Autoblog

Our Parisian friends over at LeBlogAuto were on hand at the Motorsport Japan 2008 event in Tokyo this past weekend, where FHI unveiled an Impreza-based "concept" dubbed the Subaru WRX STI Takumi.

Featuring upgraded springs and shocks, revised suspension bits, lightweight 12-spoke wheels, undisclosed engine tweaks and a slightly reworked exterior, the Takumi foretells the future of the rumored Spec-C variant, due to hit the market sometime next year.

Subaru execs at the show remained mum on if when the Spec-C would debut, but the smart money is on the Tokyo Auto Salon this January.


[Source: LeBlogAuto - Translated]

Weds Sports, a Japanese wheel-maker, has created a full carbon fiber wheel -- rims, spokes, hub, everything -- that weighs 2.76 kg. Coming out to about 6.1 pounds, that's about half the weight of the Dymag carbon fiber wheel with a magnesium rim that you'll find on a Callaway Corvette, and just over a pound more than Dymag's all-carbon race-specific front wheel for a motorcycle.

According to a rough translation of Weds' literature, they use a dry carbon fiber process that makes the wheels strong enough for... well, we're not really sure. While the rims look absolutely ace, we can't find any other company that makes an entire wheel out of carbon fiber, and Weds apparently hasn't yet put them in production, which leads us to think that these babies were meant only for the scales at the Tokyo Auto Salon. But if you have $12,000 for a set of four, and you live in an area with no potholes and no curbs, these could be the rims for you.

[Source: Carbon Fiber Gear]

Click above to view videos

Suzuki is said to be unveiling the Kizashi 3 at next week's New York Auto Show, so we thought we'd refresh our memories about the Manga-styled Kizashi 1 and 2 concepts we saw at the Frankfurt Motor Show and Tokyo Motor Show. There's still no information about what powertrain (we've heard talk of a V8) or platform any car derived from the Kizashi concepts would ride upon, but we like where Suzuki's going with the idea. We expect that the Kizashi 3 may be nearly production-feasible, from what Suzuki has to say. Does this mean there's a sports sedan in the offing for Suzuki? Possibly. Or not. For a taste of what it might be like to see one of these cars actually out in the wild, we've turned up some videos of the concepts riding around in a digital world, posted after the jump.

How could we possibly (remotely) cover an auto show without providing some shots of the lovely ladies that adorn the manufacturer booths? We can't, so Autoblog Chinese stepped up and snapped off some of the fresh faces found on the floor of the Tokyo Auto Salon for your viewing enjoyment. Enjoy.

click above for more live and studio shots of the GT500 GT-R

The return of Godzilla to SuperGT kicked off last week with the official unveiling of Nissan's GT500 GT-R and our colleagues at Autoblog Chinese snapped off a dozen shots of the race-ready coupe in its new black and red livery. Nissan hasn't released details on what will be powering the new GT-R racer, but speculation and rumor says that Nissan might utilize the 4.5-liter V8 that's currently under the hood of its 350Z GT500 vehicle. We balk at the idea of not utilizing the 3.8-liter twin-turbo'd V6 found in the showroom version of the GT-R, but we can understand if the new motor might not be up to snuff yet for the punishment it would have to endure in SuperGT.

Click the image above for a high-res gallery.

One of the other concepts that graced Mugen's stand in Japan at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon was the Civic Type-RR, which in addition to the obvious replacement of the entire front clip with carbon fiber pieces, also includes a K20A engine that's been bored out to 2157 cc to create a more tractable powerband and an even higher redline. 260 horsepower and 173 lb.-ft. of torque is sent to the six-speed gearbox and down to the front wheels through a LSD. Naturally, the brakes and suspension have been upgraded to handle the extra grunt, while carbon fiber was used inside to beef up the structure. Mugen also added a system dubbed I-TCMS, or Intellligent Tire Condition Monitoring, which keeps tabs on the tire's air pressure and temperature. The dash mounted instrument cluster might be a big impediment to forward visibility, but we're sure it's nothing compared to the price.

[Sources: LeBlogAuto, Nihon Car]

Click the image above for a gallery of live pics and a few high-res press shots.

The Honda Fit has established itself as a viable platform for tuners in Japan and with the apparently minimal amount of love being heaped upon the new Civic Type-R, aftermarket firms are focusing more attention on the Civic's younger brother.

Mugen's close ties to Honda have yielded yet another concept that takes the Fit to the next level. Typical for the Fit and Mugen, the F154SC has a supercharger slapped onto the L15A that boosts the power of the 1.5-liter four to 150 hp and 136 lb.-ft. of torque. Everything that could have been modified has, including a full coilover suspension, exhaust, intake and upgraded brakes, along with the prerequisite body modifications that widen the track and feed more air into the engine bay.

Autoblog Chinese grabbed some shots of the F154SC on the show floor and we've added a few press pics to the gallery, thanks to our friends at LeBlogAuto.

click above for high-res images of the IS F Racing Concept from TAS

Lexus quietly trotted out its IS-F Racing Concept last week at the Tokyo Auto Salon, but despite the official unveiling, more questions than answers remain about the future of the DTM-inspired sedan.

According to Winding Road, the racer was the brainchild of the IS-F's chief engineer, Yukihiko Yaguchi, who wanted to create a vehicle that further expanded the credentials of the IS-F. Unfortunately, when Peter Nunn questioned the Toyota folks about what plans it had for the concept, he was met with resounding silence.

Rumors are swirling that this particular concept is nothing more than a design study, with no intention of campaigning a similar IS-F competitively. However, Lexus is supposedly working on an IS-F to campaign in the SuperGT GT300 series in Japan, with the SC430-based racer soldiering on in the GT500 class. More surprising is that the IS-F currently being developed by the Japanese Bandoh team might be sporting a mid-engine configuration. We're not sure if that's going to sit well with SuperGT officials, but testing of the race car is expected to begin at Suzuka towards the end of February and we'll know more then.

Autoblog Chinese snapped off a handful of images of the IS-F Racing Concept in person while at the Tokyo Auto Salon and you can check them out in the gallery below.

[Source: Winding Road]

Click the image above for more shots of Tokyo Auto Salon's assortment of Evos.

There were three main show pieces gracing the halls of the Makuhari Messe over the last few days: the GT-R, the new Subaru Impreza STI and Mitsubishi's Evolution X. Autoblog Chinese snapped off a random assortment of pictures showing several different interpretations of the Evo X from a variety of tuners.

From what we can see, some of the aftermarket firms weren't able to get parts fabbed up before the show, but several of the companies featured revised suspensions, strut tower braces, new intake and exhaust components and a few other choice bits. We're sure next year's Tokyo Auto Salon will be far more important to the aftermarket and its customers.

In the meantime, we were able to find out that ARC brought a modified Evo X to the show fitted with a new intercooler, a complete coilover suspension and upgrade brakes. The team of HKS and Camp featured an Evo with an exposed carbon fiber splitter, side skirts and rear diffuser, but, more impressively, Camp integrated its new Computerized Automobile Multi Player, which acts similar to the GT-R's dash-mounted screen that displays a variety of engine parameters in lieu of a row of analog gauges.

Finally, Team Orange's D1 Evo X was on the show floor and at a Mitsubishi Ralliart shindig. The team's all-wheel-drive drifter came sporting a full carbon fiber body kit and wing, a new set of Enkeis and Lord knows what else.

Check the gallery below for more live shots from the Tokyo Auto Salon.

click above to view more modded Nissan GT-Rs from the TAS

The Tokyo Auto Salon opened up last week and our comprehensive coverage has been slightly delayed due to the madness known as Detroit. We've partnered up with our friends from Autoblog Chinese to bring you as many live shots of the show as we can procure.

There was only one car to kick off the coverage and that's Nissan's new R35 GT-R. Blitz, HKS/Kansai, Fujitsubo, Power Enterprises, Amuse and MINE'S all had vehicles on display, most of which were sporting some free-flowing intakes, wheels and a few aero pieces, including front splitters and wings.

We know that Amuse already has its R1 Titan exhaust strapped onto its shop GT-R, along with a massive carbon fiber rear wing and trick C.F. lip. MINE'S will begin selling its VX-ROM that can eliminates the top-speed limiter and tweak the ECU depending on fuel octane. According to MINE'S, they've dynoed a GT-R fitted with its VX Pro Titan II exhaust and VX-ROM, and output at the flywheel increased to 530 hp. MINE'S will allow owners to send in their ECU to be fitted with the VX-ROM at a cost of 126,000 yen (around $1,150). And they say they can supply the VX-ROM worldwide. MINE'S is also offering springs, slotted rotors and an Esta Full Spec coilover kit with remote reservoirs developed with Sachs.

We've assembled some of the shots from Autoblog Chinese in the gallery below.