Every now and then thereâll be a weekend where the whole world gets together and dials its car culture all the way to 11âor in this case, seven. Thatâs what 7s Day is; a giant celebration of Mazda rotary engines on the weekend of July 7 and 8 that happens in many cities, including New York. But hereâs what went downâŚ
I like museums as much as the next guy. Yes, even the ones with paintings of people who are most likely dead now and dinosaur skeletons. Itâs a glimpse into artifacts from a bygone era and usually one of the few opportunities to see rare and exciting things. Sometimes they can be quite surprising, and also indicativeâŚ
In a country with a rich automotive history as Italy, there are bound to be some special automotive museums scattered around the place. On my last trip to Italy I went to some of the more obvious ones such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Pagani. This trip I was in search of some lesser known museums. And located in theâŚ
Quite literally around the corner from Italyâs Zagato, in the same Arese industrial complex, in an equally unassuming building is Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Much like their neighbors Touring, is an independent run coachbuilder. The difference is at first glance Touring appears to be a much smaller operation,âŚ
If thereâs one thing I learned on my recent trip to Italy, itâs that style matters. Looking good is more important than looking where youâre going. So itâs no wonder the storied art of coachbuildingâcreating customized bodies for carsâis still well and truly alive in the nondescript town of Arese, Northern Italy. HereâŚ
Life, as they say, is full of surprises. But how many of them are genuine? Every now and then something pops up thatâll genuinely catch you off guard. Thatâs the case with my recent drive on the Akagi touge, or officially known as the Joumo-Sanzan Panorama Highway, in the 2018 Honda Civic Type R. And itâs where IâŚ
The Tokyo Wan Aqua-Line Expressway connects Tokyo to Chiba, and boasts a six-mile long underwater tunnelâthe fourth-longest in the world. Iâm driving a bright green Lamborghini Gallardo Balboni following a gold Aventador S. Weâre doing, well, letâs just say literally some speed in the tunnel, when all of a sudden aâŚ
Ask anyone where their dream driving road is and theyâll probably tell you itâs somewhere in Europe. Perhaps somewhere near the Alps, or that one road in Romania that was on Top Gear with the impossibly long name. Some might say the Pacific Coast Highway in California or Route 66. But most probably wouldnât say Japan.âŚ
Villa dâEste brings up all those romantic images of Italy. The villa itself is 145 years old and surrounded by a private park and overlooks Lake Comoâyou know, the place where George Clooney has a house. Itâs all very fancy like and the perfect place for a âcompetition of elegance,â a Concours dâElegance, if youâŚ
In Japan, the festival for all things cars at the foot of Mount Fuji is quickly becoming one of the must-see events on the motoring calendar, right up there with the Tokyo Auto Salon and the Suzuka Sound of Engine. That event, the Motor Fan Festa, was a lot like last yearâsâonly a lot better.
Following all the cars I saw on the road in Melbourne and beyond, I had some time to kill after the Pagani rally wrapped up. So in between sightseeing and visiting some art galleries, I went around some of the showrooms in the city. As great as it was to see some of the local culture out in the wild, the best stuffâŚ
Australia: home to some of the weirdest and most dangerous animals in the world, kangaroo-proofing for SUVs, and the worldâs largest supplier of Hemsworths. For a country with as much land and space as Australia thereâs one thing theyâve been short onâPaganis. Before this year the total number of Paganis in AustraliaâŚ
What comes to mind when you think of Australia? Kangaroos, summer in December and doing the Locomotion, perhaps? For those not in the know, the car scene is probably not something that comes to mind. But after spending a week in Melbourne recently I found out itâs more than just utes and V8sâitâs just mostly utes andâŚ
Have you ever seen a Tasmanian Tiger? Probably not. Neither have I, and thatâs because theyâre extinct. I didnât know these even existed at all until my recent trip to Australia, where I also got to know another extinct beast a little bit better: the Holden HSV GTS.
When I got an invitation from Yasu-san, a member of the Supercar Club of Japan, to check out âan afternoon of about 100 supercars on Fuji Speedway,â I thought about it. For about one second. How could I refuse an offer like that?
Itâs an usually warm spring day in Tokyo. After a few days of winter refusing to relinquish the cold weather, we suddenly experienced temperatures in the high teens, or the mid-60s if Fahrenheit is your jam. Either way, Iâm standing at an intersection in the Tsukiji district of Tokyo, famous for having the worldâsâŚ
For all intents and purposes, the Subaru 2018 Levorg is a WRX wagon. Itâs built on the same platform as the WRX, shares the same 300 horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four engine, has the same all-wheel drive system and is available with the same Lineartronic continuously variable transmission. Yet unlike theâŚ
Subaru showed off the handsome VIZIV Tourer Concept at this yearâs Geneva Motor Show, hinting at a future WRX wagon. The level of excitement was appropriate, but thereâs already a WRX wagon of sorts for sale todayâthe Subaru Levorg. Well, for sale if you live in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, South Africa andâŚ
When McLaren Japan offered me a 570S Spider to drive for a few days, I knew I had to take it somewhere special. This wasnât some boring kei carâthis was a car that needed to be taken on some proper roads. It would almost be blasphemy to only drive in a congested city.
Itâs no secret Japanâs supercar owners like to do things differently. Whether itâs sticking riveted over-fenders on Porsches or turning or Lamborghinis into LED displays on wheels, these people have no limits. But every now and then youâll get someone who tops the rest for sheer ridiculousness, and thatâs exactly whatâŚ
