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After an hour or so I seemed to get my bearings around the gigantic convention center, and realized the scope of what laid ahead of me. To cover a show of this magnitude on my own would take some serious moving around; so I did just that. Keeping an eye out for certain booths I really wanted to see, I set out on a mission to cover as much as the show as I could. I found out that the two other halls held more of the stuff I was looking for. The next two posts will contain some spectacular builds from the tuners we all know and love. Check it out past the break.
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This CRZ was probably my favorite car at the J’s booth. The custom painted RE-30’s fit perfectly with the rest of the car. J’s Racing is known for it’s crazy livery’s.
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I remember in the 90’s when lighted Honda emblems were the business. Now, people wouldn’t be caught dead with them. I wonder if they’ll make a comeback now? A lot of tuners had lighting like this on their display cars.
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Among other things, J’s Racing had some sweet titanium pieces on display. I ended up buying something a little less expensive; a desktop calender. At least the gal threw in some free stickers.
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Honestly, I forgot which booth the Calsonic R35 was displayed at. I’m gonna say Bridgestone, but don’t quote me on that…The only thing I remember is seeing the Tully’s Coffee sticker on the side and wanting a cup of coffee at the time.
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I gave my friend an RC model of this car for Christmas, it was cool to see the real deal in person.
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The gals at the TWS booth were all smiles. They had a cool mini-bar in the middle of their spot where you could chill for a little and refresh with some water or Coca-Cola. I downed a few glasses of water before continuing on.
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I spotted these ridiculously wide, single lugged wheels and instantly envisioned them on a 911 or something equivalent…
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…turns out TWS envisioned the same, because when I turned around I saw them on this GT3RS. I never figured out what Addy was looking at in this picture…
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They also had on display the wheels they supplied for the Keihin HSV Super GT team. Check out the feature on this car here, compliments of JDM Clips.
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Leaving the booth, I found myself again blocked by model hunters…
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K-Break & Bee Dragon had a few extremely unique cars out, this Celsior being one. The only rims with a deeper dish were the ones on the Majesta sitting next to it; also from K-Break.
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That is some crazy $h1t!
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This Itasha styled Fuga K-Break had on display was garnering quite a bit of attention. I’m gonna come clean on something – I seriously like Itasha cars. I have no idea why. I like anime, but I’m not crazy about it. Maybe it’s the colors…
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For those who aren’t familiar with the Fuga, it’s closest US equivalent would be an Infiniti M-series. This one was plastered in マクロス (Macros) vinyl.
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Garson/D.A.D by far took the most flamboyant display of the show, bringing out not one, but two of their studded Merc’s. I thought I was in Vegas for a second…
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Before leaving the main hall, we stopped by Good Year to snatch up one of the free bags they were giving away to put all our stuff in. They chose this venue to reveal their new D1 spec Mark X! Anyone else get a Stock Car vibe? I’m digging it! I’m anxious to see how it will do.
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The yellow painted tires, and exposed rivets add to the look.
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The Mark X is a really, really big car. I can’t wait to see it being tossed around corners at crazy speeds.
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Obayashi Factory had some crazy stuff going on. This decked out VIP ride had the innards only an Alpine designer could create. Looks like the paint is still wet!
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I could stare at this for 5 minutes and still not realize what is inside…
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I think this is where the back seats used to be – now it looks like it’s used to regenerate human organs.
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Mmmmm…and you thought it was black….
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I’m going to skip over to the NATS (Nihon Automobile College) booth where the famous Max Orido D1 Supra was resting. Orido is actually a safety driving instructor at NATS now, so while Orido was at his own booth, his car was at another.
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Inside the Supra it’s all business. Like a full drift car should be. I like the carbon dash.
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NATS had a lot of cars packed into a tiny space. You may be wondering what is next to the Supra; I won’t show it to you now, but you’ll find out soon enough. The whole reason I skipped to shots of Orido’s Supra was so I had an excuse to post the cheesiest photo ever…
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…the NDF dog and Orido! Getting to talk to Manabu for a little bit was no doubt the highlight of the show for me. This guy is one of the best Super GT drivers of all time. I’ll leave off here, but I’m not even exaggerating when I say I have hundreds more photos. So be sure to stay tuned, and I’ll keep pumping them out as fast as I can.
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Loving the coverage ! Great pics !
Loving the rear end of that crz, but the front is trying too hard. Great coverage NDF!