The amount of influence that Amemiya-san has in the field of tuning Mazdas, specifically the RX-7, is arguably untouchable. The popularity of his designs and the overall originality of his creations are known not just throughout Japan, but the entire world. Walking through the showroom of Isami’s flagship shop in Tomisato, Chiba, you’re given proof of how much weight the name carries. Trophies from race events, car shows, and manufactuer recognition are plastered from one wall to the other. Momentos of achievement past and present line the glass cases along the walls of the showroom, surrounding the beautiful blue, Super GReddy clad demo car sitting front and center.
It was an unusually warm afternoon as we made the short drive from TM Works to RE Amemiya. Isami was in Tokyo for the day handling some prior business engagements, but seeing as how we were so close to the shop, Masao insisted we stop by to say hi to his friends who work there. As you can imagine, there is never a dull day here. The shop’s bays are always occupied with customer cars, and the lot is full of patiently waiting clients. Given Mazda’s reluctance to continue with the rotary platform, many consumers lack the ability to service their rotary-powered car at dealerships. Places like RE Amemiya are used to fill that void on top of all the aftermarket tuning they do. As a result, there is never any lack of business. Last time I visited this shop was years ago, so it was nice to come back without the timidness of my old, novice self.
The iconic demo FD was sitting outside, next to the wacky, bubble covered, 13B powered, NB Miata Roadster. The baby blue FD has a full amalgamation of RE exterior parts, starting up front with the Facer N-1 front bumper with a full compliment of carbon. AD kit sides with the carbon front fender generator continues the aggressive styling down to the rear of the car.
The party ends with a heavily modified, Super GReddy III rear bumper, with rear diffuser and GT wing. The widened fenders providing ample space for the Enkei RPF1 wheels.
It’s always refreshing to see how much pride the employees take in their product; offering to wash the car down to show it as clean as possible.
This front bumper is one of Amemiya’s most popular designs for the FD; especially in the Attack circuit.
Inside the shop, Masao was excited to share with me a project that he had put in a tremendous amount of hours on.
This full carbon-body FD was clear coated and finished at TM Works down the street. Masao spent days wet sanding and polishing the final product.
As a result the car is incredibly shiny, and shows off the carbon beautifully.
The AC037 body panels completed in full carbon is a pretty incredible look.
This customer car was sporting the Facer N-1 bumper with kevlar splitter/canards, as well as the newer Facer GT front fenders with that wild vent thingy.
Some new piping was in order for the already super clean engine bay.
Inside the shop resides yet another demo car.
The Super GReddy aero kit is, more or less, the predecessor to RE’s barrier breaking AC037 kit (a.k.a the Porsche conversion).
More of the NB they built for TAS this year. Not my cup of tea, but a cool concept nonetheless. I bet it’s a blast to drive with the 13b under the hood.
There’s a lot of cool features built into this one-off demo car. I especially like the little roof spoiler that’s built into the hardtop.
Along the side of the shop were some long-standing customer cars; either waiting for service or waiting for pickup.
Almost didn’t bring my camera to RE, but glad I did! Hope you enjoyed this little walk-through to one of Japan’s longest standing shops.