How long is five years? Like a lot of things, it all depends on your point of reference. As a small kid five years seems like (or actually is) a lifetime. As an adult, the time can pass in the blink of an eye. In some ways life hasn’t changed much since 2008 and in [...]
In my last two project car posts I brought you guys up-to-date on my TLC-needing 1969 Toyota Crown wagon, but today I’d like to change things up a bit and spend some time talking about my 2012 Volkswagen GTI – the car I actually spend most of my time in. It’s been a little under a [...]
There’s no doubt a lot of you have heard about the ongoing uncertainty over the future of the Nurburgring. There have been some recent developments on the situation and unfortunately things aren’t looking good. The facility officially goes up for sale next month, and although there are rumoured to be between five and ten parties [...]
More...If you were to ask people in Japan what think of when they hear the word “Supercar”, they will probably recall a 1970s comic series called Circuit no Okami (Circuit Wolf). The story featured all of the world’s great Supercars of the time, and in this old Best Motoring video clip some of Japan’s best racing drivers got together at Sugo to recreate the action with a group of vintage cars featured in the comic. The grid of cars is quite impressive – Ferrari 308, Lamborghini Countach, Lamborghini Miura, Pantera and more.
While I doubt Keiichi Tsuchiya and company are pushing these vintage exotics quite as hard as they would a normal car, the battle is still something to behold.
-Mike
More...As an American it’s hard not to feel a strong sense of pride about the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Not only do we finally have a world class Formula 1 circuit, but the track is also attracting other big racing series – including the Australian V8 Supercars. As part of the lead up to next month’s race, Supercar driver James Courtney got together in Austin with NASCAR’s Kurt Busch for a little car swap fun. Not only does this get me excited to see the Aussie V8s at COTA, but it also got me thinking about how cool it would be to see the Sprint Cup series add the track to its schedule as the third road course. It makes perfect sense, right?
-Mike
More...
One of the things I love most about Japan is the accessibility of its car culture. I suppose it’s only natural that the Japanese cars and scenes that have small cult followings outside of the country become much more mainstream once you get to their homeland. The best thing is that one doesn’t have to [...]
Vintage dragsters, Mexican food and cameras. Each of those things are awesome, and each of them were part of a recent Speedhunting expedition in California’s central valley. More specifically, the setting was the Famoso Speed Shop and our goal was to capture the shop along with a handful of its awesome drag machines. We have [...]
Last month we got a little preview of Monster Tajima’s new “Super 86″ hillclimb machine. Since then, the car has been making its way around Japan appearing at various events including the recent All Japan Dirt Trial meet in Kyushu. Car@Nifty was there and captured this video clip of Monster ripping around the course.
Not only is the Super 86 impressive to see, I’m also thinking that we gotta get Dino out to one of these dirt trial events sometime. Looks like a ton of fun!
-Mike
More...
As we begin to head into our supercar celebration here on Speedhunters, I figured it would be a appropriate to preface the festivities with a little discussion about what exactly makes a supercar. Like a lot of terms thrown around in the automotive world, there are really no strict rules as to what does or [...]
More...
By now I think that most Speedhunters readers are aware of Japan’s – for lack of a better word – “awesome” car culture. Regular followers will also know that Japan’s love for the automobile spreads far beyond just its own domestic vehicles. From ultra-rare European exotics to hot rods and customs that could rival the [...]
Before I close out the coverage of my visit to the Yokota Museum, I want to share a few photos of one the most interesting displays in the entire place. I’m gonna go ahead and guess that most of you guys are familiar with Initial D, the Japanese manga and anime series which is set [...]
Over the years we’ve seen some rather amazing automotive creations built from LEGO, but this is one of the coolest yet. A LEGO maniac who goes by the name of Solde recently completed this highly detailed replica of a Toyota 4A-GE engine. And as this clip shows, not only does the Solde’s project look like a 4A-GE, it works like one too. Watch the video and be amazed.
More...
In yesterday’s post I took you guys on a little trip through the M. Yokota Museum in Gunma, Japan. Today I’d like to follow that up with a more detailed look at the vintage automobile collection, which is one of the museum’s biggest drawcards. From rare sports cars and competition vehicles to more family-friendly vehicles [...]
Nestled in the hills of Japan’s scenic Gunma Prefecture lies a car museum unlike any other I’ve ever seen. Actually, to even call this place a “car museum” is to understate just what you’ll find here. A visit to the M. Yokota Museum is like taking a trip back to a different era, and the [...]
As you are reading this, the 2013 Formula Drift season is officially underway on the streets of Long Beach. While some of you are lucky enough to be at the event this weekend, many more will be following the action live on the Driftstream from across the world. I figured now would be a good [...]
More...
