It's hard to imagine the immensity of the Tokyo Auto Salon without seeing it in person. When the gates swing open, throngs of people flood into the Makuhari Messe Convention Center like raging water engulfing a sinking ship. In endless lines twelve people wide the flow continues, until all attendees are packed elbow to elbow.
And to each and every person in attendance, the swarming masses are well worth enduring for a glimpse into the quintessential tuner car crystal ball. Year after year, the Salon dictates what's cool and what's not. It forecasts up-and-coming trends and dispels urban myths.
This year's Salon was no exception, offering up a wide array of modified cars and custom parts, and, of course, more scantily clad umbrella girls than we could count. The spectrum stretched from nitrous bottles mounted next to LCD televisions on the back of scooters to the very car Michael Schumacher used to blast through the 2004 F1 season.
But enough babbling. Feast your eyes on some of the things we thought were cool, quirky, or hot enough to feature on these pages.
While we sit on our hands waiting for a stock Honda Fit to hit our shores, Mugen is already toying around with a widebody version sporting a massaged K20 engine from the new Civic Si with a claimed 260 hp @ 8800 rpm.
Suprisingly, one of the few tuners to put some muscle into Mazda's new MX-5 and Mazdaspeed 6 was Mazda itself. Both cars feature unique body kits and custom Mazdaspeed blue paint. Big brakes and Bilstein suspension sit behind new Mazdaspeed wheels, and the 6 makes 300 hp by way of a re-mapped ECU and a larger intercooler.
Surefire proof that the grass is greener overseas: The EVO wagon. These are sure to be one hell of a way to pick up nagging kids and soccer balls.
Power Enterprise was on hand to show off their ultra clean Do-Luck equipped widebody EVO
"Z" mounted SR20DET with oil cooler, radiator, and intercooler one-upping the v-mounted setup.
Big brakes and a supercharged K20 mean the nasty Civic "Dominator" concept from Mugen is more than just a pretty face.
JUN and HKS love to stroke your EVO. Both kits bring displacement up to 2.2 liters and feature forged crankshafts.
An Exige-beating Elise by Trial
HKS surprised Tokyo by unveiling a twin-turbo kit for the 350Z that will use their GT series ball-bearing turbochargers and an all-new exhaust system. Maybe it will bolt up to HKS' Rotrex supercharger kit.
Yet another cool subcompact we'll probably never see on this side of the Pacific Ocean, the Daihatsu Sirion Sport.
We get cheesy dealership-built replica rally cars. The Japanese get Petter Solberg's actual WRC car.
Looks like HKS offers more suspension options in Japan alone than all of our stateside choices combined.
RE-Amemiya is one of many noted rotary tuners to have made the progression into the RX-8, but the only tuner to run a rotary entry in the JGTC series. So does 2+2 = an RX-8 competing next year?
Note the dual nitrous bottles, monster tach, and of course, dual LCD TVs. No comment.
Here in the states, we'd be happy to get the turbocharged 1JZGTE that this Soarer came with. In Japan it takes a Skyline GTR engine to get a second glance.
OK, so there's no question where Suzuki got this idea from. But few cars scream "drive me!" like this sticky-shod and slammed Swift Sport. Please Suzuki, import this car!
Nismo's 350Z RS Concept is said to make more than 350 hp without forced induction. We say bring it on!