Hey,
Just got back from my trip to the Tokyo Auto Salon. Must say, there were some AWESOME cars there. But no Fords - quite a few hotted up Mazdas tho..... The only Fords I saw in Japan were Mondeos and Vans. And I think some Japanese guys were sticking the blue oval on Mazda vans anyway.
The Jun Supra that recently did 249mph on the salt in the US was at the Salon, as was a loverly RB25DETT powered Supra from Top Secret. There were quite a few race cars there, including the Mines Evo VII (Not sure the number, the brand spankers one anyway) that had 600+horsepower and way too much carbon fibre. Phoenix Power showed there single-seat MR2 that has a front mount intercooler and the pipework passing right where the passenger seat used to be. Only 750 horsepower, nothing that special :)
The show is huge, at least 3 times the size of the Sydney motor show. All the major Japanese manufacturers were there, with large stands that showcased all the mods you could do to their current range of cars. We visited Toyota Amlux and they offer custom suspension, rollcages, race seats and harnesses, as well as turbo upgrades in the factory showroom. "I'll have a Supra with stupid-hard suspension and a bigger turbo thanks".
Virtually nothing is bolted down to prevent theft, anywhere in Japan. Full turbocharger/suspension/exhaust/etc kits are laid out for display. Including every nut and bolt. And nothing got stolen. Even wheels were just laying around so you could pick them up and play with them. This was at the show and at the dealers we visited.
This year there wasnt a huge amount of high horsepower cars on display - a lot of drifting machines (s13/s14/s15 Silvias, Rx7s, etc with 300-400 horsepower) and quite a few VIP cars (stupidly expensive Merc/Lexus/Beemer designed for the Yakuza - $250,000+ to build).
But for me, the most exciting car was a 160 horsepower, 660cc powered Mira. 160 horses from 660cc, without nitrous. And the turbo wasnt that stupidly large either. It had one seat, cheese-holes in almost every panel. Imagine driving a car that weighed around 400-450 kilos, and had 160 horsepower on tap. Truly scary, but truly fun. Oh, I forgot to mention, they offer a 850cc stroker kit on the 660cc block, but unfortunately the rev range drops a little - 12,000-13,000 down to 11,000 or so. But the power does go up.
Anyway, I shall post some photos when I eventually get them scanned in. If anyone is interested in going to a Salon, I'll be happy to help them. The trip cost me less than $4000 for 2 weeks in Japan, all inclusive, and Tokyo is stupidly easy to get around in. Easier than Sydney I reckon.
Oh, and I bought a new Radio controlled car - full movement, 2 inches long, 1 inch wide. The dog hates it.
Anyway, have fun
L8a,
Prud
Linear Mode
