…and as the rain began to fall ever harder, the Super GT cars charged on; fueled by the calm determination only those behind the wheel know. We pick up on the continuing coverage mid […]
Tag: CR-Z
Event: Super GT Round 8 At Motegi 250km – Pre-Race Practice
So, it was 5am and the only thing I could think about was getting caffeine into my system; not if my friend was going to be late, not if it was going to rain […]
Close-Up: Mugen GT300 CR-Z
.
A few weeks ago my friend over at JDM Clips made a visit to the Honda Headquarters where they had on display the new Mugen designed GT300 CR-Z that is currently competing in the Super GT series. If the Toyota Prius GT300 car wasn’t ironic enough for you, Honda is here to fulfill your hybrid race car cliches with the new CR-Z contender. It’s difficult to think that any hybrid car you see on the street would be holding it’s own against the likes of the BRZ, BMW Z4’s, Nismo GTR GT3’s, Porsches, Aston Martin’s, Lambos and Corvettes, but make no mistake; this is one fast hybrid. In fact, in only it’s second outing it managed to capture pole position and continues to impress on the grid. Granted it’s 300hp 2.8 liter twin-turbo V6, with electric motor, isn’t offered as an option from Honda to you and I (unfortunately), but it’s still a CR-Z chassis; a capable one at that. Click past the break to see the CR-Z up close, compliments of JDM Clips.
Preview: Super GT Comparison – CR-Z GT300 vs. Prius GT300
. So, I actually have a lot of cool stuff to post up and write about; new features, Super GT news, shop visits – the only snag is, I can’t access it! Earlier to day […]
Locale: Oh, Don’t Mind Me – Another Visit To Type One
.
Visiting Type One never gets old for me; there is always something new there to see every time I go. So I make it a priority of mine to stop in each time I go to Japan. Granted, without a car, it makes for a bit of a walk; but I had access to a car this time because I was with my friend from JDM Clips. I might add that having makes visit tuning shops so much easier. Obviously, you go to car shops because you own a car, so it’s not a big concern for shop owners to be close to train stations. If you’re just visiting Japan, going places not near train stations can be both difficult and expensive without an auto; especially if you’ve never been there before. I have absolutely no problems walking a few miles to get to clutch shops, but needless to say, having a car was a giant win. Like any typical foreign fan boy should, I like just walking around the shop and looking at all the stuff I’ve seen dozens of times already – it never gets old. Plus, the shop gets a lot of traffic, so chances are you’ll see different rides there every time you visit. I already featured that extremely cool matte black S2000 that I saw last time, which you can see here; but I never got around to posting up some of the other cars that were in the shop on that trip. I know there are many sites that post up stuff from Spoon and Type One once or twice – but who else posts new shots from the shop over and over! hahaha – hopefully the viewers share the same love that I do. Click past the break to take a stroll through the shop and check a few more of them out.
Event: Wekfest 2012 – Fort Mason, San Francisco v.4 – Honda Time
.
As I wind down the Wekfest SF 2012 coverage, I was debating throwing everything I had into one final post. As I was going through the shots though, I realized I had a little too many for one post. So, in the sake of saving some time, I decided to split them up in to two posts. I saw though, that the majority of what I had left were photos of Honda’s! Which is actually pretty cool because now I have enough for a Honda specific post. If you’re a fan, then this will be a must to check out. There were so many nice Honda builds at the show and I hope I got to see most of them. Click past the break for a good sample of what was there.
Event Preview: Mugen CR-Z RR Pre-Production – Tokyo Auto Salon 2012
. So, as you may know, I couldn’t attend TAS this year because of my work schedule; but that doesn’t mean you won’t get an awesome view of the event on NDF. I’ve traveled […]
Locale: Mugen Headquarters, Saitama – M-Tec Co. LTD
.
Happy New Year everyone! I’m happy to report that NDF has survived its first full year, and that we’re ready to take on 2012 head on. Let’s kick off the New Year with a little peak around M-Tec Co.’s headquarters in Saitama, Japan. JDM Clips went exploring the building and it’s surroundings on a trip to go see the Mugen RR Advanced Concept. It’s been over two years since Mugen has particiapted in Tokyo Auto Salon, and the RR Advanced Concept was their last display vehicle. With word that Mugen is returning to TAS for 2012, there is much hype building around what car they will have present. Here at NDF & JDM Clips all bets are on a RR modeled CR-Z! We’ll have to wait to know for sure. In the meantime, check out the pics past the break.
Close-Up: J’s Racing CR-Z
.
As a follow up to the J’s Racing S2000 Type-GT we featured last week, I thought I’d share the other car on display at the J’s Racing Fair. J’s Racing recognizes the growing trend of tuning hybrid cars, and when Honda introduced the CR-Z in 2010, they immediately started making parts for the new chassis. This 2010 CR-Z serves as their test bed and show girl for all their CR-Z products. J’s has a reputation for creating some pretty wild livery’s, and this car is no exception. Check out more past the break.
Event: Motor Sport Japan 2011 – On Track Action
.
Before I post the coverage that JDM Clips got of the Motor Sports Japan 2011 Festival, I thought it would be cool to share the ‘on-track’ action from the event. Race teams, aftermarket companies, and car manufacturers give the fans a sample of the vehicles performance on a make-shift track in part of the lot at the site in Daiba, Tokyo. Famous drivers take to the machines for a few spirited laps around the course. Some of the cars include current Super GT cars, rally built cars, prototype and modified street cars. Click past the break for some more great shots.
Desktop: J’s Racing CR-Z at East Cloud
. I decided to throw up a little preview of the J’s Racing Fair in desktop form for you guys. Click the image for 1680x viewing pleasure. Stay tuned or check out JDM Clips for […]
Event: Eibach Open House 2011 v.3
.
I thought it might be appropriate to end my Eibach coverage with a poster shot of the Eibach built CR-Z. One of only two at the show; the other being the Honda Tuning CR-Z that was parked next to the Chronicles booth. You can see behind the car the giant line that had formed in the afternoon as soon as they started giving away free stuff…scavengers. I’ve been at work everyday since the show, so I haven’t really had a chance to scope out what other people have been covering. I know for a fact I didn’t get as much coverage as I wanted to, especially around back of the building. Hopefully you enjoyed everything up until now. Check out the last gallery past the break, and I’ll see you all again at the JDM Yo! Anniversary meet tomorrow.
Event: 2011 Mugen Circuit Challenge v.2
.
Due to some unforeseen trouble with my own car (i.e. broken driver side knuckle), it took me a little bit longer than expected to get this second part up; sorry ‘y’all. In the last post, I mentioned a little bit about the breakdown of classes and regulations for the Circuit Challenge. So for this one I’ll just let the pictures do the talking. I really like this shot, with the CR in the background. As I was taking a second look through some of the shots, I noticed a few EK chassis that were worth putting up. Check um’ out past the break.
Event: Tokyo Auto Salon 2011 – RH9
.
Describing RH9 in one word would be easy; Power. The Record Holder 9 club is exclusive to those cars capable of running 9’s in the quarter mile, the 1320, 0-400m; whatever you wanna call it, these things can do it fast. Once confined only to GT-R’s, it seems like they’ve expanded to other platforms as well; like the almighty Garage G Force X above. When you think of Japanese tuning, you’ll probably think of a few companies that take part in this club; and you’ll see some of their creations here. It’s not uncommon to see RH9 badged parts created by these companies as well. When I picked through these, I realized a lot were on the CF card that had failed on me. As a result I’m missing some (unhappy face). There are a few other sites though that have coverage of the RH9 too, so all is well. Enjoy.
Close Up: Honda-Tuning/Evasive CR-Z
.
With the CR-Z being fairly new, there isn’t really an extensive catalog of aftermarket parts to choose from; especially in the aero department. However, the CR-Z that Honda-Tuning put together shows that you don’t need that much to make something that looks great. The C-West lip kit that adorns the outside of the Honda turns the ordinary CR-Z body, into an overall more aggressive looking car. Click past the break to see what else is up with this car.
