From 560-hp Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions to cartoon scooters come to life, the 23rd annual Tokyo Auto Salon remains the worlds most bizarre and amazing tuner show.
After a few somewhat stagnant years, performance tuning is back in a big way with new products and show cars on display from tuning giants like HKS, Trust and Apex. Toyotas Lexus luxury brand, just introduced to the Japanese market in mid-2005, is already a hit, with numerous GS models getting the typical tuner treatment. Beyond the usual suspension drops and chrome dubs, homegrown tuner Blitz promises supercar-like acceleration from its twin-supercharged Blitz GS 430. Also from Blitz: a race-tuned Mitsubishi i city car, which isnt even on sale yet. Gruppe M tuner guru Mamoru Ogose talked up one of the wildest ideas to hit the internal-combustion engine in some time: a cryogenically cooled intake system that practically freezes the intake charge before it enters the combustion chamber. Ogose promises impressive power gains to any carwe will let you know as soon as Gruppe M loans us a cryo-fitted test car.
Rotary maestro RE-Amemiya brought its new demonstration car, a Mazda RX-7 equipped with a tri-rotor turbocharged engine and complete front-end conversion. Top Secret, one of Japans most notoriousand craziestshops, dropped the 350Zs V6 into an R32 Skyline GT-R. Why, you ask? Why not, says Top Secret.
Toyota tuners showed off the potential of the new Scion bB and Estima minivan, while Honda built the Dominator, a special Civic concept powered by a 300-hp supercharged four-cylinder engine. Nissans NISMO focused on the 350Z, with the RS Concept sporting a 100-hp-per-liter version of the 3.5-liter V6, while Subaru wowed crowds with the STi S204, a 350-hp limited-edition Impreza WRX.
Luxury cars and SUVs remain the rage in Japan. Lorinser showcased its full body kit for the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, while Bazo fitted a Hummer H3 with 26-inch wheels.
And then theres the really strange stuff, like the March Toybox sporting a large gaping grille, or the space-age scooters straight out of popular Japanese manga comics. If the Tokyo Auto Salon is any gauge, 2006 promises to be a great year in tuning as more and more products hit the market.
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source:
http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060118/FREE/60117001