Encounter: The Bay To The Mountain – Yokohama NSX at Fuji

Last Fall, when I was at Fuji Speedway for the Mazdaism show, I took a stroll around to the main paddock area of the circuit to explore the grounds a little bit. At an international circuit like Fuji, there are usually multiple events taking place on any given weekend and you really never know what you’ll run into.  As I approached the parking lot area from in front of the restaurant, this Honda NSX came into view. The first thing I spotted was the Yokohama plate on the front bumper. It’s not like I’m going to pretend to know all the tuning cars in Yokohama, but with the only two shops in Yokohama that cater to NSX specifically being Advance and KSP (not counting RFY although it is in Kanagawa), I was surprised I hadn’t seen this car at any point in my travels.  Luckily, the owner was a very kind, middle-aged man and was happy to entertain my questions.

The exterior of the NA2 had that distinct Japanese DIY look that made me fall in love with time attack in Japan all those years ago, and part of the reason I was immediately drawn to it. The owner mentioned that, while his friends shop maintains the mostly normal-spec engine, the suspension and exterior are handled by himself, and that he crafted most of the exterior parts himself.  He did a good job, as well, in my opinion. The front and side aero does well to compliment the rear, and ties in with the Esprit wet carbon GT wing.  The Honda is not lacking for signs of use; the paint scratches, rock chips, and damaged bumper displaying a history of track use. While most think these things detract from a cars appearance, I think, quite the contrary, the car exudes character because of them.

With a 255/295 Advan A050 tire stagger, he said he was lapping in the low 2 minute range that morning. For reference, I know it’s common for older 911 GT3s to lap just about the 2 minute range with a professional driver. Do with that information what you will – regardless of lap times, the car certainly looks the part.

Anyway, I shared a few photos of the car on our Instagram stories and it got a lot of attention, so I decided to make a quick post with some larger photos on the site for those interested. It’s a bit nostalgic for me to make an ‘Encounter’ post, as these little random encounters throughout Japan were some of the first things I would post on this blog over a decade ago. Enjoy the photos – maybe I’ll start doing posts like this again with higher frequency once next season starts. I don’t know…could the 2026/27 season be the return of a true blog? Let me know what you think.