Tokyo Auto Salon 2017 – Part 4

Lots of goodies in part 4 for Galen’s first day at TAS… PS – still got another few sets to go!

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I need me one of the new Corvettes…

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Quad tip on a SARD-fitted FRS

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A wicked GT Lexus LC500 with a large carbon print pattern all over.

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Lexus, you win.

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beside it – the Lexus RC-F GT

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Toyota Crown in the Work Wheels booth with classic Emitz

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Much VIP…

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S-Class coupe

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Pikachu Lambo… Of course…

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Custom widebody/matte Datsun with a chassis-mounted wing

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I love the look of the Datsun 240’s. Classic body but still holds a very modern presence.

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Real JDM parking only. lol Varis Kamikaze GTR with a mini-me beside it

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BN Sports RX7

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Right beside a BN Sports GTR

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The duo in red look mighty fine together…

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The Old & New 911 Slant-nose facelifted Porsche was there too…

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Personally not a huge fan but super innovative to bring oldschool and newschool together. My main gripe is the removal of some awesome headlights and replacing them with big foglights.

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Me no like. Looks like a frog… bumper is too plain…

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Slammed Merc A180 in the T-Demand booth…

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And one of my favourites from T-Demand is this GS350.

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Outfitted with full T-Demand suspension and BBK. Absolutely amazing. Those of you that are familiar with the VIP scene in particular already know the high level of quality of T-Demand products and the price tag that comes along with it. Many of their cars are static, but they also provide air suspension options – with an equally amazing controller/remote that they’ve  recently developed.

When I had the LS460, I was looking into possible control arm options and T-Demand was one of an extremely select few (I believe there was only one other option at the time) that provided an option, but with a $2k price tag on arms alone…

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Crazy aero on this Advan/Yokohama S15 GT

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Better shot of the sides

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That splitter…

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Top Secret GTR

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RH9 FRS

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A shot of the front portion of the Top Fuel S2000 on aggressive Advan GT’s

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Waooooooo

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Chargespeed GTR

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Not a huge fan of Chargespeed design but I suppose there are more terrible options…

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That’s a wrap for part 4 of TAS! I’ll go through the rest of Galen’s photos shortly and get the pics that haven’t been posted put up… Keep checking in!

Tokyo Auto Salon 2017 – Part 3

Oh man! Sorry for the delay in part 3! Got caught up over the weekend trying to get a bunch of stuff in order for our trip in April. Nonetheless – there are still a bunch of photos to go through – Galen uploaded a “day 2” at TAS that isn’t part of my 4 part series. I’ll be uploading those shortly after, and then there is still the Stickydiljoe meet coverage that he also got some snaps of…
Without further ado…

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An awesome K-Break widebody LS460. Although the LS460 was a regretful purchase, I still have a soft spot somewhere in my heart for them…

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Hanging Motul F1 car

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Sorry – no idea what this is. A concept car of some sort – looks like a mix of a CRZ with the S660 and Audi lol

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Widebody Prius from Fledermaus. The new gen Prius’ are amazing with aero.

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Some shots of the new Civic Type R

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I loved it at first, but I’m not sure of some of the angles. It’s hit or miss. The rear is definitely amazing but the side profile reminds me of the GR-STI – nice but also slightly unpleasinging…

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Epson GT NSX

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VIP LS460 in the Weds booth sporting the Kranze wheel line

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Imagine seeing this on the road…

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New Aimgain widebody GT-R

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Right beside the Aimgain GT widebody NSX

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I dig. Except fro the red wheels… But I dig…

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Also the new LS460 and Aimgain GT widebody kit.

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I’m not a huge fan of Maserati’s other than the Gran Turismo, but the new Levante with a widebody and huge brakes is amazeballs.

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Classic Ferrari F40

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Pagani Huayra

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Wat

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Porsche 911 GT3 with a chassis-mounted wing and cargo box spanning across it and the roof.

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Slammed Miata in the Lynx booth

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S660 wearing similar livery and colours

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Lexus IS in the Novel booth

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Wild Mercedes GEL in the Hamann booth – all black everything.

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Widebody GLA.

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Of course there’s a mustang at TAS and of course it has front bumper lighting. Matches all the trucks and their lightbars…

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Widebody R8… I dig the naked front grill.

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There’s too much money…

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Part 3 finish!

Tokyo Auto Salon 2017 – Part 2

Part 2! By the way, there are 4 total parts to this in case you’re wondering… Galen snapped 300-something pics so like always, I have to split them out so I don’t overload my homepage lol.

Let’s begin!

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Decided to start part 2 off with the new Varis Kamikaze FRS that debuted at TAS.

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I was excited when I saw Varis post their work in progress on the Kamikaze FRS but was very underwhelmed when I saw the completed result. Varis did a great job with the Kamikaze GTR and everything flowed well. On the FRS, it looks pieced together in a hurry. It essentially builds upon their existing widebody kit – no panels, fenders, bumpers have changed. Up front they’ve added on an aggressive splitter and canard combo extending it another 5-6 inches. The hood has been updated – although I much prefer their old design.

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Out back, they’ve created an extremely aggressive carbon diffuser with a single center-exit exhaust. Again, it’s tacked on top of the existing rear bumper with the center portion cut out – essentially removing the 4th brake light in the middle. It’s very Time-Attack-esque but doesn’t feel well-rounded to me. I imagine any existing owner of the Varis kit would have to do some extra work to rid themselves of their old exhaust and find a new one to work with the diffuser – much like the Amuse S2000 rear bumper.

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A better view of the rear diffuser set up. Nothing has changed on the sides.

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The last addition to the Kamikaze FRS is the Kamikaze swan neck GT wing. The same one you see on the Kamikaze GTR and 370Z. Of all the GT wings, I think Varis produces my least favourite design. Again – it’s more track-style than street-style… But still a nice design.

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BMW M2 on bronze TE37’s

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Mazda CX-3 and Miata in the Knight Sports booth.

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No comment.

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Porsche 911 GT3 on awesome center lock Advan GT’s made specifically for the GT3 and a chassis-mounted GT wing. Lots of “GT” in that sentence…

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Front shot…

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Another beauty in the Advan booth was this RX7

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Crazy looking GT wing with ‘devil’ ends and various supporting elements.

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Up front and a better shot of the RS-DF’s

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I think I’m falling in love with blue cars…

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GTR on Advan GT’s in the Kansai Service booth

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Another S660 in the Kansai Service booth. Maybe I am liking it…

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A shot inside.

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Another “no comment”.

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Another M2 on Advan RS-DF’s

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Porsche Cayman on Advan GT’s

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Orange RB RX7

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Over in the Pandem/Tra Kyoto booth for you wide body lovers… An M3 on TE37SL’s

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Porsche Cayman fitted with the Pandem kit

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With a crazy rear set up. I dig.

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Pandem 240Z in red. I think I like red cars too now…

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Front shot of the earlier M3

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The new R32 Pandem kit which I believe debuted at TAS as well. It’s a fairly clean kit with minimal deviation from the stock body lines. The front fenders, doors, and rear quarters all line up nicely. I think this would look fantastic if it was molded in.

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The front of the Cayman – also very aggressive and clean looking. I dig the canards.

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And finally the new V3 Rocket Bunny FRS kit in white. Each RB kit gets more aggressive than the last… I wonder when V4 is coming out? lol

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Cayman in the KW Suspension booth on BBS FI ($$$)

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Wild FRS fitted with Rocket Bunny from RS-R.

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The underside of a Cusco/Fujitsubo fitted FRS. I’m not going to lie, I want every Cusco piece for the FRS eventually but I question some of the bars that look to just be there because they found a spot they could connect something…

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At the Vertex booth – lots of new additions to their wheel line up. This Fatlace collaboration in suede.

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Lots of crazy designs now – lots has evolved from their 5/10 star designs.

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I guess it coincides with their cars’ livery…

But, we end it here for part 2! I’ll be working on part 3 some time tomorrow so I hope to get that up for Friday. Stay tuned!

Tokyo Auto Salon 2017 – Part 1

Time to get started on TAS coverage from Galen! One of my favourite things about TAS is the uniqueness of it and how there is such an abundance of difference. It’s obviously something we won’t ever get here because there just isn’t enough brand awareness here for “local” shops. Most shops in North America are retailers for the big brands we get to see at TAS, and if there are original shops in North America, they are so few and far between that they wouldn’t be able to hold a massive show to showcase their creations.

TAS is huge for us because it showcases all the great, the weird, the outlandish, and the not-as-cool-as-I-thought ideas from everyone from the big hitters like Varis, Liberty Walk, and Volk/Rays to the displays of new concepts like the Civic Type R, F1 cars, and everything in-between. Things you’ll only see at either a car show put on by a vendor with public cars or at an auto show for the stock lovers. In a sense, TAS is the show that sets a new standard for our scene here by showcasing new ideas, we slowly learn to evolve to take it on… But that’s just me complaining a bit because I can’t go and I have to enjoy through Galen’s photos.  Let’s get started shall we…

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In no particular order… Aston Martin Racing with a V12 Vantage

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INGS+1 kitted FRS on TE37SL’s. I was fully expecting a GT wing on this…But I’m biased.

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Honda S660 – something we don’t get here… But not sure if I would be interested personally.

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FRS on bronze ZE40’s beside a GTR in the Wing Takeo booth

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An aggressive S660 in the Top Fuel booth sitting on Advan RZII’s with an Endless BBK peeping through.

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I have a soft spot in my hear for Toyota Crowns – mainly because we don’t get it and if I could do VIP all over again, it would be with this. I wish the hood was down on this one so you could see the front bumper better. It’s like they incorporated the new GS-F front in with the Lexus front fascia coming through. A nice combination of new gen and older gen.

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More from the Aston Martin Racing booth. Crazy diffuser set up.

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One of the crazier cars from the shots Galen took was this Liberty Walk C63 AMG on Airrex suspension.

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The rear is not as crazy as the front with the splitter set up, but still very aggressive with the trunk lip.

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Close up of the trunk lip.

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Perfect fitment under the LB fender flares.

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Awesome rear quarter shot of the whole car laying on the ground.

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Close up of the 3SDM wheels in matte/gloss black

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BMW M4 and M2 on display at the 3D design booth. I love the new M2’s a lot. The new BMW lineup almost looks practically the same from the 3 series, 5 series, and 7 series – it’s very subtle differences IMO. the only models that stand out a bit more is the 2 series and 6 series. I get that they want similar appearances, but come on BMW – it’s like you got lazy.

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The new Bentley Bentayga in the Mansory booth. Not a huge fan… I mean, there are a ton of SUV’s a lot nicer than this one aesthetically, but what do I know, I’m just a peasant.

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Crazy futuristic looking Audi TT – sort of looks like the Audi’s from Minority Report or i, Robot.

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Gangster mobile – Mercedes G500. I think the rear could use some updating…

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But I love the front end

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Blast from the past! A fairly toned down AE86 Trueno sits in a sea of wild cars. Still an amazing car to look at though…

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Wide bodied S15 from Super Made.

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A view under the hood.

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Some artwork from Rowen

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Can’t imagine what this piece costs for the Ferrari 458 in titanium… More than you can afford pal, that’s for sure.

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And a display of a Rowen quad tip exhaust system for the STI.

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Red Bull/Formula Drift RX7 in the Gram Lights booth showcasing their new wheels – 57CR, I believe. I like these wheels – they’re eerily similar to Advan GT’s/TC’s but likely at a more attainable price.

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Civic Type R – I’ll say it this one time – I don’t like a GT wing on this. lol

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I love this gen Type R a lot – I would’ve gotten this over the FRS if this was available in NA…

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Better angle. Nice colour combo 🙂

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10th Gen Civic showcasing the underside

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Blitz FRS

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At first, I was really unsure about the Blitz widebody but now that i see it without livery and decals, it looks super aggressive and has decent lines. I’m surprised more people haven’t done this set up – it’s a lot better than Rocket Bunny… Or perhaps I’ve just seen too much RB…

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The new NSX on display…

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Another S660 in the Noblesse X Mirareed booth.

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Another creation from Kuhl Racing – well known for their fully hand carved FRS and GTR’s in gold and silver. Now with a wild design on the hood of an R34

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I love R34’s in this colour though – if I ever got a car with a colour, it’d be this blue.

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And to add to that fully hand carved/etched theme – they’ve added an STI to the collection.

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Super crazy, and I totally respect the work and hours gone into this but man, I don’t know if I’d ever be seen rocking it… _dsc4140

On the other side, you have – you guessed it – my favourite van of all time – the Toyota Vellfire also carved/etched out.

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I’m telling you guys – if this ever came to NA, I’d own this van so fast. This and the Alphard are two vans that are such good designs both inside and out – I don’t know why they aren’t here. Likely due to the very aggressive styling and the worry it won’t catch on here… But look at the new Sienna – Toyota took the risk with a sportier and more aggressive look and it turned out to be a very popular design.

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A better view from the side.

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T/A RX7 in aggressive RE Amemiya aero

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Perhaps aggressive is an understatement with this massive custom chassis-mounted Voltex wing.

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Exedy Lotus on Volk ZE40’s. Every wheel Volk makes looks good on every car. Too awesome.

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Varis FRS on copper wheels

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A very clean example of a wide-bodied Integra on aggressive TE37v’s

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Not overly wide, but aggressive enough IMO

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A shot of the rears

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Rear quarters remind me slightly of an R32. It kind of takes away from the clean body lines of the DC2, but it works.

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Ending it here for today! More TAS coverage coming tomorrow! Sorry, it’s taking a while – write ups take some time between baby, work, and sleep LOL!