The Ultimate JDM Apartment… In Bangkok

Imagine an apartment that has its own private workshop space on the ground floor, plus enough room to store a bunch of iconic Japanese performance cars and one JDM holy grail. Well, I was recently shown around such a place in Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok.

Right after my tour of Infinite Motorsport (AKA Liberty Walk Thailand), Infinite’s Oat said he’d take me to grab some dinner. But before we did, we made a stop at his friend Lan’s place. All Oat told me was that Lan was an “NSX guy,” so I didn’t think of it much and just went with the flow.

During the drive, Oat explained that Lan’s apartment garage space had been renovated, that not many people knew about it, and to expect something special. I wasn’t expecting this though…

SH_ARD_7400
SH_ARD_7332

Entering the garage through an Initial D-inspired ‘Fujiwara Tofu Shop’ facade, my jaw just dropped. Right in front of me was a work area with an FD3S Mazda RX-7 on the lift being restored, a little Japanese-themed bar, numerous parts and collectibles, and a bunch of amazing Japanese cars.

Um… where do I sign up for this apartment’s lease?!

SH_ARD_7358
SH_ARD_7331

This was a very fleeting stop, so I wasted no time running around the superbly-themed space shooting as much as I could.

SH_ARD_7422
SH_ARD_7456

Of course, there was only one place I could start – Lan’s pristine NA1 Honda NSX-R, one of only 483 examples ever built and exclusively sold on the Japanese domestic market from late 1992.

SH_ARD_7419

It doesn’t really get any better than a Type R-spec NSX in my book, hence why it was my personal highlight of the visit. But there was more to see…

SH_ARD_7507

The Autozam AZ-1 is one of the coolest kei cars from the ’90s. This JDM-only model was a collaboration between Mazda and Suzuki, and featured a turbocharged 657cc three-cylinder engine in a mid-mount position (yep, rear-wheel drive) and gull-wing doors. Lan’s AZ-1 takes it one step further with bolt-on fender flares and a set of fat RS Watanabe wheels.

SH_ARD_7444

Tucked at the back of the space is Lan’s AE86 Toyota Trueno, a car built to celebrate his favorite Japanese racing driver, the one and only Keiichi Tsuchiya.

SH_ARD_7440
SH_ARD_7488

How do you celebrate Dorikin? By creating a replica of his legendary Tec-Art’s-built Trueno, complete with a fully-tuned AE111 4A-GE 20V engine and green carbon fiber hood.

SH_ARD_7348

By now you would have noticed the other NSX in this collection. Unlike Lan’s NA1, this NA2 facelift version is heavily modified, starting with a wide-body conversion. But it’s what is lurking under the engine cover that makes this creation extra special. I was told it’s pushing 1,000hp…

SH_ARD_7373

I don’t know much more about the build, so I really think I need to take a closer look on my next visit to Bangkok…

SH_ARD_7439
SH_ARD_7416

The final two cars in the collection are a couple of open tops – a Z32 Nissan 300ZX which other than a set of BBS wheels is pretty much stock, and an FC3S Mazda RX-7 that’s recently been fully restored. You have to love those period-correct Panasport wheels.

SH_ARD_7329
SH_ARD_7330
SH_ARD_7342

The vibe in Lan’s garage is amazing. In some ways it reminded me of Han’s fictional spot in the The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, but this place actually exists. From the collection of alloy wheels, steering wheels and parts, to the scale models and other automobilia, there’s so much in this space that I could have easily stayed for hours. Or perhaps days, or not even left at all! But still, this brief visit was something I’ll never forget.

I’d like to extend my gratitude to Lan for showing me his space and allowing us to share it on Speedhunters.

Rick Muda
Instagram: ardskellig

SH_ARD_7336
SH_ARD_7357
SH_ARD_7403
SH_ARD_7410
SH_ARD_7437
ADVERTISEMENT

Comments



Comments are closed.

13 comments

by Oldest
by Best by Newest by Oldest
1

Insanely jealous

2

Wow, what a simply amazing place. Great job covering as much detail of the shop as you can!!

Author3

Thanks!

4

Dude knows what's up!

5
Christopher McElligott

So what's this guy do for a living that lets him afford a garage full of JDM?

6

Damn Rick, everywhere you go you meet people that have something amazing hidden.

This is what dreams are made of. I'm jelly now.

Author7

I love that I can share that with the world!

8

What is the oversized Gameboy?

9

The guardrail and road surface flooring make this space.

The Mugen camcover acting as a keyhook seems to have come off of their V8 Formula engine. Weird, cos just the other day, me and my brother were wondering whether Honda produced a V8.

10

Honda do have a production car with a V8. but it is technically a V8 Land Rover with a Honda logo.

11

Man imagine having a garage like this at an apartment even if it's a small one
This is a pretty cool place

12

Holy cow, weeb alert!!

Jokes aside, outsanding collection, I've said this here before, the Thai do JDM better than the japanese. They got some pretty great muscle cars over there too!

13

Some choice rides here, thank you for sharing this with us!

OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS