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Posted
Nov 19 2008, 10:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 14 comment(s)
Nissan has just debuted its redesigned second generation Cube in Japan, and though that might not like sound like a big deal to people outside of Japan, the new Cube will also be sold in the US starting next year. It will join the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, and Scion xB as another entry in the fuel efficient compact wagon segment. The car retains all the funky features of the original Cube and should be similar in size to the original Scion xB....
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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 18 2008, 11:01 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 14 comment(s)
Time for a little more Nissan goodness from the archive as I post up a few of the track-tuned Skyline GT-R's I've spotted at Tsukuba Circuit over the past year. There is no place where a GT-R is more at home than running around a track like Tsukuba. It is surely one of the best places in Japan to see tuned GT-R's at their best. The car has stood the test of time and even the oldest BNR32 GT-R models are still found in abundance at Japan's racing circuits. Nearly seven years after they disappeared from the market, the original RB26-powered GT-R is still one of the quintessential Japanese performance cars....
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Posted
Nov 18 2008, 07:45 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 26 comment(s)
I think it's kind of funny how automakers say they will unveil their new models at big auto shows. I always picture a a cover being whisked awayas flash bulbs fire at the just-revealed car, but it lately it seems that's not really how it is. The new 2010 Mustang was said to be revealed at this month's LA Auto Show, but here we are with the fully revealed car long before the show opens it doors. I guess that's just how things are in today's times. Anyways, on to the new 'Stang....
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Posted
Nov 17 2008, 09:57 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 9 comment(s)
This weekend was D1 Street Legal Rd.6 at Sekia Hills down in Kyushu and one of the newsworthy items from the event was the D1SL debut of Tsuyoshi Tezuka in this freshly completed ER34 Skyline coupe. The car has a good look to it and I think it supplements his yellow R32 D1 machine quite well. Tezuka was able to score third place in the competition which was a very good result for the car's first run. And the winner of the event? Our own Naoto Suenaga who added another win to his dominant year in D1 Street Legal. There is just one round left which will happen next month at Tsukuba Circuit and I can't wait to see what happens for myself. Of course you can expect full coverage here on Speedhunters. Congrats to both Naoto and Tezuka!...
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Posted
Nov 17 2008, 02:21 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 26 comment(s)
Last week I tried I new kind of post where I showcased some of the cars I spotted on the streets of Tokyo, and judging by the feedback on that post, it sounds like you guys want to see more of that kind of stuff. With this in mind, I took my camera along yesterday when we out shopping. "Inaka" is what the Japanese call small town rural areas and the cars you find out here make an interesting contrast to the stuff you see in Tokyo. For example, check out this '90s Toyota Crown wagon dropped on some big-lipped wheels that I spotted cruising down Route 294 near Shimotsuma city. Cars like this are common sight in rural Ibaraki Prefecture....
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Posted
Nov 14 2008, 07:45 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 15 comment(s)
I was browsing through the latest issue of Option 2 Magazine yesterday when I came across this Datsun 510 in the monthly "Evolution Q" section. If the name Common Snapper sounds familiar to you, that is because last year they built an S30Z with an RB26 and a full R33 Skyline interior conversion. They work on all sorts of cars including American imports as well as Japanese domestics that have a slight "USDM" vibe. Well they are at it again now and this left-hand-drive USDM Datsun 510 is their latest project....
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Posted
Nov 13 2008, 08:29 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 12 comment(s)
Last week Jeroen posted up a poll asking which was the favorite of the Nissan cars currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix, and I can't really say that I was surprised to find out that you guys picked Yoshinori Koguchi's 180SX as your favorite. That actually worked out pretty well for us since we had been saving Koguchi features for Nissan month. The man and his cars achieved have hero status among hardcore drifting fans, and in an era complex pro drifting, the guy from Tochigi-ken continues to keep it real. I'd say his current car is one of the finest 180's in the world without a doubt and it's built on years of experience. And now a closer look at the car built and driven by the man who is known as the king of 180SX drift style....
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Posted
Nov 12 2008, 06:53 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 8 comment(s)
Speedhunter Vaughn Gittin Jr. just sent us a small teaser photo of his new 2010 Mustang drift car that he will be driving next year. The teaser may not reveal a whole lot, but it won't be too much longer until the full car is revealed next week on live Speed TV ahead of the car's official debut at the LA Auto Show. To see the car on Speed, November 18 at 8pm PST/ 11pm EST will be the time to tune in . I think it's pretty cool that the drift version of the car will debut ahead of the street car and can't wait to see what the finished product looks like....
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Posted
Nov 12 2008, 09:23 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 21 comment(s)
4-door sedans are favored by drifters all around the world, and they are especially big here in Japan where Toyota's JZX cars are favorites among both pro an grassroots drifters. Nissan's primary contribution to the drift world might be the Silvia and 180SX, but they also offer plenty of turbocharged four door sedans that can be bought on the cheap and built into some pretty radical drift machines. I wanted to take a quick look at a few of Nissan's coolest four-door drift cars here. For example, how about the R32 Skyline sedan pictured above as it drifts the wet course at Honjo Circuit?...
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Posted
Nov 11 2008, 09:18 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 24 comment(s)
What do you get when you combine an badass car with an awesome driver in a really cool location mixed with some fantastic film work? You get this fantastic video of Ken Block doing some gymkhana practice in his 530whp Impreza STI. This is seriously one of the coolest car videos I have ever seen. Watch and enjoy.
Ken Block Racing
-Mike Garrett
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Posted
Nov 11 2008, 01:47 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 42 comment(s)
The other day when I was in Tokyo, I decided I would try a new type of post here on Speedhunters. I was actually remembering my first trip to Japan and just how excited I was to see random cars on the street, and though it might be kind of cool to show what kind of stuff you see "in the wild" on Japanese streets. If you guys like this sort of thing, let me know and I will do it more often. Events and races are great, but there is always something kind of special about seeing an a cool car on the street....
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Posted
Nov 11 2008, 08:51 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 3 comment(s)
When I visited the East Car shop in Toride earlier this fall, I planned to shoot one of their finished projects and as soon as I arrived, this white Hakosuka Skyline jumped right out at me. The Hakosuka is one of the quintessential vintage Japanese cars and a perfect fit for our Nissan month. Like I stated in the previous story about East Car, the shop's specialty is restoration, so this is obviously isn't the fastest Hakosuka around, but it's a great example a top quality traditional restoration with a few tasteful modifications thrown in for good measure. ...
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Posted
Nov 11 2008, 02:30 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 10 comment(s)
Here's an interesting piece of news for Nissan Month. The rumorists at Japan's Best Car Magazine are now speculating that Nissan may release an ultra limited production Le Mans edition of the R35 GT-R. With roots going back to the old school LM R33's, the new car will supposedly push out out somewhere around 600hp and include a number of other upgrades from the "standard" GT-R. In addition to the street car, an actual competition car is also said to be in the works for Le Mans. If this rumor turns out to be true, the car will be even faster than the upcoming V-spec model. Of course you can't take these rumors all too seriously, but I don't think it would be too surprising considering what Nissan has already done with the GT-R....
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Posted
Nov 10 2008, 01:28 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 6 comment(s)
The Buttonwillow time attack gathering is probably my favorite tuner car event the United States. In fact this week's 2008 edition of the event will be the first time I have missed it in the past three years. Then again the "original" time attack course at Tsukuba is only 30 minutes away from me right now so I suppose I can't complain too much. Anyways, I figured I would post up some of my old photos from the 2006 and 2007 editions as a little preview to this week's event....
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Posted
Nov 10 2008, 11:27 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 9 comment(s)
The eventful 2008 season of Super GT is now in the books. The final race of the year was held yesterday at Fuji Speedway under and despite the not-so unusual cloudy weather, things were looking bright for the Nissan GT-R teams that were aiming to finish off their season of dominance by taking the GT500 drivers championship. From the photos, it looks like the stands at Fuji were packed. According to Super GT, 47,100 race fans braved the cold and cloudy weather to watch the final race of 2008....
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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
Nov 10 2008, 06:05 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 7 comment(s)
The Formula D guys have been very busy preparing for this weekend's Red Bull Drifting World Championship in Long Beach. They recently posted some photos on the official Formula D blog of the course construction that is going on at the Port of Long Beach right now. It looks like its shaping up to be a pretty interesting course and and the towering cranes and container ships make for a dramatic backdrop....
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Posted
Nov 10 2008, 03:27 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 9 comment(s)
Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Tokyo, and while I was there I figured since it was Nissan month on Speedhunters that it would be a good time to head over to Ginza and have a look at the car gallery at Nissan's corporate headquarters. After taking the short walk from the Higashi Ginza subway station, we arrived at the Nissan hon-sha building to find this gleaming red R35 GT-R parked on the street outside the place. Kind of a cool way to begin the visit don't you think?...
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Posted
Nov 07 2008, 06:01 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 20 comment(s)
Earlier this week we previewed the Formula D drivers that will be appearing in next weekend's Red Bull Drifting World Championship in Long Beach, and now its time for the second part where we'll take a look at the international drivers that are making the journey to California for the event. Although there were some conflicts in arranging D1GP drivers to appear ,there is still a wide variety of drivers from around the world that will be competing in the event and hopefully things will go better with D1 next year.
Anyways, on to the cars and drivers-...
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