A couple shots of the Unlimited Works EVO at Tsukuba Circuit. Kurita-san piloted the EVO 6 around TC2000 in a staggering 57.247. Sub minute laps are no stranger to Japan’s fastest street EVO though. Check out more past the break.
Category: Encounter
Encounter: コクピット館林 E46 M3
Cockpit Tatebayashi, purveyor of all things under the umbrella of Japanese automotive parts, proves to us once again that they are not restrained by chassis or make when it comes to tuning cars. No doubt the producers of variety, their newest car to make an appearance at Fuji is this tastefully tuned E46 M3.
Encounter: AutoBahn Carbon SC300
I know I’ve posted a couple shots of this car in the past (in a bit more comprehensive write up), but I was combing through some Evome coverage from the beginning of the year and came across a ton of material I never posted. Among them were shots of the AutoBahn Soarer that, unfortunately, didn’t make it around the track much this event.
Encounter: ざらざら海ほたるナイトパルサー
Did ya get that one?
There’s no doubt that when Nissan developed the GTI-R version of the N14 Pulsar, they were in it to fill a performance niche. The three-door hatchback was not only AWD, but sported the ever popular SR20DET engine producing 227 horsepower. Boasting an incredible power-to-weight ratio, Nissan had influence to produce such a car to compete in the WRC. I wonder if they knew other people would have similar ideas though…
Encounter: ティー・ゲット タイムアタックのBNR34
My first encounter with T-Get came in the form of a R35 GTR; the last team car they commissioned at HKS Premium Day in 2014. That car, however, was visually very factory looking, with only a GT wing and mild canard setup added to the exterior (if I recall correctly it was still on factory wheels). Their 2015 entrant, the shop R34, is quite the contrast from the previous years.
Encounter: HKS CT230R-NGV EVO
It’s a bit crazy to think that the car you’re looking at used to be the iconic HKS CT230R EVO – the one that used to be wrapped in red HIPERMAX vinyl (and just bare carbon before that). The same car that ran TC2000 in a staggering 53.5 and was subsequently shipped to the US to destroy the Buttonwillow record (1’48.5). That’s right; cue the ‘pour one out for your homies’ soundtrack of your choice, because this car is now powered by natural gas.
Encounter: ERC FD3S – Iida TC2000 Running
59.051 seconds is what it took Iida-san to pilot his Elite Racing Company built FD around the 14 turns of Tsukuba’s TC2000. It’s no surprise though, knowing ERC’s knowledge of rotary tuning, that Iida had the capability of achieving such a time. The Saitama based shop, run by Ohya Masaatsu is not only one of the leading shops in rotary tuning, but they can also boast for having literally the most amount of random links on their website that I have ever seen. Click past the break for more shots.
Encounter: Shell Engineering 86 – Pit Lane Spotlight
Kiyosu City, in the heart of Nagoya, is home to Shell Engineering; a shop that focuses on the total tuning of both circuit and street cars. Kogai-san, the owner, unveiled his newest project 86 at HKS Premium Day this year. Cloaked in the complete Blitz Aero Speed package, the new body panels are coated in a richly dark blue/black color that, much like the shop, elicits an aura of mystery; a mystery that sets this 86 apart from the rest.
Encounter: Osaka’s Auto Select – GTR Rundown
When Eiichiro Sawa founded Osaka based Auto Select in the early 80’s, his main goal was to share his knowledge of tuning and racing spirit with not only his friends, but with a wider range of enthusiasts as well. In 1985, after establishing himself in the industry of aftermarket tuning, the popular magazine Carboy did a feature on Auto Select that highlighted Eiichiro’s story; this story resulted in a tremendous boost in customer base. Their decades of continuous R&D of new parts and tuning methods has kept them alive through many lulls in the industry, and is a major reason why they’re so well known to date. You’d be hard pressed to attend an attack event in Japan, or a motor sport event in general, without the Auto Select flag being flown.
Encounter: Tatsumi Nights With Masa and Motomasu
I was browsing through some older photos on my hard-drives this evening and came across these shots of Masaki-san’s, and Ono-san’s Porsches one night – since it’s Thursday, and the appropriate thing to do these day’s on a Thursday is to throw things back, I decided to post them up. There were a few of us that had gone out to Tatsumi to say hi to some friends and we ended up meeting them out there. Yoko was there as well which was a nice surprise. These photos were actually already processed, for some reason I never uploaded them. Really trying to find time to drive in Idlers again this year, and seeing some of these cars gives me some motivation. Click past the break to check them out.
Encounter: フシミンのFD2 – グル走
Caught this pretty cool FD2 at Tsukuba during a Grooving event. The entire interior was gutted and it was running a pretty mild aero package. Fastest time it clocked was 1’01.25 – pretty quick! The fender cut away made the car look much more aggressive than the factory form. Click past the break for a few more shots.
Encounter: The Height of Challenge – ATTKD GTR32
I’ve always held ATTKD in high regard. Not only because of their rich history in parts development and tuning, but more so because of their ability to put pressure on the frontrunners of time attack. The surprisingly large shop based out of Nagano is responsible for a handful of notable Nissan builds; namely their flagship 32 you see here. Working closely with their long time test driver, Mitsuhiro Kinoshita, they were able to get under 2 seconds shy of the Top Fuel S2000; which has quickly become the benchmark for time attack at Fuji. In an almost ‘behind the scenes’ fashion, Mitsuhiro Kinoshita piloted the Skyline around Fuji Circuit in a remarkable 1’40.925.
Encounter: The Samurai Archives – Revolfe S.A. GTR33
The picture below cracks me up. When I had started walking around the back portion of the garages at Fuji, I came across the Revolfe S.A./Kleer R33 Skyline that was competing once again in the Hiper Challenge at HKS Day. I must have had my blinders on or something because I just walked up and started taking pictures of the car, and didn’t even notice Mizota-san standing in the back. After I had taken this shot he came up to me all surprised. Later as I was going through these photos I saw him in this one pointing right at me hahaha.
Encounter: Late Night Flash at G-Corp
I think, for the sake of variety, that I’m going to switch gears a bit this week. While there is much more time attack coverage to share with you (not sure that I’ll ever have a shortage of that), I do have quite a bit of files in the NDF archive that have been collecting dust. Case in point, earlier this winter I visited Go-san at G-Corporation in Chiba and in his somewhat large driveway sat this beautiful red Silvia.
Encounter: まっくリのメルセデス 190E
A Mercedes 190E is one of the last cars you’d think to see at Tsukuba, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw after arriving for Battle Evome in January. Admittedly, I first thought it was a rare EVO, but after discussing the car a bit with the owner, it’s a regular 190E with a touch of EVO flare.
Encounter: つくばのマジックブルーFD
Spotted this FD at Tsukuba as I was leaving one weekend. I’d never seen it before – would have liked to get a closer look at it. The registration is in Mito, which is like southern Ibaraki, so I would imagine it frequents Tsukuba often. I’ll keep my eyes peeled ~
Encounter: Overcast Chiba – Miyuki’s Work built EK9
I mentioned last night on Instagram (@naritadogfight), that I got called out of state to work this weekend. Well, that’s no surprise, but I had planned on using that time to put together the Evome articles so I would be able to post them throughout the week. Unfortunately, I then had to decide whether to process store orders or get content processed, and since I believe customer service is the foundation of any consumable I chose to get the orders processed. Before I head out to the post office I decided to publish this post I had sitting in que for a bit now.
Encounter: トトまるのCP9A – ピンクパワー
You may or may not remember me mentioning a little bit about Mitsuyoshi’s super pink Evo in the post I wrote awhile back about his conquest in the CT9A; if not, here is […]
Encounter: The Rebirth of Simplicity – Hannita’s Revived NSX
With the passing of Rev Speed earlier in the month, we can formally mark the onset of attack season in Japan; and without a doubt, no other group of privateers stand out […]
Encounter: Super Speed – Seki Motor Sports S13
For a good sixteen years now, the Miyagawa brothers have been designing body panels for a wide variety of cars under the Garage Mak name. Creative to say the least, they are able to envision […]
Encounter: Youthful Frenzy – Yoshi’s NojiReal built 86
I first had the pleasure of meeting young Yoshinori-kun at Idlers in 2013 in Motegi (actually we first met at RWB, but that’s beside the point). He had been helping the entire event by […]
Encounter: ジーコーポレーション E36
I had messaged Nakamura-san a few weeks back in hopes I could catch him one evening to shoot the new G Corp demo car. Sekinei and I had dropped by one afternoon on the […]
Encounter: Desperado – 山口さんの993
This bright (Mexico/Riviera?) blue Porsche caught my eye the other night, I think mainly because of the color, but also I’ve always liked the way 993’s look with GT2 aero. The color […]
Encounter: Yokohama Underground – ガレージマック
One bonus of setting out to shoot a car for a magazine is that you’ll always end up with ancillary shots not used in the feature. I was organizing some of my files tonight […]
Encounter: Tatsukuro-san’s TFR Blessed FD3S
No stranger to a variety of cars, S15, Altezza, JZX100, (even the FD, having owned one before this) just to name a few, Muraki Tatsuhiko has more experience than most when it comes to how different […]
Encounter: Super Now 997 GT3 RS
Super Now; an eccentric parts company located in Saitama that focuses mainly on the RX7 and rotary components, but dabbles in many other platforms. To the average enthusiast, probably not the most familiar […]
Encounter: トトまるエボ – The Push For 57
“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is […]
Encounter: Hot August Nights – NDF x SPE-200RSPL
This past weekend marked the start of Round 6 of the Redline Time Attack season, and as it ends it will leave just 2 more rounds until the series final. As I’m writing this, […]
Encounter: いぢりさんの白い友人
Sekinei stopped by Daikoku this past weekend for the first time in quite awhile. It just so happens that Idjiri-san and his friend ‘Sardony’ had cruised through as well. I’ve posted a few […]
Encounter: ルージュ浪人
In the empty back lot of Fuji Speedway, interceding between the rolling green hills and the cloud engulfed mountains, we encountered this lone NSX; parked almost as if to add to the beautiful […]
Encounter: ガレージマック! – Motor Games Fuji
Our partners over at Garage Mak put on a very impressive display at Motor Games last weekend at Fuji. Amemiya’s S15 looked particularly great on the new Enkei RS05RR. その後、程なくして、Formura Driftの写真。午前の予選が終わり、Offset Kingの会場へBakkyさんにあって、彼のS15の写真をパチリ。相変わらずかっこいいです。そこで […]
Encounter: 大黒ふ頭ハングアウト S15
Cruised around Daikoku Friday night to find the typical mix of cars and people hanging out. Matt and I slept in Sekinei’s van for like an hour before getting up to walk around; […]
Encounter: Kamakura Carrera RS
Asami and I were walking about Kamakura this weekend when we spotted this beauty idling down the street. Perhaps a 1976 Carrera RS in iconic Gulf Racing livery. The entire atmosphere […]
Encounter: Behind The Scenes – Kei’s Street 32
You know that saying ‘opposites attract’? Well, there is no better tangible proof than this pair here. Back when I pitched Baki’s S15 to Import Tuner at the beginning of the year, I […]
One Shot: テクニカルオートワンズFD – Evome Profile
With the second part of our Garage Work Feature being posted tonight (still finishing the processing), I think it acts as a good segway to restart our Evome profile series back up starting with […]
Encounter: Ridin’ Round With That SK
A profile you’ve more than likely been getting familiar with at Japan Attack events is that of the Lotus Exige. With a group of three or four enthusiasts competing in these very well […]
Encounter: え！振り向く! Street R33
Sekinei, Keito and I were driving to lunch after visiting Unlimited Works last weekend when I spotted this pretty cool R33 parked in a lot on the street we were on. I caught […]
Encounter: Satoru Koyama’s D1 Z32 – Powers Factory
小山哲さんのZ32 This weekend at Fuji Speedway, the All Japan Z Meeting took place. This event is the largest Z meeting in the country, and is held annually at Fuji. This year, Satoru Koyama, the […]
Encounter: YSK-Motoring R33 GTS
Ran into this super clean R33 at Fuji last month. I didn’t get to see it on track, but it sure looked good sitting in the lot. It’s funny because I’ve reached a point […]
Encounter: Kyushu Danji Frontrunner – Hiroyoshi Shimada
The whole sport of time-attack has been picking up speed as of late, and over the past few years, one team has stood out amongst the rest as leaders in their own right. Based […]