It was once said that as a general rule of thumb when building a car, it’s best to stick with aftermarket parts that match its country of origin. A Japanese car is usually best when equipped parts from that country’s tuning shops, a European car is made best by parts form Europe and an American [...]
We’ve already shown you that Randy Winkle and crew can build a mean Front Engine Dragster, a gangster ’57 Chevy Gasser and even an oddball Opel Kadett. When some of the Speedhunters crew arrived at Famoso Speed Shop last month they stumbled upon a treasure trove of feature material; so they did what they do best and [...]
I’m going to tell you something that you might find hard to swallow. This isn’t actually a car. It may have all the characteristics of an automobile: headlights, four wheels, doors and stuff, but this is not a car. What is it? It’s a WMD. A Weapon of Mass Destruction. You may think that 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 [...]
One of the most fascinating things about working as a Speedhunter is taking a look at the way different types of cars are interpreted across the world. A car with a massive following in one part of world might be virtually unknown in another – and that’s most certainly the case with Famoso Speed Shop’s [...]
It seems we can’t go more than a few months without indulging in some impossibly-Japanese VIP style. And once again it’s Bee Dragon that captivates our minds – a shop that has really made a pretty firm statement when it comes to defining its own take on things. Imamura-san has stepped as far away from [...]
I was in full Speedhunting mode when I attended March Meet last month, scouring Famoso Raceway to bring you the best the nostalgia drag race world had on offer. Of course there were gobs of old school dragsters and gassers, but I was looking for that one special car that stopped me dead in my [...]
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 [...]
Ok, I’m going to be completely straight with you. Before this shoot, I didn’t know a huge amount about gasser cars. So this was an incredibly cool experience. It also transpired pretty quickly that this wasn’t actually a gasser – simply a car that has elements of the style. Actually this car has lots of [...]
As human beings, we’re constantly learning, questioning and gaining new knowledge of the things that we’re passionate about. For me, and no doubt you as well if you’re reading these words, that means every day I’m excited to learn more about car culture. Just over a week ago, Paddy and myself flew to Sweden’s capital, [...]
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 [...]
Do you remember the first car magazine you ever bought? Mine was a copy of Mini World in 1996 and I remember it vividly. On the cover there was a really cool yellow racecar that was completely stripped-out and barely road legal. In fact, I’m not sure if it was road legal at all. It was [...]
There are certain projects that are best left for a while before exploring, and the HKS 86 Racing Performer is one of them. Much like every 86/BRZ/FR-S/GT86 demo car around the world, it has all been put together in an impressively short space of time if you consider that the ZN6 and its Subaru counterpart [...]
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, [...]
So there I was, an Italian photojournalist in Yokohama’s Chinatown district, shooting an American hot rod, built and owned by a Japanese guy. I just had to smile. True passion obviously has no borders, nor do actual styles. And seeing how well Japan manages to integrate tradition, modernity and western culture – the choice of [...]
