Fiat 130 Coupe

Time for a break from Japanese cars/events and onto a skill that the Japanese didnt have until a few years ago - designing cars that looked good


The Fiat 130, average big 4 door executive saloon. But give it to Pininfarina for a re-design into a coupe and the result is amazing






The badge that says a lot about a car! Pininfarina are also coachbuilders and built these cars too

Very obvious this is a car from the 1970's,loads of wood panelling, plush velour seats,right down to the 8 track player



The engine is a 3.2 litre V6, exactly the same engine as found in the Lancia Stratos and Ferrari Dino

Driftworks S15 revealed

Probably the best known driftcar in Europe was Phil Morrisons Driftworks S14 Silvia,but now its eagerly awaited replacement has arrived in the shape of this stunning S15 Silvia

Underneath the Vertex Ridge widebody kit,the SR20DET has been replaced with a 2JZ-GTE engine and 6 speed getrag gearbox from a Mk4 Supra,which puts out close to 600bhp,so should make for an amazing sight on track

Still not yet complete but I should hopefully see it in action at Knockhill for Round 3 of the European Drift Championship

Expect to see a lot more of this car in the future!!

D1SL at Suzuka

Last weekend in Japan and what better way to finish off the last 48 hours than D1GP and D1SL at Suzuka circuit

D1SL stands for D1 Street Legal and is as the name suggests aimed at street legal cars. They must keep a full interior,including rear seats, the original glass (no lightweight perspex) and strangely enough they must also have a stereo installed! Also no engine swaps are allowed (eg Rb26 Skyline engine into a Silvia is forbidden) and the bodywork is restricted,and things like the radiator may not be relocated. Drivetrain changes are allowed though,4wd to RWD cars are permitted. Many of the cars stick true to their street legal nature and are driven to the circuits and then driven home when possible

For once I went as a spectator and wasnt bothered with taking loads of photos,so here are a few from the D1SL finals (Top 8) on Saturday evening with the dramatic light conditions provided by the setting sun. Not great with the D1SL drivers names either,but not many D1SL drivers compete in D1GP

Okachan in the Yashio Factory S15 Silvia is not far off his bus pass but is still a force to be reckoned with,getting into the top 4........

The eventual winner was Yukimaru Komigata in the stunning GP Sports / Gallery Subaru Impreza

MiNES

Its Friday and its raining,and Ive 90mins of travelling ahead of me to the very outskirts of Yokohama city, almost in the countryside. But I dont care. Im going to visit a tuning shop that are world renowned. Although the company name doesnt sound much to the average person,it will have any Japanese car enthusiast,any Gran Turismo/Forza or Enthusia player, and in particular anyone even remotely knowledgeable about Skylines feeling light headed and weak at the knees. It is none other than MiNES


They are not a huge company and their premises are not that big. Like most tuners you walk into the reception area and there is a trophy display,but none of these are for styling,every one is for Time Attacks and Tsukuba in particular. MiNES are only interested in performance, if you want your car to look good go elsewhere!. After a brief introduction I was given a quick tour by the very enthusiatic Nori san who spoke excellent English, aswell as meeting company president Niikura san who was very pleased and surprised that someone had come to visit from Ireland! Like a lot of Japanese tuners they dont realise that they are known globally
1 of many Revspeed Tsukuba Time Attack trophies,the most prestigious Time Attack in Japan. Although MiNES only compete in the street class (full interior,no rollcage,road legal tyres etc),their R34 GTR sets times that are comparable to more highly tuned cars in the more modified classes
Where the magic happens - the engine build room. All the engines are built by hand using many of MiNES own components. They also have an in-house engine dyno

The Legend - 1 of 3 MiNES R34 V-Spec N1 demo cars. Considered by many to be the ultimate street legal GTR. All about performance,unlike VeilSide there is no body styling at all,the BBS alloys and the uprated AP Racing brakes are the only real external giveaways of what potential this car has.

Under the bonnet it all looks rather normal,the carbon covers for the airfilters on the right being the only difference to a stock R34 GTR. But its internally within the hand built engine where all of the modifications lie, with many of MiNES own parts used,camshafts,baffle plate,their own VX-Rom ECU to name a few. MiNES suspension and handling upgrades have also been applied


They also offer complete engines to upgrade your car. Like all tuners in Japan they can tune your car to suit your budget, so whether its just a new ECU,exhaust and air filter or an uprated engine and handling package MiNES can do it


The Z33 (350Z) is their newest democar and has been kept normally aspirated unlike many tuners who turbocharge them. The R34 is a customer car and the next car is a Nissan Fuga,a luxury 4 door saloon but with the same engine as the Z33. Like all Japanese tuners they are eagerly awaiting the new GTR in 2008

Thanks to Nori san,Niikura san and Nick Martin for his help with directions

7/7/7 - Mazda RX7 Day

Today is the Seventh of July 2007 or 07/07/07. a lot of RX7 meetings have taken place worldwide today so here are a few RX7 photos of FC's and FD's in tribute to the legendary rotary powered sportscar,taken by me in the last 18 months

Skyscraper District

Living in Ireland,I dont normally get to see tall buildings,the tallest in Dublin is only 16 storeys. So when I was in the worlds most populated metropolis, Tokyo there would be a few taller ones to be seen, and in particular in the 'Skyscraper district' of Shinjuku where tall buildings are allowed to be built due to planning with earthquakes etc. The Shinjuku Center Building was interesting,as it had an observation deck on the 53rd floor.......


So less than 1 minute later I was up there........

Now this view really was something else,as almost to infinity you cant see any greenspace - which really shows how big a city of almost 35 million people is!


Some smog can be seen in each photo as a mist in the distance


Amazing - and 1 minute later I was on the ground again,the high speed lifts make your ears pop

Later a tiny fraction of the 35 million people make their way home