It’s 2024, and the reality of what we now consider a nostalgic car is changing. Cars that still feel like they’re from the current day are beginning to find themselves slotted into a heritage or classic category.

That being said, initiatives like the Nismo Heritage Parts program are now fully onboard with these modern classics, and that will ultimately help keep them alive.

We’ll kick off with this bone-stock S13 Nissan Silvia, a car I’d consider right on the cusp of being a ‘classic’. It’s only 35 years old, but makes up for it with a whole lot of nostalgia.

For the unfamiliar, Nostalgic 2Days is labelled as the biggest classic car show in Japan. Think of it less like a Wekfest, and more like a Tokyo Auto Salon for classics.

The event always brings out ‘wow’ cars, and is also a great place to discover specialty shops that you didn’t even know existed. At this point, I’m convinced that if a car has left a factory production line in Japan, there will be a specialty shop for it somewhere in the country.

Whilst Wekfest and Nostalgic 2Days are not alike, the cars entered in both shows all share the same attention to detail. The Japanese influence on this Corvette made it a real standout for me.

And this Soarer-fronted Toyota Mark II wagon was done so well that it’s almost impossible to tell it didn’t come like this from the factory.

If there’s one thing there was definitely no shortage of at Nostalgic 2Days 2024, it was Nissan S20s. These 2.0L engines fetch mind-bending numbers in today’s market, so seeing over 10 of them under one roof alone is something you’d only ever witness at this event.

This Automobile Repair Garage 0018-built Porsche 964 has been backdated to a narrow body 901 ’73 RSR. The seven-month project left almost no part of the car untouched.

And this Z-face-converted V35 was certainly a neck-breaker.

Utilitas is the perfect example of a Japanese niche shop. Along with Toyota Land Cruisers, Utilitas specialises in Nissan DR30s, and had two Skylines on display that had been brought back to factory-new condition. There was not a nook or cranny in these cars that hadn’t been meticulously refreshed, replaced or restored. As Utilitas is local to Tokyo, I think a shop visit is definitely due.

Seeing this Mazda RX500 concept car in person was special. First launched at the 1970 Tokyo Motor Show, this 10A rotary-powered machine was no doubt ahead of its time, so to see it catch the same attention 54 years on was pretty cool.

Star Road had one of the biggest booths at Nostalgic 2Days this year. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience a few of their creations before, and it’s always worth remembering that not only do they look the part, but they are also unbelievable driver’s cars.

RAYS had this stunning Skyline on display, sitting on perfectly-fitted Volk Racing TE37Vs and sporting a green color-matched carbon fibre bonnet.

It wouldn’t be a car show in Japan without at least one of Akira Nakai’s RAUH-Welt Begriff creations in attendance. Being parked next to one of the two LTO E36s that debuted at TAS provided a good comparison of just how wide these RWB Porsches have become.

If you’ve had the chance to check out my 2024 Attack Tsukuba coverage, you would have seen this rotary-swapped Mazda Chantez competing at the event. After the team finished their last session at Tsukuba, they brought it straight down to Yokohama for the show. Not a bad back-to-back appearance.

It was also nice to see the legendary Garage Saurus DR30 make an appearance. It’s been a while since this car has been seen out in public, so it was refreshing to know that it’s still in the country and being well looked after.

Nismo had some big releases at the show. They debuted a twin cam cylinder head for the L-series, which is huge step in the right direction for their Heritage Parts program.

Very little information has been shared thus far, but it’s kicked up quite the storm in the S30 world. As you can see, Nismo has also resurrected their old logo.

You don’t need to buy the Nismo cylinder head to enjoy it though. You can now find the iconic Nismo logo on handbrake covers, shift knobs, harness belts, that legendary strut brace, intake plenums, oil caps, LMGT wheels and more.

Zero 4 had a varied assortment of cars on display, including this stunning S10 Nissan Silvia.

The last time I saw Veilside’s R1 Drag demo car, it was well and truly tucked away inside their headquarters. It’s great to see another iconic Japanese tuning shop embracing their hero cars from days past, and bringing them out for people to see.

While many of the shops that display at Nostalgic 2Days focus on modernising older chassis, Yajima Car Engineering has gone the other direction, retrofitting a Nissan L-series into a kouki Silvia S14.

Along with all the cars on display, one huge part of Nostalgic 2Days is the parts, collectables and trinket booths. Once again, this year’s event had no shortage of them.

Side note: that set of SSR MK2 wheels is indeed ¥850,000. That’s over US$5,500, ouch!

If Nostalgic 2Days 2024 showed me one thing, it’s that there are exciting times ahead for the cars we love from the ‘golden era’ of Japanese performance motoring. Hopefully the trend of keeping history alive continues for many years to come.

Alec Pender
Instagram: noplansco