However, this year marked a departure from that trend, with a renewed focus on domestic performance builds. Despite the reduced presence of cars from the continent, the ones that did make an appearance were certainly noteworthy and worth a good look.
With the GT3RS being one of Porsche’s hottest cars right now, it didn’t take long for the aftermarket crowd to start tinkering with them. Here’s one from HRE with a set of custom wheels featuring aerodisk-style covers.
RWB Yoshiwara from Riko (Riko’s Style) who shipped both his RWB and 240Z/Fairlady build all the way from the States just to participate in the Auto Salon. Talk about dedication.
We even managed to meet the man himself for a quick chat and he truly is a very friendly and energetic personality.
Something I never thought I’d see, a sticker I designed on an actual RWB being showcased at the Tokyo Auto Salon. Big thanks Mr Riko!
We’ve seen the 4Laws Carbon 911 a few times already at past Auto Salons but it seems that every year, a tiny bit gets added or modified in the pursuit of the owner’s ultimate vision.
Sitting alongside the 4Laws car was another showstopper from a previous year of TAS. The Old New Flat-nosed 997.
Suffice it to say Old New have done a pretty good job when creating the front panels for this new generation Flat-nose.
One of the oddest Porsches on display was this lifted Dakar-style 986 Boxster from Zeal.
While I’m not too sure how good a midship quasi-lightweight rear wheel drive roadster will do on the trails, it did make for a rather interesting show car.
I guess Dakar-style lifted sports cars are all the rage now.
One of this year’s biggest (small) surprises was seeing just how many tuned-up Abarth 500/565s there were. Coming in at a rather affordable price point (especially on the used car market), these little Italian hot hatches are really popular in Japan so it does make sense for aftermarket companies to jump on the bandwagon. What I didn’t expect though was just how many shops jumped in!
Here’s a 595 Competizione sitting at Yokohama’s booth courtesy of HKS.
Another Abarth over at Kansai Service.
And of course, the Liberty Walk we saw earlier.
One of my personal highlights was actually sitting at a detailer’s booth. Last yea, there was the Strosek 928, this year, we have with us a Koenig Specials 560SEC in it all its spectacularly vulgar and obnoxious glory. These were one of the most powerful cars on the roads back in the day and very likely, one of the most visually striking, the definitive representation of a bold era of excess where power and flamboyance often took precedence over subtlety.
I guess we have Japan’s post-war bubble economy to thank for all these cars existing and surviving till today.
While these wheels are far from stock (whatever stock is on a Koenig Special), they do fill in the massively flared arches better than the 3-piece 15-inch BBS wheels that came on the Koenigs.
For the discerning connoisseur.
That said, I think this Drophead takes the trophy for the largest diameter rim at the event. They were massive.
Yes, this is a Spectre. Fresh from the factory albeit for a set of MVFORGED wheels.
SVR’s (Super Veloce Racing) F8.
Ferrari cease and desist jokes in 5…4…3…2…
…1
326Power ain’t gonna care.
There were a few Alpine A110s on display as well. From this A110 R…
To an Exedy track special club racer.
On the topic of lightweight sports cars, Caterham also joined TAS this year with two cars, one was a Super Seven 340R.
5-speed manual, 168 horses, 175Nm and just under 580 kilos. Oh yes, expensive.
Their other car was a little more interesting being something quite unlike any other Caterham that has come before (it has a roof!). This is the Caterham Project V.
While the Caterham EV certainly looks absolutely gorgeous, the fact that it features an electric drivetrain might disappoint some of us. However, with Caterham aiming for a kerb weight of 1,190 kilograms (the same as an Alpine A110), there’s a glimmer of hope that it could offer an exhilarating driving experience. Of course, don’t expect it to come to Singapore.
Lotus also showed up with two cars, the Electre and the Emira. No sign of the Emeya. Those names sure are getting silly.
Mercedes-Benz brought along their latest E-Class in both sedan and wagon forms.
Masters of shoehorning 4-cylinder engines to create cars nobody will ever buy, AMG, had the beautiful new SL on display.
Huracan STO. Sadly, there were no Sterratos around.
And to wrap up our Euro-centric feature, here’s a Maserati MC12 sitting pretty at Roberuta’s stand showcasing their front-lift kits.
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