Track and Show: The Choice

As I was wrapping up the coverage of Track and Show event, I was in uncomfortable position where I already had a fairly complete coverage, yet there was so much more to talk about.  After all, despite the weather and relativity low publicity, the event had some of the most awesome variety of cars I have ever seen.

With so many to choose from I picked out a few that caught my eye for one reason or another.  We will come back to BMW-only feature, but for now let's check out the Bavarian brand's arch rival.

Mercedes Benz logo is just part of the SLR story as it has been for the large part designed and engineered by McLaren in their factory in the United Kingdom.  It is an incredible piece of engineering and referred to by many as first ever modern supercar; .

At the heart of the beast is this German made mid-mount 5.5L supercharged V8 producing 617 horse power and 780 N·m of torque.  The car could reach 100kph in just 3.5 seconds, which considering the fact that car is more than 10 years old is absolutely astounding. 

On the inside there is an exclusive blend of luxury and functionality, combining bespoke craftsmanship from Mercedes Benz and ultra light materials straight from McLaren's F1 text book.

While there is an opinion that design of this car hasn't aged well, partially due to drastic change in the design language of entire Mercedes Benz lineup, sense of presence of this vehicle is undeniable. What's more, is that the car's ability to be a comfortable cruiser and neck-snapping-fast supercar at the same time has set the benchmark for modern day performance cars, undeniably adding the SLR to the automotive history books.

No matter how rare and exclusive, cars in their stock form are just not going to cut it for this event.  This is where this one of a kind R35 GTR comes in.  While most only became familiar with this machine at Tokyo Auto Salon, I had a pleasure encountering this very car long before it got the controversial look and suicide doors placing it right in the middle of Lexani display booth.

This is one of three left-hand drive US imports that cruise around Japan.  It could be said that the owner took his imagination too far when building this monster, but we all know that there is no such thing as "too far".  If the parts fit they can be installed; if they don't -- make them fit!

As with any project car, the owner went through the engine configuration very thoroughly and installed a set of components, including the titanium intake manifold from Overtake to make this machine more than just a show car.

As we have seen so many times there are endless methods to customize a Nissan GTR, but what have seen started as, judging by this inconel exhaust, as a performance built have mutated into something extraordinary from style as well as function perspective.

To each their own, as they say, and this is the prime example why Japan's car culture is so unique and diverse.  While their social norms can be summarized by "doing everything by the book", their car customization is anything but.  Each tuner, enthusiast, or collector writes a book of their own, and this is exactly why projects like this JDM Hot Rod Porsche 356 are possible.

Slammed on a set of 19 inch wheels via custom air suspension and sporting spartan but very clean interior this little car has it all.

Things get even more interesting under the hood where original flat-four motor has been completely rebuilt and fitted with modern parts and upgrades.  Purists may oppose such treatment of an all-time classic, but considering the state the car was in when the owner acquired it, a little bit improvisation never hurts.

I was going to wrap up this feature on the above mentioned Porsche, but I simply could not close this out without sharing photos of this gorgeous Honda NSX Type R with wide body kit and list of upgrades long enough to make Super GT cars look boring.

There is always a twist though, as this car was in the spectator lot and was not part of the event, even though many would agree that it should have been taking the center stage.

This limits my knowledge of what exactly was done to the car apart form making it one of the best looking NSX's I have ever seen.

On this note, I will end this feature.  The final chapter of Track and Show will return in a form of photo gallery featuring all the BMW's of the event.  Stay tuned and don't forget to share, comment, and follow.