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'Produced by Rough World, Crazy Performance,' That's what the rear of Nojima's business card reads. I'm standing in front of a small workshop that over the last few years has [...]

Kobayashi-san, the owner of this time-attack-oriented GT-R, has done what every car enthusiast out there dreams of doing--building their dream project car. What probably differentiates him from you and me [...]

It may be a relatively small market these days but Masamichi Uwabo and team at Abflug have certainly cornered a big slice of it. When it comes to custom body [...]

Kyoto is Japan's culture capital. Spared from damage during the second World War, it's home to many ancient shrines and temples, from the main ones located in the city's center, [...]

When it comes to cars, Junya Watanabe is a hard man to please. Despite owning a Lexus LS460 as a daily driver, the owner of Rocky Auto has little interest [...]

While Nobuteru Taniguchi and team HKS dropped out of the whole D1-GP thing a couple of years back, they never actually halted the development of their drift machines. With Nob [...]

With a name like Yellow Shark you can pretty much imagine the fierce performance this particular R34 demo car offers. When we heard from Sawa-san, the man behind Auto Select, [...]

Ichishima-san of Spoon Sports doesn't seem so fussed. He's confident Honda is at a crossroads right now and knows that whatever performance cars it will come up with in the [...]

We've all seen one on the street. The R35 GT-R is nothing short of a true supercar, fusing blistering performance with an instantly recognizable shape. By no means does the [...]

Modesty. It's something that reigns prevalent in Japan, and is a refreshing attribute to see for those coming from the Western world. It's what makes the whole country and culture [...]

Site: Shimotsuma, Japan Now in its 21st year, the Rev Speed Super Lap Battle has become one of the most definitive Japanese tuning race events. Every year, demo cars that [...]

The Tokyo Bay Aqualine is probably one of the most ambitious and expensive projects that has ever been undertaken by the Japanese, taking a total of 31 years to complete [...]

Competition couldn't be fiercer right now among rotary shops in Japan. Time-attack has helped forge names of rotary specialists like Pan Speed, RE-Amemiya, R-Magic, and (especially, as of late--flip to [...]

The Tokyo Auto Salon is a cultivation of everything Japanese in the automotive world, where enthusiasts get a taste of parts, trends and styling to come. TAS is also a [...]

What is it that makes it so hard to move on? Human nature definitely has something to do with it--we look toward the future, but ifs very hard for us [...]

The little Datsun 510 has always been a favorite among lovers of Japanese classics, a car that we may as well consider the Toyota AE86 of the 1970s. With a [...]

Electronics are an unavoidable component of modern world cars. Technology has helped push boundaries In countless areas, increasing both performance and safety. While purists will continue to sustain the notion [...]

Since the R35's release, two very distinct schools of thought have formed in Japan. Those who follow trends maniacally have bought into the new-generation GT-R, accepting the prohibitive costs of [...]

The sun hasn't even peeked above the horizon as I'm slicing through some of Japan's most demanding mountain roads. Hakone is a popular tourist destination, but it isn't the relaxing [...]

Most people outside of Japan probably haven't heard of Pro Stock Racing yet. It's only been in business for three years, but in that short time frame it has established [...]

It's truly incredible what you can find in Japan if you dig deep enough. Away from the big established shops everyone knows, there is a multitude of tiny local garages [...]

Hitting 300 km/h (that's 186 mph in American talk) along the Fuji Speedway main straight is no easy feat. It's one of those bragging rights that can only be earned, [...]

Yes, you may have seen this car before, but never quite like this. It's been nearly five years since this RX-7 last competed, managing to dip into the elusive 55-second [...]

The track represents a different place for different people. Professional drivers see it as their office, the place they go to everyday to test and race with their teams with [...]

Whereas the American prerogative has nearly always been to intimidate and out-muscle enemies, defeating competitors with brute force, the Japanese have been known to topple their foe with planning, patience, [...]

Exotic composite materials and billet aluminum would never be things one would associate with classic cars, but for Watanabe-san of Rocky Auto, these words are music to his ears, Forget [...]

Professional racecar drivers usually get to plow around in some pretty interesting company cars from the manufacturers they're affiliated with, be it luxurious sedans or top-of-the-line sports cars. The more [...]

The engine in Yamamoto-san's R34 feels smooth and refined at tow rpm, pulling strongly from as low as 2,000 rpm all the time sounding refined and somewhat muffled. But needless [...]

This is not the first time I've found myself sitting shotgun with Kitabayashi-san of Pentroof. A few years ago he terrified me on this same stretch of road, adjacent to [...]

JUN is back on the offensive for 2010! With the world taking an ever-increasing interest in time-attack, they've just completed an extensive rebuild of one of their most legendary machines. [...]

When Toyota created a luxury coupe in 1991, nobody knew it would become such a cult classic. In Japan it took years for the big JZZ30 to lose value and [...]

For years now, the popular video series Hot Version has been pitting some of Japan's most highly tuned cars against each other. Sponsored touge battles held at the narrow Gunsai [...]

It all started back in 2008 when HKS held a unique event at Fuji Speedway to celebrate its 25th anniversary, giving birth to the now annual Premium Day. For 2010, [...]

Honda has made some pretty harsh decisions lately. Dropping out of F1 and abandoning development of the potential replacement for the legendary NSX has been met with gross resentment by [...]

Tsukuba SLB Lap Time: 57.963 seconds Anyone who has an ounce of interest in the JDM world will know how important Tsukuba Circuit is to the Japanese. The little track [...]

Tsukuba SLB Lap time: 58.368 seconds There are a few noteworthy players who have cemented themselves as the grandfathers of JDM, and Susumu Koyama the man who until early last [...]

FOR ANY TRUE GEARHEAD OUT THERE, DECEMBER IN JAPAN MEANS ONLY ONE thing: Super Lap Battle. This is the last event of the year, and as they say, the best [...]

In the Sept. '09 issue of Modified, we took a look at probably the most special car that Power House Amuse has ever created: the 233 380RS Superleggera, which was [...]

In order to finish first, you must first finish the race.' This is a motto Okazaki-san of OS Giken has built his successful company around. Back in the 1970s preparing [...]

Ever heard the saying, 'Appearances can be deceiving'? Check out the Impreza CZS Type-Z built by ™ Subaru tuning specialist Zero/Sports for an ex1 ample of that. You wouldn't give [...]

When Andy of Powervehicles.com moved out to Japan from Scotland, he probably had no idea he would find himself where he is today. Andy suffers from an incurable addiction to [...]

If you like subtlety and simplicity when it comes to exterior modification, now is the time to look away. What you see on these pages is one of the most [...]

When it comes to shows in Japan, nothing attracts a bigger turnout than the Tokyo Auto Salon (TAS). New product releases and high-profile show cars litter the halls of the [...]

Byline: DINO DALLE CARBONARE The electric-vehicle revolution is upon usor at least, that's what manufacturers such as Mitsubishi would like us to believe. We've had plenty of exposure to EVs, [...]

Byline: DINO DALLE CARBONARE There are times when we have to wonder whether there really is a global economic crisis; the Tokyo Special Import Show is one of those times. […]

Byline: DINO DALLE CARBONARE Thunder toward the corner, and grab the left shift paddle under hard braking. In the blink of an eye, the eight-speed transmission blips the throttle and […]

Byline: Dutch Mandel, Roger Hart, Bob Gritzinger, Dale Jewett, Jonathan Wong, Dino Dalle Carbonare Tokyo 'go' cars thumb their collective noses at environmental consciousness When automakers strayed from the earth-friendly […]

Byline: DINO DALLE CARBONARE Mugen, Honda's performance and racing arm, has just finished creating a body kit for the latest Honda CR-V. The package features a metallic front grille and […]

Byline: DINO DALLE CARBONARE We thought the ultimate Subaru Impreza was the STI S204 ("Hottest STI Ever,' Feb. 6, 2006), but we were clearly a few naming conventions short of […]

Byline: DINO DALLE CARBONARE This is it. The final Evo installment before the all-new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X arrives sometime in 2007 or early 2008. In its 14-year lifespan, this […]