S203 - the silver ghost   Mar 23, 2005   [Total:7]

The first time I laid eyes on the new S203 was at a marina in Tokyo Bay. This was simply a photo shoot, with no driving allowed - they even made sure to move the car around for the shoot on their own. That was due to the fact that, at that time, that was the only S203 built. Make that hand-built, even. In person there was initially little to differentiate it from a standard STi. In fact, it is based on the slightly more pedestrian base model, not the more aggressive Type C with it's increased castor for more electric turn-in. The few visual cues were from the front lip spoiler, rear wing, and the wheels. Yet it had a presence that drew your eyes to the changes.

NISMO GT-R Z-tune - Godzilla is back in town.   Apr 25, 2005   [Total:7]

It reeks of evil intent, of a hardcore life. Try and drive it with kindness, and it will hurl abuse at you. Only when you give it some serious stick does it start to purr. Godzilla has been reborn again from the ashes. Just like it's movie counterpart, it has come to life yet again. Used R34 Skyline GT-R's were brought back to life with an infusion of cold carbon fiber, hot engine upgrades and swish suspension pieces. How swish? Try 5k a corner for the Sachs suspension. Is it worth it? Yes. 17.7million yen for the entire monster. Radiation breath is optional.

JGTC season end in Fontana   Mar 21, 2005   [Total:7]

JGTC is possibly the most popular racing series in Japan, following the Touring Car formula popular in Europe. For many years it had been a Japanese only series, but that changed in 2004 with their end of the season race at California Speedway in Fontana, USA. It was a difficult circuit for many of the drivers as the circuit was originally designed for Nascar, and simply made use of an infield track to add in the necessary curves. It certainly proved that JGTC could be popular in America, however, with large crowds and a record amount of media on hand for the festivities. There were a few crashes, notably to the Autobacs NSX late in the race. This was a shame as the Autobacs Garaiya also DNF'ed, leaving the orange off the podium for this seminal race.

2005 Forester launch in Karuizawa, Japan - Got Snow?   Apr 11, 2005   [Total:7]

I got acquainted with this new version of the endearingly practical side of the Subaru in Karuizawa, Japan. This is a famous ski resort area visited by large amounts of Japanese every year. So much so that it rates a stop on one of the bullet train routes. I arrived by just sort of transportation due to the dire warnings from Subaru about driving there, and once I arrived, I understood why. It is very beautiful up there with clean, white powder as far as one can ski, I mean, see. Well, both.

Suzuka Circuit 2004 - The 2000 GT meet   Apr 6, 2005   [Total:7]

At the end of 2004 I was fortunate enough to be invited along to the end of the year celebration by Toyota at Suzuka Circuit. Along with all their racing vehicles of 2004, there was a big selection of racing vehicles from their past as well. This event also hosted the largest gathering of the original Japanese sports car, the 2000 GT - probably first seen by most people worldwide in the old James Bond classic, You Only Live Twice.