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Posted
Nov 19 2008, 07:43 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 7 comment(s)
Over the past few weeks I have been on kind of a JZS616 Aristo kick, digging up everything I can about these sexy four-doors. I have found that it's not the VIP versions that impress me so much, but the traditionally tuned versions like this one from Impact Magic which was shown at Tokyo Auto Salon this year. To me, this car is perfection. Aggressive, but not ridiculous wheels (19" Advan RS's), mild body modifications and the 600+hp TD07-fed 2JZGTE make for a perfect street-tuned sedan that should be able to run away from nearly any car on the road....
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Posted
Nov 10 2008, 09:46 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 8 comment(s)
Tokyo Auto Salon 2008 was all about the GT-R, Evo, and Impreza, and though the Lexus IS-F was already on the market, it didn't have the big showing that those other cars did. It's looking like '09 show might be the time when we see what Japan's tuners are capable of with the IS-F. Wald International has recently shown their new IS-F aero package which is part of its Sports Line series. Like the Sports Line kit for the new GT-R, the IS-F version is quite aggressive in contrast to the rather subtle style of other Wald parts....
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Posted
Oct 30 2008, 12:55 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 19 comment(s)
I was just talking about first gen Lexus GS300s (JZS147) with my good friend Chris Manacop ; soon after our conversation, he emailed me a photo he shot of this black JZS147 GS300, which has been refreshed with a new black paint job, Wald aero kit, and Japanese OEM Aristo 3-piece taillight conversion. Very nice - simple and clean is my favorite style, so I think this GS looks pretty good! Don't you guys think so? I don't know what's under the hood of this car, but it seems to me that this...
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Posted
Oct 09 2008, 01:30 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 22 comment(s)
If you've been to a car show in California any time in the past couple years, you'll know that VIP styling is a big trend. Some people just like luxury show cars, but others just like having the big slammed 4-doors to daily drive when their drift cars have progressed and evolved past "street legal" status. Many of my friends actually fit into the latter category; they drive VIP styled Lexus and Infiniti cars on a daily basis because they don't want to constantly deal with the...
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Posted
Oct 06 2008, 04:00 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 16 comment(s)
Downtown Long Beach is such a nice place to visit. Occasionally, I have to go there for meetings at the Belle 1 Communications or Formula D offices, or occasional events like Formula D Long Beach or the Spocom show. On the day of the Spocom show, just as I was wondering if I'd have enough time to check out the new arrivals at Proper , I spotted this UCF10 in the parking structure. I happen to have a black UCF10 in my garage among my old school Toyota collection, so I definitely had to stop and...
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Posted
Oct 03 2008, 03:00 PM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 13 comment(s)
In our second post we will look at the Asian and North American manufactures who launched products at the show. Hyundai Genesis Coupe- Hyundai showed this body kitted version of their soon to be launched Genesis Coupe which has been seen in North America. The Kia-Hyundai group continue to launch massively improved cars.I can't get use to that rear quarter window! Honda Insight- Looks like a well designed Prius a bit doesn't it? Well, the similarities do not end there. This is Honda's...
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Posted
Sep 16 2008, 05:32 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 14 comment(s)
I have always had a soft spot for the Toyota Soarer/Lexus SC. I even used to own of them back in the states and I always regret getting rid of it. The styling on these cars still looks fresh to this day and they look even better with aftermarket modifications. The Soarer has seen plenty of drift action over the years, notably as Takahiro Ueno's car of choice in D1 since the start of the decade. As far as traditional grip racing goes, I have only seen but a few Soarers running at Tsukuba in my many trips there. Last week at the HKS Hiper Challenge, I spotted this fully-tuned black JZZ30 Soarer running and I thought that it was cool enough to make a separate post about....
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Posted
Sep 15 2008, 10:00 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 7 comment(s)
Just a few weeks after the big Suzuka race that Rod and Antonio were at, the Super GT Series was in action again this past weekend at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture a couple hours north of Tokyo. Teams and fans were greeted with clear, dry weather and it would turn out to be a very exciting race, particularly in the GT300 class where there was an amazing come-from-behind victory....
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Posted
Aug 18 2008, 03:15 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 18 comment(s)
Yesterday, as we walked into the pits at the Honjo MSC event, we were all a little awestruck by the amazing drift cars at hand. One of the the most interesting cars we spotted there, however, was not even a drift car. When we saw this strange looking pink machine rolling through the pits, we were all thinking "What the hell is that?". Now I try to stay well versed in the different JDM models,but I still could not identify what exactly we were looking at. Besides the unique body, it also grabbed our attention with its pink paint, widened fenders, and aggressive VIP-like stance......
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Posted
Aug 11 2008, 03:15 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 28 comment(s)
Well, here we go. I have been thinking of what I was going to write in this post for a while now. As you have probably seen in the past, the definition of what "VIP style" is has been discussed and debated quite a bit over the past several years. In the end I decided that instead of trying to define exactly what VIP style is (which may be impossible), I will give my own perceptions on the VIP movement based on what I have experienced myself over the past few years. Of course let me say that I am not an expert on VIP stuff nor have I ever built a VIP car so I suppose this will become just another viewpoint in the "VIP debate". Hopefully it will at least have some good reasoning behind it......
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Posted
Jul 29 2008, 06:11 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 10 comment(s)
Manabu "Max" Orido has to be one of the most active pro drivers in the world. He competes in Super GT, Super Taikyu, Formula D, he judges for MSC, tests cars for magazines, and now he has announced that he is returning to the D1 Grand Prix after a three-year hiatus. I originally saw a post on Club4AG with a rumor of him coming back and then checked his official site to find that he is planning to compete in next weekend's D1 match at Autopolis in Kyushu. His car will be the 2JZ-powered Weds/Bandoh IS which if I am not mistaken is the same car pictured above at Tokyo Auto Salon 2008. The car is done a similar livery to the GT300 IS that Orido drives in Super GT. First it was NOB Taniguchi and now its his friend Orido who has returned to the D1 ranks. Should be quite interesting to see......
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Posted
Jul 21 2008, 06:19 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 14 comment(s)
In an interesting piece of racing news, the new Lexus IS-F race car made its debut at this weekend's Speed World Challenge GT Series race at Mid Ohio. The car was built by Fordahl Motorsports and is packing a 4.7L V8 race engine that is makes 510hp. The first car on the team was ready for the Mid Ohio race, and second car should be ready by the next race at Elkhart Lake next month. It is interesting to note that these cars are not part of a Lexus factory team but of a private one. Nonetheless it is quite exciting to see these cars being put to use in a real racing series. I am quite interested to see how the IS-F's will stack up against the competition in the Speed World Challenge GT Series......
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Posted
Jul 02 2008, 04:50 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 9 comment(s)
Thought I would continue on with the "eco" theme and post this photo of the Lexus GS450 Hybrid race car from last summer's Super Taikyu 24hr race. This car finished fourth in class despite a large weight disadvantage. The GS also happens to look really cool in race car form with the TE37's etc......
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Posted
Jul 02 2008, 08:14 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 13 comment(s)
It's hard to think that the '08 D1GP season is already more than halfway through isn't it?. So far we have seen some pretty exciting stuff go down. There have been several new machines that have debuted this season, but the one I'm about to talk about has to be one of the most unique.
In Japan the Toyota Crown has been one of the best selling sedans on the market for years. While the Crown does offer a rear wheel drive platform, it's weight and softness have kept it from becoming a tuner favorite. The Crown has never really had the tuner following that of other Toyota sedans like the JZX series and the Aristo. The Crown is sort of known as an old person's car in Japan. Kind of like how the Ford Crown Victoria is known in the states. OK, so maybe it's not THAT much of an old person's car, but you still get the idea......
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Posted
Jun 23 2008, 02:26 PM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 12 comment(s)
Does this look good or what? 4 door, slammed and junction produce rims it really doesn't get any better than this. Also note the matt black wheel arch extensions.
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Posted
Jun 20 2008, 02:15 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 8 comment(s)
.... or this could be Ari and the Lexus? Sexy JapaneseFalkengirlwholivesinLAsomeofthtime and the V8racenascarsoundinglexusIS?
As you appreciate the beauty of Ari you'll notice that she is plugging her ears. There is a reason for this. That Lexus is LOUD. At Formula Drift NJ Hiro Sumida was playing with his his new 700 bhp Hasselgren V8 for the first time and it was shattering ear drums where ever it went! ...
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Posted
Jun 16 2008, 12:04 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 14 comment(s)
How about balancing all the racing and drift coverage we have been running lately with some low and slow sedans and wagons. These photos were taken by Minkara member "KiD" at this spring's Tokushima Auto Carnival on mainland Japan's smallest island of Shikoku......
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Posted
Jun 11 2008, 03:30 PM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 13 comment(s)
The Toyota Aristo or commonly known as the Lexus GS series is a very popular platform within the VIP scene. Companies like Junction Produce, Aimgain and Job Design still offer several body kits for this car. The car came with the indestructible 2JZ twin turbo engine (code JZS161) to give it the performance other cars didn't had......
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Posted
Jun 11 2008, 08:06 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 12 comment(s)
The Lexus SC430 is a platform that is not well loved by tuners. Despite the fact that it is used as Super GT machine, there are very few examples of tuned SC430's in Japan or elsewhere. The few SC's that are modified are usually done in mild VIP-like fashion. Back in January, there was an interesting-looking SC430 parked in the Ray's Engineering booth. The car was painted flat black and had an interesting look to it. Word was that this SC430 would be the new competiion car for D1 driver...
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Posted
Jun 05 2008, 06:37 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 13 comment(s)
I was just going through my massive photo archive, and thought yall might like to check out this photo of this kouki (after minor change) Lexus LS430 (UCF31). As you can tell by staring at the photo, it's a kouki model UCF31, with a Fabulous aero kit and Weds Kranze wheels wrapped with Falken FK-452 tires. The LS also has Air Runner suspension, so he can drive the streets of Southern Cali with that low and aggressive Fabulous aero kit! It was built up by a shop in Southern California called GT...
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