Tag: Advan

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Event: HKS Premium Day 2015 – Assault on Fuji

 

There I found myself; laying on the ground, the unmistakably cold chill of the natural wooden planks pressed against my warm back, staring blankly at the clouds drifting lazily overhead.  I slowly closed my eyes, ignoring the incredulous stares from the other men in the room, relaxing my exceedingly overworked muscles.  As the cool breeze consumes my elevated body temperature, and a somewhat effervescent steam radiates from my naked body, I couldn’t help but let my mind wander – recollecting upon the events of the day.  It had been a long one, I thought to myself, and ending the day with a trip to an onsen was nothing short of perfect (I realize that introduction has very little to do with the event, but I thought it was notably humorous).

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Close Up: The HKS GT1000+ – The Final Act V.2

 

The poster child of HKS Premium Day; the GT1000+.  An enormously high powered R35 that was built for the sole purpose of achieving the fastest lap possible.  The build, which will compete in WTAC next year, was also the other half of the final event where they pit the GTR against the Endless Sports z4 GT3 I posted just yesterday.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Close Up: ENDLESS E89 Z4 GT3 – The Final Act V.1

 

Have you ever had this strange urge, when opening a new book, to read the last paragraph before you actually start to read it?   I have. For whatever reason, I’ve always been compelled to turn to the last page before starting.  Often times, it doesn’t yield any spoilers or give any of the plot away, but sometimes it can give you a pretext of what to expect throughout the new literature.

Continue reading Close Up: ENDLESS E89 Z4 GT3 – The Final Act V.1
Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Event: Motor Games 2014 – Scorched Fuji

    ピットの端まで来るとUnder Suzukiさんの　S15　BodykitをUpgradeなさったので、是非とも取材したかったのですが、Except Rear aeroeffectのみ写真OKとの事だから、RearはWTAC Australiaまで 秘密にしてとの事なので、Detailはありません。     Another draw of Motor Games was the World Time Attack Challenge Japan, which was a spin off of the famous WTAC Australia that’s coming up […]

Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Mitsubishi Owner’s Day – MOD 2012

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When I think of MOD, I immediately hear “EVO”; and frankly, that’s all I need to hear.  I’ve grown to have no particular interest at all in any Mitsubishi other than their Evolution line of cars.  Not to discredit the fans and enthusiasts of Mitsubishi’s other great cars, I can definitely respect the work and passion that goes into any chassis (and there were actually some really cool builds with unique swaps), they’re just not my cup of coffee (I’m switching that saying up).  So, I’ll tell you ahead of time, the only cars you will see in this post are of EVO’s – I suggest checking out Mitsubishi forums or other blogs for full coverage.  With that said, I really enjoy MOD.  It’s one show that I have a very laid back attitude towards. and feel no pressure to show up early and stay until everyone leaves.  In fact, I rolled up over an hour after it started and had left within an hour.  Parking is never an issue because it is in the business district of Cypress and the surrounding businesses are nice enough to let show goers use their lots.  As a result of the show being sponsored by Mitsubishi itself, it is very well organized.  Let me start my post out with a shot of the Monster Sport equipped LOT USA EVO 9 – one of my favorites.  Click past the break to see more EVO’s at EVO..I mean MOD.


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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Encounter: Spoon Sports Endurance S2000

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I’m sure you’re familiar with the saying, “Some of the best things in life are free”.  A saying most likely referring to memories or moments in time.  For the most part I’d agree, as it’s happened to me several times.  The things in life that are the most special often happen unexpectedly and in the most obscure places – take this encounter for example.  If you want to get technical with it, this moment wasn’t technically free, but I can say that it was both unexpected and obscure; crazy any way you want to look at it.  On our way back to Tokyo from Motegi, my friend and I had decided to pull over at a rest stop for a bite to eat and a little refill of caffeine (in the form of some Emerald Mountain Blend).  The long drive back on the expressway had started taking it’s toll on us and after spending an entire day shooting an endurance race, the last thing you want to do is drive for 2 hours back home.  As we pulled into the parking area, and drove towards the back to park, we noticed a trailer with a pair of Nissan’s resting atop.  As we got closer we realized it was the two Okabe Jidosha Taikyu team’s cars.  I suppose they had the same idea as us and stopped for a little break.  Not one to miss a photo-op, I grabbed my camera and tripod and snapped a few shots before we went into the restaurant (You can see one of the shots here – I’ll post more later).  As we were eating our curry and whatever the hell else I had ordered, we kept trying to pick out who was involved in the racing team.  I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to tell just by looking at someone, but we tried anyway.  We finished up, grabbed some coffee from vending, and made our way back to the car when we saw this.  Click past the break for more – I promise you won’t see stuff like this anywhere else.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Encounter: Advan Toyota FT-86


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One of the cool things about going to a race event in Japan, is all the other things that come along with it. Good food, merchandise and car part vendors, free goodies, concerts, and the paddock and pit areas. Super GT had it all and then some. In the vendor area of Fuji Speedway, Yokohama had a fairly large booth set up with a couple display cars. One of the cars was this red FT-86 sitting on a matte black set of Advan RG-D’s. I thought it was a really clean example of what the FT-86 can look like with the simplest of modifications. Click past the break for a full shot.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Feature: Makin’ Winners Out Of Sinners – Cody Chan’s Attack-Inspired Miata

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To say that we’ve come quite a way in pushing the bounds of modification would be an understatement for most.  On occasions where influence and creativity converge over time, amazing results can happen; as is the case with the Miata you see here.  Cody’s pursuit of building the perfect Roadster has been a long one, and one where Japanese prominence has prevailed in all areas.  From the Super Lap styled exterior, to the adequately tuned engine, he’s transformed this NA from a mild mannered sports car into a battle ready track devil.  Honestly I can’t even remember how I got to talking with Cody (I think through NDF Facebook), but as soon as I realized that he was the one responsible for this build, I was itching to get my hands on it.   We’re both pretty busy guys, but we managed to met up a few weeks later to knock out a quick photoshoot.  If you will, please disregard the obscure title reference to the Paul McCartney song for a few minutes and click past the break to see just what this one of a kind Miata is all about.

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