On the top of the bubble economic system, Japan was not like the rest on the planet – its metropolis skyline gleamed with the promise of limitless prosperity, and its streets pulsed with the electrical vitality of a nation on the point of an unprecedented future.
For a lot of, Tokyo represents that golden period – a metropolis remodeled by an explosion of inhabitants, infrastructure, and innovation within the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. And nothing embodies the bubble period fairly like Akihabara Electrical City. It’s the essence of Japan’s leap to world dominance in electronics manufacturing.
I’ve needed to shoot on this neon-drenched nook of Akihabara ever since I noticed Mark’s images of Junya-san’s WRC Impreza again in 2018. After I began speaking to the proprietor of this FD3S, Ayato-san, I knew it was the proper automotive for the job.
Sprawling electronics megastores and recreation arcades line the Electrical City streets. Outdoors, cosplay women tout each harmless and questionable companies – a mirrored image of Japan’s outward modesty masking a devilish, behind-closed-doors tradition.
I bear in mind my first go to to Akihabara – stepping out of the JR station was an awesome sensory expertise. The streets buzzed with vitality, and J-Pop pumped from each retailer with an unexplainable politeness. Regardless of residing right here for 5 years now, I hadn’t been again to Electrical City since that first go to. This time – at 9:00pm on a Sunday – it felt quieter. Friday nights could also be livelier, however there was one thing about it – it appeared just like the get together was over. It’s 2024, in spite of everything, and Japan’s financial bubble has been deflated for over 30 years.
So, what automotive may match this location? It has to scream ‘peak Japan.’ A Skyline GT-R? A Toyota Supra? Too apparent. Sure, the GT-R is the epitome of Japanese automotive design and mechanical excellence – however its iconic standing worldwide has made it a bit too… vanilla. It’s nonetheless Japanese at coronary heart, nevertheless it’s not quintessentially so.
For me, the FD3S Mazda RX-7 is the true Japanese sports activities automotive.
Compact, stunning, with a timeless design and an progressive (if barely bonkers) rotary engine – it’s like nothing else on the planet. And Ayato-san’s RX-7 hits the mark. It completely mirrors Japan’s rise and fall as probably the most futuristic, probably the most eccentric and superior automotive business of its time.
The bottom automotive is a Collection 6 Kind RZ, certainly one of solely 175 ever made, and Ayato-san is its second proprietor. However what actually units this uncommon FD aside is the physique package it wears.
That is the 97GT wide-body package designed by RE Amemiya for its 1997 Tokyo Auto Salon FD3S demo automotive (pictured above). Solely two kits have been made earlier than it was deemed too costly for mass manufacturing. We don’t know the whereabouts of the demo automotive – nevertheless it was both repurposed or scrapped – so Ayato-san’s 97GT package is more likely to be the one surviving instance.
The RE Amemiya 97GT demo automotive featured a naturally aspirated 20B three-rotor peripheral ported engine with MoTeC administration, backed up by a Supra 6-speed transmission. Ayato-san’s automotive continues to be powered by its unique 13B-REW engine. Nonetheless, it’s now bridge-ported and has traded its twin sequential turbochargers for an enormous single HKS GTIII-4R. With 400PS on faucet, it will get alongside very properly, and its titanium exhaust system, made by RE Amemiya in collaboration with Ito Syokai, ensures that its ported pulse is heard loud and clear.
I’m undecided if it was Ayato-san’s neo-goth aesthetic that influenced me, however the second I noticed his automotive parked in Electrical City, I couldn’t assist however consider H.R. Giger’s designs for Alien. The sculpted rear bumper and natural curves of the fender cutaways resemble the armoured physique of an alien insect from a distant galaxy.
So, the place on earth did Ayato-san discover this uncommon piece of Japanese tuning historical past? Yahoo! Auctions Japan, in fact. The RX-7 sporting the package was lined in moss and prepared for the scrapyard, however Ayato-san took a big gamble, hoping a storage may efficiently restore and refit the 97GT aero on his freshly acquired Kind RZ.
In the end, the specialist work was carried out by Matsuda Automobile Physique. The package required some fibreglass restore, however care was taken to not alter its unique form.
Initially, Ayato-san ran the package’s unique rear wing and the identical 17-inch RE Amemiya AW-7 wheels seen on the demo automotive, however he’s since modified up the look with just a few modern touches. The FD sits on Desmond RegaMaster EVO II wheels – 18×10-inch +15 throughout – whereas the entrance bumper has been fitted with a carbon fibre splitter and canards. The enormous rear wing continues to be an RE Amemiya piece, however this time of GT300 design.
I typically marvel what Japan would appear to be at present if its economic system had continued on its futuristic trajectory after 1991. When you’d requested a vacationer in 1990 what Akihabara Electrical City would possibly appear to be in 2024, they’d most likely have described one thing out of Blade Runner 2049. However the fact is, Japan peaked within the ’90s, and issues haven’t modified as drastically as we’d hoped. ASIMO now appears like a Tamagotchi in comparison with the humanoids being constructed by Boston Dynamics.
Geoeconomics are past our management, and Japanese automotive giants like Mazda, Subaru, Toyota, and Nissan are at their mercy. We will’t change the previous, however we will maintain driving it – simply as Ayato-san is doing together with his 97GT Mazda RX-7.
Toby Thyer
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