I’m patiently waiting, but nothing’s happening. It may have only been a few fleeting seconds, but sitting in the driver’s seat of one of New Zealand’s best BNR32 GT-R street cars, it seems like an eternity since I kicked the accelerator pedal to the floor and tightened my grip on the steering wheel. Then, like [...]
And so the evolution continues. Last week, after dropping off the RAUH Passion following my Dream Drive on Mt. Tsukuba, I headed inside for a chat with Nakai-san, only to spot a freshly painted and impossibly wild-looking 993. “This,” Nakai said, “is my new race car.” Now Nakai is never one to boast, so while he [...]
I want to hate Brian Henderson, I really do. In a purely ‘grass is always greener’ type-of-way, he’s living the dream. He’s living my dream at least, and many other people’s too. You see, if you live in the UK, and you’re into Volkswagen tuning, then Southern California is like some sort of holy place [...]
When you think about the Audi brand, there’s a lot to like. Perhaps you respect the brand’s pioneering use of AWD? Maybe it’s the stylish exteriors and interiors? Perhaps its the motorsport dominance? For these and any other number of reasons, Audi has absolutley taken the world by storm over the last couple of decades [...]
The car culture that surrounds Volkswagen Group vehicles is completely unique, fascinating and charming. It sucks you in. And I, for one, have been a victim of this allurement. Having owned various Fords, lots of Peugeots, a Nissan Pulsar GTi-R and a 550bhp R32 GT-R, I found myself in the driving seat of a Mk2 Golf GTi having [...]
I can hear Robbie Longley’s Mazda wagon, as I’m sure anyone else in a couple of miles radius can too, but I can’t see it. A few seconds ago he had flicked the switch marked LINE LOCK and stepped on the gas. Now all I see is white, and all I can taste is the [...]
What is it that makes a properly done drift car so cool? Take a look at the pink metalflake-covered Toyota Mark II pictured above and it becomes easy to figure out. Of course, this isn’t just any Mark II – this is the iconic Team Magician JZX110, one of the most recognizable drift cars in [...]
Style is a funny thing, but more so is the speed at how people judge various interpretations of it. I think Nagano Koubou serves as the perfect example here, in particular the pink Onevia I posted last month following a quick tour of the little Kansai-based bodyshop. Over the last few years Masayoshi Nagano has been [...]
Getting a 3700lb (1675kg) Nissan Skyline GT-R down the strip in eight and a half seconds flat on its very first outing since an intensive, yet short lead build, is not any way, shape or form an easy proposition. But behind the wheel of MGAWOT II, New Zealand-based but internationally-renowned Nissan RB-series engine builder Robbie [...]
Since the beginning of the mass produced automobile, car makers have long sought to create a path of stepping stones with their car lineups. The idea is to catch car buyers at a young age with affordable entry level vehicles and have them stick with the brand as they move through their life. Few companies [...]
When it comes to rotary tuning, the exploits of two countries at the bottom of the world need little introduction. For as long as I can remember the Australasian region has been home to some of the fastest, loudest, wildest and most innovative rotary-powered vehicles on the face of the planet, and there are no [...]
When Honda cut the ribbon on the Integra Type R in late ’95 it introduced a game changer. Sure, the go-fast-grade Civics and CR-X that preceded the R-blooded DC2 had already got the wheels in motion for the Japanese car maker, but with its lightweight focused chassis, razor-sharp handing, and that oh-so-sweet, hand-assembled VTEC powerplant, [...]
How about you take a form over function sort of car, and actually make it function? What would you have then? Is that even possible? Are these two terms not mutually exclusive? I apologize if I start a car feature with so many questions but this pink Nagano Koubou Onevia really does make you wonder about a [...]
Last week during the Speedhunters celebration of Americana, I featured a beautiful 1949 Mercury lead sled that cruises the streets of Japan. Kondo-san’s Merc is a completely authentic take on the classic American custom, and a perfect example of American car culture spread abroad. Today, I’d like to follow that up with a completely different, [...]
Here is an interesting scenario. If money was no object and you had hookups to the biggest names in the tuning industry, how would you build up your car? What parts would you pick to put together the ultimate street car, in this case an S15 Silvia? We’ve seen our fair share of S-chassis over [...]
