Every so often you find yourself in a conversation with someone that mentions that they’re a car enthusiast. I personally don’t dread these conversations, but I certainly don’t look forward to them. I’ll usually indulge them, ask about what car they have or what they enjoy about it, knowing full well that the casual enthusiast will have a completely different perspective than me regarding cars. That’s totally okay though, sometimes I get so lost in the details of the automotive world, it’s nice to see people who are content at the surface level. It goes to show that, even with a normal spec car, you can enjoy the world of motor sport – all of the excess is more often than not, brought upon by ourselves. When I was in Mie last week attending the Shiba Tire event at Suzuka Circuit, I had the pleasure of conversing with with Takashi Matsumoto about his cars.
Suffice to say, Takashi Matsumoto is anything but a casual enthusiast.
Takashi has basically curated his own automotive gallery of definitive Japanese performance cars: 3 Skylines (R32 GTR, ER34, R34 GTR V-Spec 2 Nur), a fully built CT9A, S14, a handful of other foreign cars, and his most recent pick up, the Amemiya built FD3S you see here. Fully enjoying them as much as possible on both the street and the circuit. These cars aren’t parked in a garage somewhere, they’re driven daily, chosen based on Takashi’s mood at any given moment. It’s almost like Gran Turismo in real life.
When I came across the iconic, light blue colored FD in one of Suzuka’s garages, I immediately recognized it as the Matsumotokiyoshi Type CS car from the Amemiya booth at Tokyo Auto Salon this year – I even took a photo of it:
The second time I saw it was at the Rotary Spirit meeting in July at Mobara. Although that event is so tightly packed, it’s impossible to get great photos of it, I earmarked it to revisit later if I ever got the chance. Takashi commissioned the build from Amemiya back in 2022, and took ownership after the TAS unveiling. Amemiya-san constructed this FD using model 6 parts from the model 1 frame strip. If you know what that means, congrats, you’re a nerd (the good kind).
When the car left the Chiba based shop, it was equipped with a very tried and true engine setup. A 450ps 13B-REW, equipped with a Trust TD06-25G turbo kit and the Trust V-mount I/C setup. The engine was tuned using a HKS V-Pro and HKS EVC-7 to RE Amemiya specifications. It’s actually close the spec that I want my own personal FD to be after completion. The exhaust is expelled using a RE Amemiya Dolphin Tail Muffler. The transmission is a stock trans from Mazda that has been treated with an ORC 400 Lightweight clutch and OS Super Lock differential in the Amemiya SPL spec.
It wasn’t long after taking delivery though, that the engine gave out, leaving Takashi with a choice; to rebuild the motor to the same Amemiya-spec, or use the opportunity to rebuild for more power. Being the enthusiast he is, he opted for a side ported housing during the rebuild, and swapped the turbo for a newer GCG G35-900 unit. The new engine setup was able to get a very healthy 500ps output on the dyno, with room to spare. Since the rebuild, he has had a handful of track events where the car performed flawlessly. This was his first time driving Suzuka, and he was able to put down a 2’24.177 second baseline lap.
The exterior is made up entirely of classic Amemiya body parts. The front end consists of the AD Facer N1 (02 Model) bumper, equipped with the wet carbon Canard Pro canards and wet carbon under sweep, and RE Sleek headlight kit. The AD 9 carbon hood is complimented by the AD 9 duct gurney flaps and is tied in with the carbon AD Super Mirror Pro side mirrors in wet carbon.
The AD GT widebody front and rear fenders are bound by the iconic front end diffuser kit and side step generators, both in wet carbon. It’s hard to believe just how long ago these parts were designed given that their timeless aesthetic on the RX7 body. The rear end was given an updated LED tail lamp finisher, along with the vented Super Rear bumper and Vortex rear diffuser. The RE GTIII carbon wing was recently raised to high mount after Takashi swapped out the mid-mount RE stands.
The 18×10.5 Enkei RS05RR wheels in gunmetal are a perfect compliment to the blue color of the body. This was Takashi’s first time running the Shiba Tire R31 (200TW) in a 295 series.
The interior is relatively in tact with a full dash, complimented by a blue carbon bezel, and Kenwood head unit and speakers. An RE D-Type steering wheel replaces the cumbersome stock unit, along with a pair of Bride Low Max fixed back seats.
Takashi plans to come back to Suzuka as soon as possible, possibly next year. In the mean time I’m sure we’ll cross paths again at the track.
It was a pleasure getting to converse with Takashi and I’m glad I got to spend some more time with the car. It’s always a pleasure seeing a tried and true RE build in person, especially one that was completed so recent. The bonus was being able to do it at Suzuka Circuit. I hope you enjoyed the gallery, and stay tuned for more Attack coverage from this week.