I recently caught up with Katsu Takahashi, Co-Founder of Built by Legends and talked about The origins and the vision of their new project. Having produced the English Version of Best Motoring, which is the quintessential Japanese Automotive Porn, gave them a close relationship with the most prominent tuners in Japan and gave us this JDM Restomod Perfection.

What is Built by legends?

Our slogan is, JAPANESE CLASSIC. NEW EXPERIENCE.
Built By Legends, a new project that will produce Japanese restomod vehicles in conjunction with the Legends of the industry. Incorporating modern techniques and materials, our focus is to restore and recreate the Japanese tuner cars that had permanently been engraved in our memory. With the full support of the Legendary tuners, we are taking the iconic Japanese cars of the 80’s and 90’s to a whole new level, to be owned, driven and appreciated all around the world.

What’s the Story behind the company/brand? When did Built by legends start? Who are the founders?

BBL was started by Masa Kuji (CEO / Co-Founder) and Katsu Takahashi (Co-Founder) in 2018. We are still in a soft launch status as we get ready to officially launch our cars this Summer with our North American distribution partner, Toprank Importers.

It all started with Best Motoring.
Back in 2001, we were producing English version Best Motoring videos in VHS format with one mission,
“To Inspire the world with the coolest Japanese Motor Culture”.
After 20 years in the business, we will be doing the same, but this time on a slightly different platform.
Our long relationship built on trust with Japan’s Legendary Tuners have inspired us to launch Built By Legends, that will produce the coolest Japanese Tuner restomods built by the Legends of the industry.

What projects are currently being developed?

A) Built By Legends MINE’S R32 (BBL MINE’S R33 and 2nd R32 will commence production next month)
B) Built By Legends SPOON EG6
C) Bespoke Projects

How is the process of commissioning built by legends to build a customer car?
How long does a build usually take? will it be available worldwide?

We have not officially launched yet, but we already have a lot of clients that want different builds from all over the world.
Customers can reach us through our social media, or email and reach us as we are still in the middle of producing our website.
We can have an online meeting and talk about what kind of build the customer is looking for and what we can offer.  
Our strength is that we actually speak English, it’s a simple advantage,
but not many Japanese Tuners or builders have the ability to communicate Internationally.

We are aiming 6-9 months for our regular BBL MINE’S R32 builds.
BBL SPOON EG6 can take up to 12 months depending on the specs.
All Bespoke builds take a long time to complete as you can imagine.

Yes we build cars in Japan for clients globally.

What are the future goals of the Built by legends?

“Our future goal is simple.
Build the coolest Japanese Tuner Restomods and take the JDM scene to the next level. We want to achieve this by building as many vehicles as we can for clients globally. “

A few Fatlace Exclusive Photos Courtesy of Built by Legends.

Get in touch with them on Instagram and Facebook

Credits: Photographs by @maruokono

https://www.facebook.com/BuiltByLegends

https://www.instagram.com/builtbylegends/

https://www.importavehicle.com/