RX-7 FC I love that car

24
Daniel Jenkins

Given that you are surrounded by them, I would say RX7

25
Carlos Berrios

seeing that around the car are 2 FD's RX7 and a front bumper that appear to be from an RX7 to... I think it's an FD RX7 lol!

26

I'm hoping it's a rotary of some sort or a mr2

27

NSX

28

Itll be something that will have Volks put on it.... Because we never see volks on speedhunter cars

29

Cough Cough project yankee Cough Cough

31

It was a troll comment. Basically predicting this project will run volks.

32
Jordan Butters

Totally got that. All the links above are SH projects not running Volks.

33
Christian Clark

too bad there's no Civic/Golf in that mix.

34
Freddy Strange

YEAH what happened to that thing???? I was so thirsty for it, hopefully we'll see it again one day.

35
Jordan Butters

You know about Paddy's Golf, right?

36

With two FD3S's in the picture I would put my money on an RX-7.

37
Jordan Butters

Can I has a guess?

38

It's a RX7 because of the trunk and the yard is filled with them.

39

My guess is it's a front of green FD3S RX7

40

He's surrounded by FD chassis RX-7s!

41

A Toyota mr2 turbo??

42

Nissan SE R ? LOL I know its not gonna be like my SE R b13 but hopefully you feature at least one b13 ^_^ prove the world we owners of SE R are not forgotten kingdom as some call us... LOL

43

ND MX-5

44
ReallyForeverAlone

I was going to say NA Miata.

45

Porsche 944 with a 13B!

Author46

My other car is a 944! No 13B, though...

47

a divco with a blown big block?

48

Sorry not fb I meant miata, fb was running through my mind as a possibility

49

They didn't hide/blur the reflection from the mirror of the forklift or whatever that big truck is in the foreground.
yet i still have no clue but it looks like an fc.

50

I'm guessing a 2011 Toyota Camry SE which will be supercharged, LB kitted and fitted with some Volk wheels and stretched tires.

-Alex

51

I'm guessing an RX7.

52

NB Miata?

53
ReallyForeverAlone

The mirror looks more like an NA.

54

a lada with a 2jz

55

a boat with a w16 quad turbo

56

Apparently this didn't post, my guess is miata or s2k based on the blinker/reflector

decom_9ad15d2a4e82f37ccb776cc45dce4fc2_5915e5b74ecff.pngdecom_9ad15d2a4e82f37ccb776cc45dce4fc2_5915e5b74ecff.png
57

A VW caddy DUUHH

58

with a jet engine!

59

Nissan 100nx... Lol!!

60

clickbait hype stfu

61

Hasn't Speedhunters got founded cuz some guy wanted to write story about his RX-7 and then all got rolling into this awesome car culture page?

62
Christian Clark

Not in the slightest. It was started as a side project by EA Games/Need For Speed to tap into current car culture.

63
Flavien Vidal

Doubt it there've been around for much longer... I think EA kind of owns the site or something like that, but that doesn't mean it didn't exist way before that.

64
Christian Clark

This sit was created by Rod Chong, creative Director for EA Games at the time. I was here within the first few months, having heard of the site at the 2006 Long Beach Formula D round. They used this site to promote Shift, Shift 2, and at least 2 other Need For Speed games. EA/Need For Speed has been around since the early 90s, Speedhunters 2006. Plain truth guys.

65

Not this either, been going strong for over a decade. Waaaaay before EA had them in their sites.

66
Christian Clark

Nope, this site was created as a marketing effort, plain and simple. It's since grown into it's own entity but still shills for NFS. Dino and Larry have been in a few. Remember the RTR-X? The RADBUL? Matt Powers? All Speedhunters cars featured in-game. And the next Need for Speed? You can bet it will be promoted here, while Project Cars 2 or Dirt 4 won't.

67

I really don't understand your aggression towards EA here. If it wasn't for EA, Speedhunters wouldn't exist. We've never hidden that we're part of EA, they're logo has always been at the bottom of every page on the site. We've run lots of behind the scenes stuff on the NFS games in the past and likely will do the same in the future because we have the access and insight that we otherwise wouldn't have.

68
Christian Clark

Love EA for creating this site. Hate where they've taken their games since Shift 2. Speedhunters is the best thing they've done since NFSU2. I've played NFS games since the very first, and wish they still would make a game I can enjoy (fire Ghost!).

69

I remember when EA bought speedhunters. Way before Larry, way before RTR, way before Madbull. A marketing tool is what it has become. Been reading since like 2004? I think need for speed underground 2 was out and that's it.

70
Christian Clark

Maybe Larry or Dino can clarify, as they are the only originals left?

71
Paddy McGrath

*ahem*

Site was started in ~2008 by Rod & Antonio, it was backed by EA since the beginning and always has been since.

72

Z32 Fairlady?

73

Haha this is awesome ;)

74

RX-7 with an LS swap.

75

It better not be.

76

Totally a Ford Model T. Definitely. 100% sure.

77
Steve Hayward

Can it just be that white FD? I think it's the white FD.

Author78

OK. It's the white FD.

79

That is a really round side mirror. Miata or a Mini Cooper.

80
Anthony Chang

Caterham with rotary inside? (O_O)!

Author81

I like this guess the most.

82
samy periñan

A FD3S with carbon fenders.

83

Mazda Roadpacer?

84

Reliant Robin

85

Z32.

86

I'm callin it. FD3S RX-7 with a Rocket Bunny Kit. Other points that support this theory is that there are other FDs in the picture.

87

Mazda AZ-1 is my guess. Rare as unicorn poop, and that tuner has been known to work with Kei cars...

Author88

I absolutely love the AZ-1, and was seriously considering one until I sat in it and realised it was basically undriveable at my height.

89

Like other people have said, that really looks like a FD trunk. The very top isn't blurred and it looks pretty simmalar to my FD's trunk when it's up.

90
Vijay Mahendran

I think it's a tractor

91

Mazda Autozam AZ-1

92

I think I see two fds already so an FD?

93

the new mx5. Fender looks similar.

94
Rotary Nissan

Of course it's an RX-7 FD. Look at the cars in the background. They're all RX-7s. Not to mention the color on the mystery car is a classic Mazda green.

95
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Finally more people to go driving with!

96

What's with all the comments regarding the trunk? They do realize they're supposed to be guessing what the blurred out car is right? And if you think that's the rear of a vehicle there's something wrong, unless you have rear view mirrors on the rear quarter of your car.

97
Miles Hayler-MacMillan

I'm seeing an ND Miata?

98
Paddy McGrath

I love how confident people are that they're right. XD

99

Based on the few visible pixels and the fact that Auto Works K2 is a rotary shop, my guess is an FD RX-7.

100

An Isetta with a Quad-Turbo W16... (Please?)

101

I hope it's an awful , shitty, terrible, horrible no good, easily-forgotten-about-in-shame RX-8 that certain Aussies on this site can't help but shit-on from their tower of ignorance.

102

Amazing.

103
Vivien Mercier

nd mx5 rotary swapped ?

104

Mazda Cosmo Eunos. Saw one in a lot in Saitama while I was in Japan for Drift Matsuri. Almost bought it right there.

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