This looks like a Lamborghini Miura Jota SVR, but it’s not a Lamborghini Miura Jota SVR. It’s not a replica, or a kit car. It wasn’t made with revolutionary and dangerous shrink ray technology. It’s simply the work of a man who grew up dreaming of owning a Miura Jota SVR, but it was always just out of his reach. So he…
My search for the best driving roads in Japan hasn’t gone quite as well as I had hoped. So far the biggest problem I’ve faced was traffic getting to the roads themselves. When I went to the Hakone Turnpike in the MX-5 Miata RF it was raining, but that’s not really a deal breaker as it was quite fun in the wet. Going…
Every now and then there’ll be a weekend where the whole world gets together and dials its car culture all the way to 11—or in this case, seven. That’s 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 here’s what went down…
Life, as they say, is full of surprises. But how many of them are genuine? Every now and then something pops up that’ll genuinely catch you off guard. That’s 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 it’s where I…
Does your Lamborghini Miura have a wing on the roof? No. It does not. But the Lamborghini Mirua SVR does, now restored by Lamborghini Storico itself to live a full life on track in Japan, where it went from car to legend.
The Tokyo Wan Aqua-Line Expressway connects Tokyo to Chiba, and boasts a six-mile long underwater tunnel—the fourth-longest in the world. I’m driving a bright green Lamborghini Gallardo Balboni following a gold Aventador S. We’re doing, well, let’s just say literally some speed in the tunnel, when all of a sudden a…
Ask anyone where their dream driving road is and they’ll probably tell you it’s 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 wouldn’t say Japan.…
It’s happened again: A Japanese train left its station earlier than expected and the company has apologized for the inconvenience it’s caused. Twenty-five seconds earlier, to be exact, which is an utterly unacceptable figure.
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 year’s—only a lot better.
The internet at large remains obsessed with the big flick reverse entry style of drifting big in Japan with Naoki Nakamura, Team BURST and the little circuit Meihan. It always looks amazing how the cars bush up against the wall, flirting with destruction, looking like they’re about to crash. Here’s what you don’t…
At motor shows, though usually in Tokyo, automakers from Toyota to Chevy frequently unveil very tiny concepts that, they promise, will definitely be produced some time in the future. Call them pod cars. And yet we still haven’t seen one.
When I got an invitation from Yasu-san, a member of the Supercar Club of Japan, to check out “an afternoon of about 100 supercars on Fuji Speedway,” I thought about it. For about one second. How could I refuse an offer like that?
The two-class GT car series in Japan is back for a new season of incredible nose-to-tail racing, and thanks to Nissan’s efforts on YouTube, you can watch the whole race for free. The grid is packed with international talent, and the cars are incredibly prepared. With GT500 efforts from nearly every Japanese…
What do we have to look forward to in our far-flung future year of 2018, besides the sweet release of death? Nothing. To find happiness again I will take you back—back to a time of unbridled optimism, of cheerfully bizarre niche vehicles, of turbocharged world-conquering performance, of gull-winged kei cars. Let us…
Yesterday, in a speech given to donors in Missouri, President Trump had something to say about cars. And Japan. And bowling balls. Specifically, he suggested that, in Japan, they like to drop bowling balls on cars. I wish I was making this up, because it’s comedy gold. But it’s real, and the President really suggested…
In these dark times, I find it is helpful to submerge myself in a bath of liquid car-nostalgia. I forget my pain and my troubles by going back to an era when people wanted nothing more than two doors, a silky smooth inline-six engine, plush leather seats, and extremely questionable business models. Friend, let’s go…
When McLaren Japan offered me a 570S Spider to drive for a few days, I knew I had to take it somewhere special. This wasn’t some boring kei car—this was a car that needed to be taken on some proper roads. It would almost be blasphemy to only drive in a congested city.
You probably haven’t heard of the the Nostalgic2days show before. It’s not a big international motor show like the Tokyo Motor Show, and it’s not as crazy as the automotive circus that is the Tokyo Auto Salon. Despite flying under the radar for some time, the Nostalgic2days show celebrated its 10th anniversary this…
New Zealand’s auto industry is short approximately 18,000 cars this month after shipments of Japanese imports had to be put on hold because the boats were full of dangerous stink bugs.
