Makuhari Messe, 2018.

THE Best of THE best… okay, this must be very hard.

Time flies so fast indeed that Tokyo Auto Salon season is upon us again. Almost one year ago, I packed by bags to fulfill one of my automotive bucket lists – be at Japan’s ultimate auto convention. In 3 weeks time, this blog will be filled again with coverage straight from the 11? halls of Makuhari Messe.

For now, with sleepless nights about to kick in, let me reminisce 2018 with something I’ve never done publicly before – choose my personal top 10 from an event/show.

With this one being a casual blog post, a part of my main criteria is basic gut feel on the build and exact emotion when I first saw it.

10. Pandem EG

TRA-Kyoto debuted his new Honda Civic aero kit by personally driving it for 7 hours and still managed to be in ‘1 piece’. This may not be the wildest Honda at the show, but for sure this one was the cleanest.

9. Advan 991 GT3

Being a big fan of the J-Euro movement, seeing a perfectly executed Porsche in a sea of JDM cars made this one stand out from the rest.

8. Top Secret R32.5

Smokey Nagata’s Top Secret R32 with an R35 engine, transmission, differential interior is a complete masterpiece. An old project, seeing this one in the flesh and briefly meeting Nagata-San was one for the books.

7.  RWB Stella Artois – Boost

Akira Nakai’s follow up to the legendary RWB #1 debuts at TAS, sporting a similar design motif + RWB Rotana’s turbo engine set-up.

6. Wedsports MKIV Supra 

A well built MKIV screaming “THIS IS JDM”. No other words needed.

 5. Restored Japan Yonmeri 

My first encounter with a Yonmeri outside Manila.  Taking advice and inspiration from the guys at Restored made me appreciate a future project. Too bad 40% of my TAS photos got deleted due to a mobile phone virus. Here is 1 out of 2 photos I have left.

4. Speed Forme Hakosuka

A Tokyo Auto Salon list wouldn’t be complete without a first-gen Skyline. Off all 4 Hakosukas present during the show, this was the best. Nothing too fancy for me, just a clean iteration of one of my ultimate dream cars.

3. Liberty Walk Miura

The biggest news of 2018: Wataru Kato cuts up a GT40 kit, converts it into a Lamborghini Miura, infuses his signature bosozoku style and literally puts his middle finger u. The world is waiting on how can he top this one for 2019…  2. Kuhl GT-R 

Opaque hand-painted metallic pinstripes all over the body  (in various tones), glitters, textured lines and hidden details. This is Japanese craftsmanship at its finest. Again, I can’t wait to see what’s next for Kuhl Racing.

1. Garage Active R32

The best of the best, hands down – not only at the show, but this has to be my ultimate R32 Skyline.  After seeing this midway during day 1, I felt this was “it” as I had to visit it back thrice.  A fully-built RB26, full CF body tinted in dark blue, Meisters, and a stripped out interior. The entire presence of this car screams modern “Japanese tuning”.

Back to reality for a few days and its Japan season once again… See you at Tokyo Auto Salon 2019.

@kevcarlos  

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