There are a select few cars that, despite my frequency in traveling to Japan, always seem to elude me. Most of the time it’s due to a geographical hardship, as I’m often in the same parts of the country time and time again.
Tag: Rotary
Encounter: Tooru Nozaki – Autopolis Driven FD3S
Seeing as he lives all the way down in Kyushu, I consider myself lucky to have caught Nozaki and his FD at Fuji during Seven’s Day. I didn’t get the opportunity to see him at Autopolis Super Lap and was excited to see the build up close.
Event: Seven’s Day Fuji – Rotary Spirit 2019 V.2
As the day wore on, and my duties track-side came to a close, I was afforded more time to spend wandering around the sea of RX-7’s on the other side of the grandstands.
Event: Seven’s Day Fuji – Rotary Spirit 2019 V.1
Rotary Spirit was created in 2018 in an attempt to host the most comprehensive Seven’s Day meeting throughout all of Japan. This year marked the second annual event, and I happened to be at Fuji Speedway when the festivities were going down.
Feature: The Temple of Buddha – Golden Bathurst R-3 FD3S
This 1995 Mazda RX-7, owned by someone choosing only to be referred to as ‘The Temple of Buddha’ (or something like that I don’t actually know), is so far off the grid that I normally operate on that when I saw it at Fuji the other week, I had to take a closer look.
Video: Rotary Spirit Seven’s Day Meeting – Fuji Speedway
While I was photographing a race at Fuji Speedway, I took some time to record a walk-through of the Seven’s Day event that was going on in the event paddock.
Locale: Tomisato, Chiba – ＲＥ雨宮
The amount of influence that Amemiya-san has in the field of tuning Mazdas, specifically the RX-7, is arguably untouchable. The popularity of his designs and the overall originality of his creations are known not just throughout Japan, but the entire world. Walking through the showroom of Isami’s flagship shop in Tomisato, Chiba, you’re given proof of how much weight the name carries. Trophies from race events, car shows, and manufactuer recognition are plastered from one wall to the other. Momentos of achievement past and present line the glass cases along the walls of the showroom, surrounding the beautiful blue, Super GReddy clad demo car sitting front and center.
Feature: The Pleasure of Drive – CCE FD3S
In the furthest Southeastern part of the Saitama prefecture lies the small commuter town of Misato City. The suburb that serves as home to many employees of Tokyo, also serves as the headquarters for CCE; a fairly new, by some standards, tuning shop that offers a one-stop option for a variety of cars. The president, Yoshihiro Nakamura, chose this FD3S to serve as the companies flagship build. It’s gone through minor changes each year for the past several years, but I think that it’s current state is one that strikes a good balance between street and track; a goal that many enthusiasts in Japan strive for.
Feature: Purchasing Power – Revolution’s SE3P
With the seemingly never-ending popularity of Mazda’s 90’s classic, the RX7, it’s not uncommon for it’s successor, the RX-8, to get overlooked. At the time, the newly introduced Renesis engine, while a great performer at high RPM, lacked torque and overall power; mainly due to the extreme efficiency of the engine to meet strictly enforced emissions laws. Because of this, the naturally aspirated 1.3 liter rotary seemed to always get passed on for it’s older, turbocharged counterpart. Wanting to prove the RX-8’s worth, and to help stoke parts development of the chassis, Aoki-san at Revolution took on the task of building the ultimate RX-8. The first step? Ditching the Renesis motor for a naturally aspirated 20B.
Feature: Deep Grip RE – Tomo’s Circuit-Bred FD
Saitama native Nakashima Tomoyoshi, or Tomo for short, is an avid fan of the RX-7. Unique in many ways, the car has stolen his attention for better half of several years. Before he built the FD you see here, Tomo was the proud owner of a white Savanna FC.
Encounter: Bayshore Blackout – Shibaura FD3S
The boys cruised through Shibaura PA this weekend to chase after a few cars they saw at Tatsumi earlier in the night. This FD was one of the more interesting ones. Our friend Riyouiti-san […]
Feature: Misa-Chan R-Magic FD3S “Blacky”
Meet Misa. Misa was showing her car at the Minkara Meeting and after discussing it a bit with her, I knew I had to make a post on it. I’m not sure what everyone will […]
One Shot: つくばサーキット MaxSpeed FD3S
Attack || Tsukuba Circuit ☆
Close-Up: Moty’s ☆ T-One’s RX-7
Without a doubt, there were some star performers present at 2013’s final Battle Evome, but among them one shined (literally) the brightest. The Moty’s/t-one’s FD3S was, for me, one of the coolest cars to see […]
Encounter: Garage Kagotani Time Attack RX-7
I took some time out last night from weeding dog stickers to take a stroll down memory lane. I came across this time attack RX-7 from last year’s Hot Version N2 race that JDM […]
Close-Up: LS Powered Mazda Time Bomb
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You’ll have to admit, despite it’s growing popularity, the act of putting an American V8 engine into a Japanese car is still pretty bad ass. As much as you hear about it, it’s still not that common either. The swap has been gaining acceptance even from the die-hard fans of keeping a platform powered by it’s maker. While these LS engines are filling the bays of many Nissan’s in the drift scene, there is one car in particular that seems to have been a trend setter in this field; and that is the Mazda RX-7. This FD that was at KINOD6 is one shining example of how to turn elegance into brutality by adding 8 pistons. Click past the break for more shots.
Close-Up: R-Magic D1 RX7
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At the beginning of the month, Super Autobacs Chiba held the 12th annual Rotary Meeting at their facility. JDM Clips was telling me that the Chiba store has always had strong ties with the rotary platform. So each year, it is host to a gathering of specially built rotary machines. This car in particular, is built by R-Magic for Takayama to drift in D1. Don’t confuse it with the R-Magic Super Lap machine, as they are two totally different cars! Each awesome in their own way though – I particularly like the two different colored wheels on this one. Check out more past the break!
Close-Up: Arios X Okuyama F16° Time Attack FD3S
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There were many RX-7’s on hand the other week at Tsukuba Circuit; all in a fierce battle to claim the quickest lap around Tsukuba’s 2 mile stretch. The battle of the tuner’s unfolded throughout the day, as various time attack builds shot their way around the 14 corners of the circuit at top speed. Among them was the Arios Okuyama Auto Sports FD3S. This purpose built machine was among those in the dogfight on track, and surprisingly enough, did quite well against the heavy hitters – managing a best time of 58.818. JDM Clips was on hand to get a closer look at this build. Click past the break to see more.
Event: Hot Version Live Shooting v.1 – The Tsukuba Pits
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JDM Clips recently shot these last weekend during the live filming of Hot Version’s N2 and Advan Amateur Race at Tsukuba Circuit. The Hot Version N2 AE86 event takes place every year, and has been going on for quite some time now. This year, the Advan sponsored Fastest Amateur Tournament was combined on the same date and made for one hell of an event. Many of the cars here are the same popular builds we see plastered on the pages of Option and Option2, as well as blogs around the globe. The most popular tuners attend these ‘grassroots’ events to show off what they can do on the track. Check out what Tsukuba has to offer past the break – like more of this RE built ドラえもん FD.
Encounter: RE雨宮 FD – TAS 2010
. Going through some old photos and came across this straggler. I’ve always been on the fence about Mr. Isami’s creations, but there is no doubting their popularity in the tuning world. This was at […]
Close Up: Mazda 787B
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The Mazda 787B is, without a doubt, a very special car. This particular model, built in 1991, holds a handful of prestigious accomplishments; mainly that it is the first, and only Japanese manufactured car to ever win the 24 Hour of Le Mans. It is also the only non-piston car to win, as it is powered by a 26B rotary engine. At the 2011 Motor Sports Japan show, JDM Clips got a chance to capture the machine in it’s preserved state of championship beauty. Check out more past the break.