If you need a car-related reason to come to Japan for a week or so, the Tokyo Auto Salon is one of the best events to plan a trip around. Not only is it one of the most entertaining car shows in the world, the weather in January isnât even too bad. Itâs certainly better than the horrendously humid summers Japan gets.âŚ
I can honestly say thereâs no show quite like the Tokyo Auto Salon. There are other tuner shows like SEMA and the Essen Motor Show, but the TAS has its very own and unique style. When the rest of the world is oohing and aah-ing over the latest tech and the latest trucks, this unmistakably Japanese show is where thingsâŚ
Controversial Japanese tuner Liberty Walk wanted to make an impact.
Without the crowds, without the âbooth babesâ, without the hustle and bustle, the Tokyo Auto Salon is a gorgeous affair comprised of everything from widebody Porsches to drift cars to body kits for Civic hatchbacks. Itâs an incredible display of incredible cars, and Iâve personally always wanted to attend. (Update: âŚ
While weâre prepping for the Detroit Auto Show over here, the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon is underway. If youâre in the area, you should make a beeline for Subaruâs booth, because there is some truly awesome stuff there.
Itâs that time of the year. A fortnight hasnât even passed to give us time to recover from the New Year meets, we now have the grand circus that is the Tokyo Auto Salon weekend and the craziness surrounding it. While North America prepares for the first big âproperâ motor show in Detroit, Japan continues the wildâŚ
Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin have recently shown off ultra high-strung Formula 1-style roadgoing supercars. Theyâre fine. But Toyotaâs Gazoo Racing just debuted the GR Super Sport Concept, and itâs better. Instead of being F1-inspired, Gazooâs âroad car concept modelâ is based off its 24 Hours of Le Mans program.âŚ
The Tokyo Auto Salon happens this week too, and with it comes an STI version of the Subaru Viziv Performance Concept. Hereâs a teaser. Letâs hope the wing is adequately huge.
So we didnât get a new Toyota Supra at any of the auto shows in 2017, and it doesnât appear to be coming to the Detroit show next month either. At this point Iâm all but convinced it exists only internally so Toyota employees can rip burnouts as a stress-relief exercise. But! Something interesting and unexpected isâŚ
The Lexus LC is already a vision of excellence, the most badass Lexus since the LFA, the car we willed into existence, a Japanese Aston Martin. Now we can expect it to get even better, as Car and Driver reports. Twin-turbo F version 600 horsepower better.
Letâs be honest, the Tokyo Auto Salon isnât exactly known for its high number of classic vehicles. Instead itâs known for all the utter insanity of its modification. When a classic shows up, it sticks out. And the WWork rich blue Triumph TR3A is a Rembrandt at a hipster modern art gallery.
In 2016, it was disappointing to see the very few Honda vehicles at Tokyo Auto Salon. And, it has to be admitted, I still have a great deal of disappointment that so few â90s Hondas like Civics, CRXs, and Preludes showed up at 2017, too. However, a number of modified S660s, Hondaâs tiny kei car roadster, wereâŚ
The lone Abarth at Tokyo Auto Salon proudly displays its Italian loyalty.
Corazon isnât a well-known player in the Japanese aftermarket world, but the Subaru parts company brought the glitz and glimmer to Tokyo Auto Salon. Not content to just add aero features and ground effects to their show pieces, they gave them the appearance of etched stainless steel. The effect looks like it just flewâŚ
Toyota Gazoo Racing 86/BRZ in Bridgestone Livery in the Potenza booth at Tokyo Auto Salon.
The new Toyota C-HR is meant to take on the Honda HR-V and other dull little crossover/hatchbacks around the globe. Itâs not an interesting type of car, and Toyota must know itâthe company modified the hell out of a bunch of C-HRs at the Tokyo Auto Salon this year.
Every year at Tokyo Auto Salon, the students of Nihon Automotive College build some pretty crazy customs. And one of the things they seem especially good at is making tiny cars into versions of other cars that werenât originally so tiny. This year, a Suzuki Cappuccino became a mini Mazda RX-7.
Last year at Tokyo Auto Salon, Lexus had a pretty large booth that mimicked some kind of Nordic dance club bar one might see in Oslo or Stockholm, all white and glass and steel, with flashing lights, dancers, and Lexus staffers in thin, crisp reflective suits. This year? Carbon fiber race cars. Thatâs it.
Itâs not terribly surprising that Nissan would bring a NISMO GT-R to the Tokyo Auto Salon, but it was somewhat of a surprise that most of Nissanâs booth was NISMO. Including a NISMO Fairlady Z, a NISMO Juke, and a NISMO March!
A reader recently inquired on the initial Tokyo Auto Salon 2017 post about if any vendors from China were present, and if so, how bad were they? Well... the answers are âyesâ and âpretty pathetic.â
