They Still Make ‘Em Like They Used To: The Classics Of Essen 2021 – Speedhunters
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It’s no secret that the Essen Motor Show contains a massive variety of classics on display each year. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s one of the main factors for many visitors.
Yes, in more recent years we’ve seen an increase in those wide-arched, slammed and stanced builds, but Essen caters for all enthusiasts – from motorsport and racing through to the latest OEM models and everything modified. It’s a format that works very well, and that was certainly true of the recent 2021 event.
Spread across multiple halls at Messe Essen, there is a dedicated space for the bulk of the classics, but I’ll talk more about that shortly. Because in reality, these classics spill into the other halls as well – especially the motorsport displays. Classic racing is popular and it’s only getting bigger in Germany.
I found myself drawn to the ‘Kampf der Zwerge’ (or ‘Battle of the Dwarfs’ in English) booth. The name is a bit of a handful, and I don’t think it’s very well known on an international stage, but it absolutely should be. What it boils down to is a racing series for sub-1,300cc cars from the ’60s and ’70s. When they hit the track, you will see a whole bunch of Mini Coopers, NSU TTs, Fiat 128s and other tiny classic cars fighting it out.
Two of the standout cars for me were this blue Renault R8 Gordini and red NSU TT, the latter with a propped-open hood to cool its air-cooled engine out back. Both these cars look like a whole load of fun even when stationary.
But if you prefer your classic racing a little more serious, this is where we meet the ‘Tourenwagen Legenden’ – touring car legends, unsurprisingly. That means old DTM and STW cars aplenty, and some of the most iconic models in European motorsport history.
Various displays were scattered all over the show, but the main stand was situated in the classic hall comprising of a grid with all the cars set to compete in the series. This ranged from genuine STW and DTM cars to various replicas and cars built in the spirit of the touring cars of bygone eras.
My personal favourite? Ironically, a car that isn’t really a touring car at all, but I’ll put that down to the fact I drive a transaxle Porsche myself. To see a track-prepped 924 in the Tourenwagen Legenden display was a proper treat.
There’s just something oh so right about a 924 with a purposeful drop and sitting on wide, sticky slick tyres. Perfect.
Continuing with the classic racers, it seemed this year shifted the spotlight onto several classic Fords. Two immaculate racing Capris to be precise – one of them a more rounded, early version from 1971, and the other a bonkers box-flared beast in 1974 spec.
These are both absolute monsters that dominated race tracks all over Europe in the ’70s. Accompanying them was an equally immaculate Group 2 Escort.
Racing classics aside, the main display of classics at Essen came in the form of road-going versions. Once you entered the classic hall, you were immediately greeted by shining chrome and gleaming paint.
Most of these classics were for sale as well. This being Germany, the number of Porsches and Mercedes on display was insane – not that you could ever call that a bad thing.
Here’s where my obsession with transaxle Porsches struck again, because on one of the dealer booths I found a genuine 944 Turbo Cup car for sale. I spent a significant amount of time here, just looking at the car and imagining what it must feel like to beat it around a racetrack.
Another highlight for me was a dirty GC8 Subaru Impreza WRX which really stood out next to all the shiny, detailed cars. And the dirt is of course quite fitting for a car with such a rally heritage.
Muscle cars are always present at any given event in Germany thanks to the huge Americana scene in this country.
The two that stood out the most to me were a pair of C3 Corvettes – in red and green, respectively. I’m just a sucker for flip-up lights. I think I’d choose the green one.
More exotic classics were not far away either. Obviously you’ll find some sports cars like Ferraris and Jaguar E-Types, but how about a Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada? It’s offered for a cool 1.5m Euros (approximately US1.7m), if you’re wondering.
Even some classic movie cars were on display – and for sale, for that matter. I had my fanboy moments first when I spotted the colourful Opel Manta from the German cult film Manta Manta. It’s one of the genuine cars from the movie, wearing a Mattig wide-body and Mattig Sportstahl wheels, and is even signed by the actors. The movie is a bit silly and a bit trashy, but it’s got a real following here in Germany and I grew up watching it probably a million times.
Another movie car that hit me right in the fanboy zone was the Mad Max Interceptor. I think this was the first time that I’ve seen one of these in person, as the Ford Falcon was never sold in Europe.
Outside their dedicated hall, I stumbled upon some more classics spread throughout the show.
Three more gems could be found at the Mercedes-Benz booth – a replica of the Mercedes 300 SEL AMG 6.8 ‘Rote Sau’, and a very well preserved W202 C43 AMG – as a wagon, which just cements its understatement factor.
How about those two in your garage – the C43 as your daily and the ‘Rote Sau’ for weekend fun, eh? The last of these three gems was the C140 S600 AMG Coupe fitted with a 7.2-liter V12. Only 10 of these were built.
The Essen Motor Show is much more than just modified cars and racing – it manages to be inclusive for all kinds of petrol heads. And even if you favour a particular style or genre, you’re almost guaranteed to see something new and exciting here.
Numbers may have been down this year due to Covid restrictions, but the spirit of Essen is still very much alive and well.
At any given event, you’ll always find a select few cars that stick in your mind long after you leave. The 2021 Essen Motor Show was no different.
With the overall level of cars so high this year, my job of finding a couple to spotlight wasn’t exactly made hard. But then comes the opposite problem – which one do you chose? The answer? All of them.
Let’s start this spotlight with a focus on a bunch of cars – namely, these from Levella.
If you don’t know Levella, they’re a German tuner that started out modding high-end sports cars but nowadays mainly focuses on modern-ish classics from the ’80s and ’90s, often referred to as ‘youngtimers’. Levella showcases a lot of their work on YouTube and have made a decent name for themselves both in Germany and Europe. This was the first time I was able to see these cars in person, and boy do they deliver. They also have their own wheel line-up and each of the cars here wore them like diamond jewellery.
This Mercedes-Benz E-Class W124 sported Levella’s Retro R2 wheels on one side and their Retro R4 wheels on the other, and they fill up the arches nicely when the car’s aired out. Speaking of the arches, they’ve been cut out and rebuilt, so while they appear stock, they are actually a lot wider. The metal work was carried out by Andy Megerle, who also runs a YouTube channel to showcase his talents.
This W124 is definitely not all show. It started out as a E400, but the original V8 was removed and replaced with a 6-liter unit from an E60 AMG.
This BMW E34 5-Series received similar treatment – air suspension, new and bigger wheel arches by Andy Megerle, and Levella Retro R1 and R5 wheels on each side. Engine-wise, it’s packing a turbo BMW M50.
The Mercedes-Benz SL320 is a bit more tame: air, some fender work – not quite as extensive as the previous two cars – and just a stock engine. But it still looks absolutely brilliant.
Next up, we have a turbocharged monster: the L8-Night Motorsport Audi RS3 LMS. Producing 1,300hp at 2.5bar of boost from a heavily modified R32 engine in a full carbon body, this thing is nuts. All-wheel drive and a DSG transmission help put the power to the wheels. It’s been clocked at 321km/h on the half mile, and that was at a slightly lower boost level.
Staying with wide Audis, next up this 80 Coupe featuring a Prior Design bodykit. The car was built by JP Performance, but I have to say I wasn’t all that convinced when I saw it on their YouTube channel a while back.
But seeing it in person, boy is it something else. It takes the classic and elegant lines of the Audi Coupe and transforms it into something that looks like a worthy descendant from the mighty Ur-Quattro. A natural evolution, you might say.
Here’s a blast from the past – a VW Corrado G60 proudly wearing a Rieger GTO bodykit.
This kit was all the rage in the early ’90s, and here we have it with a modern twist. That comes in the form of air suspension and some 18-inch BBS RS wheels with low-profile tyres instead of classic 15-inch RSs wrapped in huge rubber balloons like they did it back in the day.
Next up, we have something that I know will cause a bit of controversy simply due to the camber. I for one can appreciate it, and was pretty stoked to see a Miata with a style you’d more expect to find at some shakotan meeting in Japan than sitting smack in the middle of Germany’s premier tuning show.
The pastel pink is enough on its own to grab attention, but coupled with the bodykit, the crazy camber, the huge dish on the wheels and the unmissable exhaust, I think people will either absolutely love this thing or absolutely hate it. The wheels are a touch of European classic, though, as they are vintage Tramont TY2s, if I’m not mistaken.
Let’s finish with what has to be my personal favourite of the show. I’ve always been a sucker for classy sedans and have often imagined doing something cool with an older Jaguar. This gleaming wine red XJ40 looked like it drove right out of my dreams.
Obviously bagged on some absolutely beautiful BBS RS (I mean, name a car these wheels don’t look good on, I challenge you…) it was the perfect combination of class act and modified. Just look at it. If I could’ve taken home any car from the show, this would be it – no question.
Stayed tuned for one final look at the 2021 Essen Motor Show.
As the snow blizzard grew even more intense, I stood nestled against a sodden bank. Shivering, the flash of light along the treeline and rasp of an exhaust signalled another rally car passing by, but I didn’t look.
I was cold, miserable and tired, and a turn of the head only meant an absolute onslaught of hail to the face.
Rallying in Storm Arwen, an extratropical cyclone that lashed the United Kingdom with gale-force winds, driving rain and snow, teetered on dangerous.
But this was the Roger Albert Clark (RAC) Rally – one of true great rallying adventures left anywhere in the world, so everyone just got on with it (for as long as they possibly could) in an old school motorsport kind of way. And snow in late November was always inevitable, right?
In an age of compact itineraries, the 2021 RAC Rally route bucked the trend by stretching over five days, the competitive special stages alone amounting to 313 miles (504km). That made it 50% longer than Rally Portugal, the longest event on the 2021 World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar.
All in, this was the longest single UK rally event since 1991, and the Lombard RAC of old.
While the ‘original’ RAC has morphed into Rally GB and is a Welsh-based (and hopefully soon to be Northern Irish) round of the WRC, the Roger Albert Clark is a celebration of rallying’s bygone era. Limited in one part to ‘Historic’ cars, those over 35 years old, and 2WD vehicles in the ‘Open’ section, the marathon event is as big a throwback as it is an incredible test of team and machine.
Based in the city of Carlisle, the 2021 RAC would see action in Scotland, England and Wales, with some of the most legendary gravel stages – Kielder, Kershope, Ae, Dyfant and Walters Arena – amongst a 31-stage route plan.
Running since 2004, and a bi-annual affair since 2017, the Roger Albert Clark (itself a celebration of the legendary driver who claimed RAC success in 1972 and 1976) has grown into a monster event, with an oversubscribed entry filling within days of registration. Come the rally start, 139 cars lined up.
For me, the 2021 RAC began at 1.30am on Wednesday.
This event was on my radar for a long time, and with the nature of the current world and the constant swing from restriction to restriction, it was time to just say ‘yes’ when the opportunity arose. I’d sold my Hyundai i30N the previous week, so had some surplus funds to pay for the week-long rally adventure, but that now also meant doing it from behind the wheel of my Peugeot 106 Rallye. I’ll fill you in on that experience in another post.
It was a quiet drive from home to Belfast in the middle of the night. A ferry across to the UK, followed by a wet and wild blast south through Scotland had me arriving during the rally’s frantic scrutineering.
All around, crews were busy completing final checks. Door placards and windscreen banners were being applied and one by one each car was rolled through for inspection.
Behind barriers, the crowds built. Each bonnet popped grabbed attention, a sea of the finest BDAs, Pintos and more on display for the admiring public.
Under the fluorescent lights, everything seemed to look immaculate. Fresh rally car builds, yet to feel the trauma of gravel rash across their underbodies, sat gleaming.
Navigators ran around, some looking more frantic than others, with the required paperwork. There would be a lot of paperwork over the next few days.
Thursday
When Thursday rolled around, all eyes were focused on Kershope and the opening special stages. I arrived 90 minutes before the first car was due, and watched the final strains of daylight drain away over the rolling Cumbrian hills. By 4:00pm, it was near pitch black.
With the sky clear and an array of stars visible in a way not overly familiar to a city dweller like myself, the first exhaust note reverberated through the trees. Game time.
Into a slippy square left with standing water on the inside, drivers desperately needed to scrub off speed from the fast 200m uphill straight before turn in. Mid-corner, an assault of flashlights went off all round. This felt electric on the bank, never mind in the car.
Venturing deeper into the woods as the evening passed, it felt refreshing to be so far from home, making small talk to pass the time before another exhaust note pierced the silence. This was raw, gritty and ever-so-captivating for a rally nerd like myself.
It was 10:00pm in the middle of Kielder when a screaming BDA and the searching beams of four PIAA spots cast out above the trees. Does it really get any better than this?
Friday
After a late Thursday night – the special stages finishing up near 11:00pm – it was an early start on Friday morning. Today, the rally ventured into Scotland, with the crews heading northeast to Kielder, the legendary forests on the Anglo-Scots border.
Known as Killer Kielder, the thick banks and unforgiving lanes have claimed many rallying victims over the years. An onslaught of mud, ditches, ruts, trees and all manner of weather, the area holds almost mythical status in the rally world. In the mid-morning sunshine it seemed tame, although that wouldn’t last.
First on the road each day was the sub-1,600cc class, a real oddball mix of classics. Think everything from Peugeot 205s to Lancia Fulvias, an Opel Corsa S1600 to a Rover 400 BRM and pretty much everything in between.
Cutting a swift path uphill through two tree-lined banks, it felt serene from a distance, but Friday was a test in the truest sense of the word. Eight special stages covering 170.1km (105.7mi) – that’s almost the equivalent of three Irish forestry events, but in one single day.
Keeping cars running for such a long and challenging event is a huge logistical task. Like the old days, pop-up remote service parks were a daily occurrence, while the end of every stage was lined for miles by chase and management crews. Some opted for full service-like ground sheets, while others made do with grassy roadside banks.
As the daylight began to fade, I shot across to another stage. It was here, as I made the slow climb down a bumpy forest track to the parking area, that the first wistful snowflakes began to appear. The forecast did say snow at 4:00pm; they arrived at 3.57pm. Oh joy.
I’d only ever experienced a whiteout once before on a rally, but this was different. A cutting wind whipped the damp drifts of precipitation into a frenzy, falling more erratically than the picture-postcard style winter wonderland. It didn’t settle, and drivers became extra cautious, especially through the sections requiring more commitment.
It would be but a warning. Here, on the Chirdonhead special stage, I don’t think anyone knew what lay ahead.
SS12: Bewshaugh 2 is a special stage I will never forget. It was the same location as earlier, but with just a slight change in conditions.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this story, Storm Arwen absolutely battered the area. Amazingly though, the banks remained lined with spectators.
In a forest, at night, in blizzard conditions, we stood. Masochists maybe, but this felt authentic. This was proper RAC weather, like ’73, ’93 or ’96.
I must admit though, it was not a pleasant experience. The gloves I wore lost badly to the damp quite early on, and my camera began to act up after 25 minutes. I lasted about an hour, which was enough time to see the leading 10 cars. I still had to make it back to my hotel though, and the 65-minute B-road blast in the morning ended up being a near 2.5-hour nerve-racking return ordeal.
Gale-force winds whipped across the road from all directions and the lashing snow and rain reduced visibility almost down to zero. After negotiating mile after mile of standing water and avoiding fallen trees on the road, I was relieved to arrive back in Carlisle. Others weren’t so lucky.
In the woods, mobile phone signal is nonexistent, so most of the time I lived a life disconnected from the rest of the world (again in keeping with the original RAC fantasy). It wasn’t until the next morning that I began to learn of the ongoing situation. The special stage I had been on, Bewshaugh 2, was eventually cancelled. Safety was the priority and it was getting pretty clear things weren’t great. The teams still waiting on the start line – roughly 20 of them – thought the cancellation would be the end of their night, but it turned out to be the beginning of another challenge.
Completely blocked roads meant many teams, rally officials and spectators had resigned themselves to sleeping in their vehicles. A small reprieve came when a local pub opened its doors to provide shelter for some.
Saturday & Sunday
It was near midday on Saturday when some crews returned to Carlisle, but by then a call had been made to abandon the day’s rallying.
Disappointed to now be heading north to Ae, crews got to work fixing the Kielder damage before loading up for an earlier-than-expected trip down the M6 towards Wales. I went off on a day trip to the Lake District, before eventually packing up and heading south as well.
Next morning, with the sun shining, Welsh rally fans came out in numbers. Well-known terrain for many, the roadside car park at Dyfnant stretched for nearly 2.5 miles.
Bobble hats teetered happily in a breeze tinged with log-fire smoke and the rich aroma of fried sausages. Anyone who’s been to Wales Rally GB in recent years knows the scene, but there were no WRC monsters to be seen on this day.
The RAC is, to be truthful, an absolute festival of Ford Escorts. Of the 139 starters, 95 were either Mk1s or Mk2s. The leaderboard heading to Wales was chock-full of BDA-powered Fords, with Jason Pritchard and Phil Clark holding the start in their newly-built Scott Williams car.
Behind, the chasing pack was led by the hard-charging Osian Pryce and Noel O’Sullivan, themselves bouncing back from BRC heartbreak in their VW Polo R5 the week before, and the more experienced combination of Paul Barrett and Gordon Noble.
The crowds stretched two, sometimes three-deep for hundreds of metres out of the big junctions. The ground, frozen solid in places, proved to be a real challenge for some drivers.
Over time, the ideal driving line became clear: Scandinavian flick, run the rear end wide and put the power down in an attempt to get back into a straight line as quickly as possible. It’s just the most timeless and pure driving style on gravel, and save for the odd interloper, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was 1978. Oh, and the noise. Dear god, the noise.
Such is the layout in Dyfant, the roars of screaming BDA engines lingered for three, maybe even four minutes before the Escorts they powered emerged into sight, sideways of course.
With the massive crowds, it became clear that grabbing a second stage would be a challenge, so instead I took the chance to dive into Dolgellau to catch the ‘midday service’. That name was misleading given how dark it was by the time the lead cars arrived.
Quickly, the quiet, organised awnings became hives of activity. Fresh tyres, more fuel and a cleaning rag was standard, while other team mechanics wheeled out welders and big hammers to keep their machines going.
In the air, the mood was of disbelief – event leader Jason Pritchard had gone off, thrusting Paul Barrett into the lead. Osian Pryce was pulling time with every passing stage, but the real talk was the Porsche-shaped imposter now on the podium.
Ryan Champion and Craig Thorley had led a quiet life on the event, keeping out of the Escort battle at the front in their Tuthill-built Porsche 911. No mechanical issues, just all under control – it would prove a wise strategy later on.
Someone not having such an easy ride of things was Chris Harris. A true ‘one of us’ journalist (any man with a taste for French tat and German performance metal is proper hero status) and Top Gear presenter, his RAC had been eventful. Harris slid off the road and got stuck in a ditch on the opening night, and ended up as one of the Storm Arwen-stricken crews the next. By the time the event hit Wales, Chris had had quite a ride, but credit where it’s due because he got to the end. Not even a dashboard fire could stop him.
As the night dragged on and the leading cars headed off into the forests once more, I headed south. Four long days was starting to wear me down, but at least I had a warm room to look forward to. Many bedded down for the night in cars and vans parked up in woods and lay-bys, so it almost felt like I was cheating.
Monday
The bitterly cold final morning began in South Wales. Just outside Neath, Walters Arena is another name carved into rally lore, and I made it stage-side for sunrise. The arena has become a go-to location for rally car testing and off-road pursuits, so it was a perfect place to finish off my RAC experience. While the event would stretch into the dying light of the fifth day, I had to make do with a single stage before a brisk drive to the port.
Watching nature put on its stunning morning show gave me time to stop and think about the mammoth effort that goes into organising and running a rally like this. Any event is a huge task, but to do it on this scale is crazy. The team at DeLacy MC usually have two years to organise the RAC, but Covid gave them less than six months. It explains the frantic running needed at times.
Against the wide expanses of the rolling Welsh Hills, the forest tracks criss-crossed in and out of sight below my viewing spot. I had to be tactical; there were likely better spots to seek out, but I knew I had a ferry to catch at 1:00pm, so discipline and sticking to the plan were the order of the day. That still allowed a bit of moving around and shot variety, and the three images above were all captured within 100m of each other. The ice-hardened hairpin would prove deceptively tricky for some.
In rallying, you always have to expect the unexpected, and within a few miles, on the last day of the marathon, both the first and second-placed teams bowed out of contention. Paul Barrett sent his Escort into a ditch breaking the suspension, while further back in the stage, Osian Pryce suffered a stub axle failure.
That left Ryan Champion and Craig Thorley to cruise home to victory in their Porsche 911 and claim British rallying’s ultimate crown, in doing so breaking a 15-year Ford Escort stranglehold on the Roger Albert Clark Rally title. Not bad for a ‘steady, middle of the road’ drive, but such is the epic nature of the RAC that it proved fruitful.
After six days on the road and nearly 2,000km racked up, I made it to the ferry port with six minutes to spare. The few hours more on the far side felt the longest all week, but that was the post-rally comedown.
Following the RAC was a dream list item ticked off, and it most definitely did not disappoint. Now, about the 106…
Two AE86s Pushing The Engineering Envelope – Speedhunters
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Tsutomu Miyoshi’s Mid-Engine Levin
When it came to selecting cars to spotlight at Wekfest Japan last week, I was spoilt for choice. Instinctively though, I sought out two very much function-oriented builds as my first.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against cars solely built to look good with nice wheels and perfect fitment, but I feel they like they need that little bit extra to be worthy of a closer look. It’s overall balance, where every aspect of a car stands out for excellence in both execution and function, that always grabs my attention.
Or, as in the case of Tsutomu Miyoshi’s AE86 Toyota Corolla Levin, utter over-complication.
I remember a time when swapping a 20-valve ‘Blacktop’ 4A-G was all the rage in the AE86 world, but nowadays this AE111 engine conversion could be seen as a little passè – at least if it’s just a straight swap in the bay. If you want to stand out and differentiate your car from all the other swapped Hachis out there, you need to approach things a little differently.
Miyoshi-san thought so too, hence why his AE111 4A-G is mounted where the car’s back seat once resided.
If you think about it, by taking the transversally-mounted 20-valve 4A-G and gearbox combo out of its FF home and dropping it in the back of an AE86, you are kind of simplifying your life.
OK, that might be a stretch, but doing so has allowed Miyoshi-san to forgo the modifications needed to straight swap this engine into a Hachiroku, and at the same time – and much more importantly – create a unique mid-engine Levin.
It also brought the ’80s hatchback into the new millennium by doing away with the live axle and giving it an independent rear suspension.
Outside, the Levin wears TRD-inspired overfenders, which makes it look like it’s ready to hit the AE86 N2 competition at Tsukuba against Tsuchiya in his TRD racer and Tec-Art’s in their wild purple dry-sumped monster.
How the new engine and transmission positioning will impact handling isn’t yet known, but with the radiator still in the front and a fuel cell taking the original place of the motor, I’d imagine this is an aspect Miyoshi-san has spent some time getting right.
Seeing as the transmission tunnel has been made redundant, the Levin’s original floor was cut out and replaced with a flat sheet of metal, and the driving position relocated to just off center, which I’m assuming was done to counterbalance the weight of the engine/gearbox assembly.
As you have probably gathered, this is still very much a work in progress and as such nothing is really connected or plumbed up yet. I also wonder what Miyoshi-san plans to do for a firewall between the cockpit and the engine, as surely that will be on the cards.
Needless to say, when this car is completed I will need to take a closer. But no passenger rides!
Inazuma Worx’s 1UZ-swapped Levin
In contrast, the Inazuma Worx TRD N2 racer-themed AE86 Corolla Levin project looks rather mundane – but of course it really isn’t.
This is the cleanest Hachiroku I’ve ever seen, but you can’t expect anything less from Ikeda-san, who over the last few years has cemented himself as a true master AE86 builder. We first met Ikeda-san back in 2015 when we awarded him the Speedhunters Choice Award at the Offset Kings event at Fuji Speedway.
Since then, Ikeda-san’s style has continued to evolve and be perfected, and the requests to build cars have been coming in thick and fast, to the point that he’s had to stop working on his own projects. This 1UZ-FE-swapped example is mind-blowingly clean; the 4.0L Toyota V8 looks like it’s floating in the shaved, tucked and tubbed engine bay.
The exterior is finished off with a Pandem kit and the unmistakable colors of the TRD livery.
But this car is so much more than just a clean engine swap. Ikeda-san’s fanatical attention to detail and impressive fabrication is evident throughout, which is why the car snapped up the ‘Best Toyota’ and ‘Best Engineered’ awards at Wekfest Japan 2021.
Take a look at the symmetrical layout of the switch gear on either side of the AiM digital dash.
Powder-coated pressed sheet metal is used throughout the entire cabin to sculpt things like the dash and door cards.
And the fuel setup in the rear is laid out with twin swirl pots, sending juice up front to the eight-throttle-body-equipped 1UZ.
Finally, the quad-exit exhaust hints that this is no ordinary Levin.
I really want to find out more about this build, not to mention hear it in action. Yep, I’m going to have to get myself down to Wakayama one of these days and spend some time with Ikeda-san.
Pinch Me, I Must Be Dreaming: PrimeNYC Street Icons – Speedhunters
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No, the image above is not a screen grab from the latest Need for Speed game. That’s Time Square, New York City, in real life.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve played your fair share of racing and car-based video games over the years. My personal journey started with the NFS franchise in the early 2000s. Visually, the closest real-life thing I’ve ever seen to Need for Speed settings are the meets held by PrimeNYC. So when I heard about an event they were hosting called Street Icons, I knew I had to see it for myself.
Let’s just say it was everything I hoped it would be, and more.
When I initially was connected to the folks (Edwin and Prav) at PrimeNYC and we started chatting, they suggested that I hop in a car and tag along at the event.
Additionally, they had picked out the perfect chase car for NYC and Manhattan streets – Henry‘s 1JZ-swapped Lexus, complete with some of the best wheels I have ever seen on an IS 300.
With the Regamaster Evos, a pair of red Recaro bucket seats, Bluetooth stereo, and a Speedhunters sticker, we were ready to go. Some of you might remember Henry’s car from an IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER story he did on PetrolWerks earlier this year.
After dinner was sorted, the cars started to roll in.
I had high hopes for this event and couldn’t wait for the quality cars, people, and atmosphere.
And it didn’t take long for all of the above to appear.
As the parking started to overflow, it was time for a stroll around the block, where right off the bat we came across this slammed Acura NSX on white RAYS Volk Racing TE37SLs.
And the cars kept rolling in, which meant a few more laps around the block. I’d be the last one complaining about that though.
To avoid the anti-social behavior that open events often attract (I’m looking at you two-stepping Mk4 Jetta kids), Street Icons was invite-only, with information for the meet-up locations and roll-in/roll-out times spread via word of mouth.
A benefit of a ‘private’ event like is that you tend to recognize a good number of folk, but still meet new people along the way. It’s sort of like what Cars & Coffee used to be, but even better.
The cars, characters, and locations; all of it felt like an NFS intro sequence.
Thanks to Prav and Edwin’s meticulous planning, I was able to soak up so much of the Street Icons atmosphere.
With a quick holler from the PrimeNYC team, I was in Henry’s car and staged up ready to roll out.
From the level of planning down to the caliber of cars, it was like living in a mid-2000s fantasy – in NYC to boot.
We crossed over from Queens on one of the many bridges that lead into the city and headed for our next meet-up spot.
As one could imagine in a city that never sleeps, the traffic doesn’t either. That being said, it’s been greatly reduced in recent times – no need for me to tell you why.
Which meant the group was separated en route, but everyone eventually ended up at the next location. I can’t really complain about being lost in a city with a couple R34 Skyline GT-Rs, an R35, an S15, and a few more iconic cars.
As it turns out, having a large gathering of lowered and mildly-obnoxious cars driving through Manhattan brings a lot of attention.
We parked up, and while there were plenty of city cops around checking out what was going on, most of them seemed stoked at the sight developing before them.
When we first arrived, I thought we’d have some issues with the NYPD, however, the few cops I spoke to said they were only out on the street corners to see what the night was all about. This was the polar opposite of what we had experienced in Ocean City a few weeks prior.
The biggest surprise of the evening was the amount of non-car people that came out to see what was going on in their neighborhood streets. And no one was upset about it.
As much as I hate doing touristy stuff – especially when it is as cliché as NYC – I couldn’t say no to the prospect of shooting some amazing cars as they cruised through Times Square.
We staged up around the block and waited for the evening to wind down a tad.
A few moments later, I was standing in Times Square as the gang rolled into frame.
It was the proverbial cherry on top of a vanilla sundae with a warm waffle cone of a day.
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I feel so fortunate to get to share these experiences of car culture and the people behind them, but photos can only do so much justice. Anthony (Halcyon) did a phenomenal job capturing the evening in the 4K video above, so you should check that out too.
Big thanks to the PrimeNYC family for the amazing hospitality and making me feel at home. And also Henry for all of the laughs, burgers, and tour guide skills. It’s gonna be hard to top this night out.
The Off Time Meeeeting: An Event For Friends, By Friends – Speedhunters
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The Off Time Meeeeting
I find it fitting that the first organized meet that I’ve attended since COVID state of emergency restrictions were relaxed here in Japan resembled more of a gathering of friends than a big car show.
Not that there is anything wrong with big shows of course. The huge crowds and diversity of builds provide countless opportunities to hunt unique and interesting cars.
If I’m truly lucky, I may even bump into the owners of these cars and are able to schedule follow-up meetings where I can have better control of the environment and timing to perform proper shoots. This is something that I really want to try and do more of in the future.
Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows with bigger shows though, as the human element tends to get lost in the size. The larger the show, the more difficult it becomes to really feel a part of the event itself. Not bumping into anyone that you know only exacerbates this feeling.
So when Shunsuke extended an invitation to attend his first ever attempt hosting a sanctioned gathering at Fuji San Mese – a small exhibition center at the foot of Mt. Fuji – I was both excited and curious to see what kind of meet it would be.
Wanting to keep up an element of surprise, Shunsuke kept the main details of the ‘Off Time Meeeeting’ to himself, only revealing that around 80 cars were signed up to attend.
Upon arriving at Fuji San Mese, it became clear that this was in fact a gathering of friends, and friends of friends.
Although nearly everyone was wearing a mask, and there were mandatory alcohol hand sanitizing and temperature checks upon entering the venue, it almost felt like things were back to normal. =
Even though Shunsuke had opened the event to all makes, styles, and genre of car, the popularity of stance was easily the dominant fashion on the day. It wasn’t all negative camber and stretched tires though…
There is something special about kanjozoku culture that draws us in and gets us excited when we have the rare chance to see it in person.
From afar, this Civic pairing didn’t seem to fit in with the rough and battle-scared image that we have grown used to seeing with dedicated Osaka Loop weapons.
But when you take a closer look – particularly at the interior – the kanjo vibe is there.
I didn’t have a chance to catch up with the owners of these cars, but seeing them in person does make me want to dive a bit deeper into the culture in the future. Who wants to see that?
Even though the variety of cars present was enough to keep things interesting, it was clearly obvious that the Skyline family was the platform of choice.
I lost count of how many 34s in both ER and BNR guise were present, but given that Shunsuke also drives a GT-R – a track-inspired car to be specific – it shouldn’t come as any surprise that a number of his friends would drive them too.
A pair of Bayside Blue R34 GT-Rs were particularly popular at this event, and I’ll be taking a closer look at them in an upcoming spotlight.
The youthful nature of the Off Time Meeeeting reminded me of the energy I used to encounter when traveling throughout South East Asia. Of course, it doesn’t come close to that raw, damn near unregulated sensation that you get from Malaysia or Indonesia – there is simply too much bureaucratic red tape in Japan for that to happen – but you could truly feel that, for Shunsuke, the goal for this meet was fun.
Street Mag Show: Celebrating American Cars In Germany – Speedhunters
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It’s been over half a year since COVID-19 started really appearing and affecting our daily lives. In the time since, most major events have been cancelled and I’m pretty sure we’ve all suffered from cabin fever. Slowly it seems that things are returning back to some kind of semblance of normal, but it will still be quite some time until things are back as they used to be. Hence why I was pretty stoked that the 2020 Street Mag Show in Hannover even happened at all.
This annual event is actually one of the biggest American car meets in Germany, but to comply with the strict hygiene rules that now dictate our lives, the show had to be drastically decreased in size. The same area that held roughly 18,000 visitors and over 2,500 cars in 2019 was to limited to 1,000 people and just a few hundred cars this year.
I peeled myself out of bed at an ungodly hour on a Saturday morning, hopped in my car and drove an hour towards Dortmund. Here I met up with a friend and jumped into his ‘88 Chevrolet Caprice. Wow, what a difference. After coming from my Porsche 944, the Caprice felt like entering a different dimension. I quickly made myself comfortable on the front bench seat and just enjoyed the ride.
I have owned a few American vehicles myself, but nothing as old and plushy as this Caprice. The nearest thing I could equate it to would be my late grandfather’s favorite old armchair. Only with V8 noises instead of grandpa’s snoring.
With the Chevy being so comfy, the next two hours passed in a blur as we cruised towards Hannover. On the way it became apparent that not only would the event be limited in size due to the COVID rules, but the weather also was planning on ruining the day. There was occasional rain and the sky was looking very dreary and grey.
However, it seems that people were eager to take this chance to get out of the house, and while there weren’t all that many cars on site when we arrived, it quickly filled up. Mind you, with Hannover’s Schützenplatz being big enough to host last year’s meet of almost 20,000 visitors, it still looked very sparsely populated.
Germany is home to a large American car scene, and it shows. I expected there to be rows and rows of Mustangs, but the actual variety surprised me. The most common car at the show proved to be the modern Challenger, which is a given as it offers a lot of car for the money and is readily available through various import dealers.
Along with the regulars, I spotted some American models that I’d previously only ever seen in pictures, like this Jeep Honcho.
One of my personal favorites was a blue ‘73 Chevy Impala station wagon with a powered clamshell tailgate. The owner demonstrated it for me and it’s seriously the coolest thing ever! Sorry for getting a bit excited there, but I honestly really, really want one now. If you have no idea what it is, go look it up on YouTube. The rear glass moves up into the roof and the actual tailgate slides down into the floor of the car, leaving you with a gaping hole through which you can load up your groceries. Handy!
Another one I really loved was this orange-on-white Chevy Cheyenne, a ‘72 model, I think. I absolutely love classic American pickup trucks; they’re practical vehicles and ooze coolness. I had a quad-cab Ram truck for a few years as my daily, which stuck out like a sore thumb here in Germany, and I really wouldn’t mind another truck in my life. Preferably one just like this.
Or maybe a van to go off-the beaten-track exploring in? This 4×4 Ram looked to be the perfect adventuring-mobile, although I imagine it wouldn’t be too capable when going up inclines due to the long overhang in the rear. But no matter, it more than makes up for that in looks.
Or if that’s too small for you, I even saw a GMC Motorhome.
People lined up to drive onto the show stage where their cars would be judged to win a trophy while a moderator let fly with a lot of trivia and facts. When this Impala rolled up, I knew I had to take a closer look.
Sitting low on air ride and with some impressive engravings on the bright work, this Chevy was definitely one of the highlights of the show for me.
There was even a gasser-style drag car, called Nautilus, which put on quite a burnout show at noon.
The screaming V8, the squealing tires and the huge clouds of smoke made for an epic picture, accompanied by Arthur Brown’s ‘Fire’ blasting from the speakers. “I am the god of hellfire” indeed.
All in all, the show proved to be a nice day out – even if it was significantly smaller than last year. Attending a proper car show was definitely long overdue for me, and this at least sated my thirst for the time being. I’m taking it as a sign of things getting back to normal.
I hope next year’s show will be back to its old form and thriving with more visitors than ever. The only annoying thing is, I now find myself looking at V8 wagons and pickup trucks for sale! Sigh…
How To join the IATS program: We have always welcomed readers to contact us with examples of their work and believe that the best Speedhunter is always the person closest to the culture itself, right there on the street or local parking lot. If you think you have what it takes and would like to share your work with us then you should apply to become part of the IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER program. Read how to get involved here.
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