SEMA Goes JDM!

It is undeniable that Japanese cars has proven themselves as budget performance machines, as well as craftsmanship of Japanese tuners and builders is the envy of the world.

So here at SEMA we are going to look at some hot JDM rides that push the customization potentials to their limit.



Having visited Tokyo Auto Salon several times and covered it here, it is interesting to see what kind of differences and similarities exist between Japanese and American trends.

It was great to see such a great variety Japanese cars customized to different tastes for different purposes.

Various Japanese automotive icons such as this heavily customized Supra were shown in their true colorful glory.

However I witnessed a completely different style and approach in some examples such as this Acura Integra modded in a way that I only saw in Fast and Furious movies.  That said, that huge turbo and massive intercooler mean that this car is all business.

This slammed Taiwan based Airrex Nissan 370Z was built with a help of Infinite Auto Design was also a beautiful sight. 

But this 350Z was a whole different ball game with minimum stickers, sitting perfectly on awesome 20 inch rims....

while making things really shine under the hood.  Kinetix intake manifold and a massive reinforcement arm hint that this car underwent a lot of work.  Unfortunately not a lot is known about cars exhibited on the outside, so I have to move on.

On the inside things were a bit more clear as some manufactures presented their own booths and concept vehicles.  Mazda was quite impressive with new Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 modified with concept upgrade options which include body kits, wings,

and these beautiful 19 inch rims, which make a small Eco Mazda 3 sit perfectly right.  These Brembo brakes are part of the Club Sport 3 Concept, which makes me hope that that there will be something under the hood that would be worthy of this stopping power.

The Ceramic concept Mazda 6 gets a unique white paint with silver inlays, body kit, exhaust, and very impressive interior make-over turning it into a one of a kind vehicle.

Of course, there plenty of Mazda vehicles present around the show, such as this very nicely customized RX7 with Project MU brakes.

Nissan, on the other hand did not have its booth, but was represented very actively by various tuners and teams.

And is there a better way to show off the awesome ENKEI RS05R wheels than this Enjuku Racing S15 D1GP car?

Another famous Japanese wheel manufacturer Rays Engineering have brought this awesome tuned R35 to their booth, and it certainly attracted plenty of attention.

Sitting on Volk Racing G25 wheels and sporting an aggressive body kit a massive wing, it is indeed a one of a kind GTR

But maybe not as much as this monster displayed at the Advan booth, this R's Tuning pearl blue R35 with BenSopra wide body kit with Seibon upgrades was one of the highlights of the show, and rightfully so, as this car already had a bit of worldwide exposure in Fast and Furious 6.

But obviously, the car is more than just show.  With Switzer P800 Turbo Kit, Cobb AP005, HKS Exhaust among many other upgrades this car is tuned to impressive 680 HP.

Another angle for a final view, before we move on...

..to something more subtle but no less impressive.  This GTR is all about stance and you couldn't ask for a better way to advertise Standard Suspension along with 20" SSR wheels.  This super clean GTR was one of my favorite of the show.

Overall, great presence and lots of respect was shown towards the Godzilla. 

I always considered a Mitsubishi Evo a true icon, but somehow it's not living up to its fame.  Not a whole lot of them were spotted at the show, but ones that were, were absolutely gorgeous like the one at Ray's Engineering booth.

Toyota's vehicles, on the other hand were represented in their full might.  All 3 brands: Lexus, Scion, and Toyota had their own booths, and were stocked with very interesting rides.

 There were also plenty of show cars as well.  From this awesome Lexus LFA...

..to  this 2014 Lexus IS 340 by Philip Chase.  IS 340? No,it's not a typo.  This unique car features a number of upgrades, such as air suspension, 18 inch Advan wheels, body kit and quad exhaust

But the most extraordinary upgrade was the use of the tuned 2JZ engine from the legendary Toyota Supra!  This car was tuned to about 600 horses, which is more than enough to get into all sorts of trouble.

Some IS's were more visually appealing as this black and white IS350 with carbon fiber hood and black 19" rims.  This was probably one of the better looking Lexus's at the show.

Something that could not be told about this example of absolutely mad wide body kit. 

Overall, I was very impressed with how Lexus IS has caught the attention of the after market and I hope that we'll see something similar at Tokyo Auto Salon.

However, the marvel of the show was... actually the marvel of all tuners world wide: The brilliant Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ/Scion FRS.

As I saw in Japan during 86 Style event, there is absolutely no limit to which this car can be customized regardless of whether it's performance orientated or purely visual.

When we talk FRS performance, however, it's all about the Rocket Bunny FRS displayed outside, sporting a wide body kit, massive deep dish BBS wheels, and 500 turbocharged horses under the hood. 

At the same time various Japanese parts makers were presenting their versions of FRS, such as this one by Project MU.

But a real hit was this GReddy/Rocket Bunny FRS, sporting version 2 of the wide body kit with adjustable spoiler and LED DRL's

The real highlight of this car is the Twin Turbo tuned 3.0L V6 2JZ engine producing about 750 HP!  This car no doubt sets the standard for future custom FRS/BRZ/86 around the world.

So on this high note we wrap up the JDM SEMA feature, which can only make us look forward to Tokyo Auto Salon even more.  January can't come soon enough!

Thank you for reading everyone, please share, follow, and return for more!

 

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