It seems that it was just yesterday I was preparing a year-end update for 2015, but before I knew it's that same time of year yet again. Weather is a mild, days are short, turbo's spool faster and all the race and vintage car guys can cruise around once more in cars with air cons deleted.
For the rest of us, it's time for StanceNation. Even though this is our 3rd coverage of the event, not for a second I thought that this show was in any way mundane or repetitive.
This year show featured close to 1000 cars, bringing around thousands of visitors, and despite conflicting schedule with a supercar event literally across the street, the variety of cars was vast.
I don't associate myself with any movement or group. I like everything on wheel, hence for me this is an awesome opportunity to look at what Japanese tuners can do to their cars regardless of origins, style or purpose.
Many skeptics associate StanceNation with insane cambers, senseless mods, and undrivable cars, but let me set you straight, dear skeptics:
Nothing could be further from the truth. Just look at the stance of this Sti sitting on race track tires, sporting front mount intercooler and custom crafted fully functional wide body kit. I bet it drives even better than it looks.
Or how about a couple of GTR's representing their different era's; R35, of course is the DoLuck Demo car.
Or how about a trio of 350z's sporting retro-looking Rocket Bunny kits? Are those fender mirrors not something to die for?
But of course StanceNation would not be a true Nation of Stance without its weirdness....
Yes, that's a dude wearing a jaguar mask sitting on a slammed Jaguar XJ sporing Japan imperial flag... Think Confederate flag... on a Honda....
Speaking of Honda's, this is what post cost cutting at Stark Industries would look like: Iron man and War Machine ride sharing a 600S to avoid Car Pool penalties. Economy is tough on everybody I guess...
When it comes to bold vision, guys from 326 Power got it covered. I don't care what people say, I love the 370z's and I enjoy seeing what these guys did with this pearl white example.
Let's face it, people have been whining about wide body conversions since they first appeared in tuning world nearly half a million years ago, but as we are about to close the shutters on year 2016 there is no sign of this mod being written off into history books.
Looking at variety of cars sporting wide body kits, I can only say that we are just getting started.
and then, take it right to extreme...
Once the ball gets rolling, slamming on the brakes is no longer an option...
See what I mean?
Perhaps one of more common wide body kits is the Veilside Fortune, seen so many times all the way from Hollywood movies to Daikoku PA, but from all the FD's wearing the kit, this has to be the best one yet.
What makes it so special? Simplicity - the owner ditched the tacky 90's color schemes and went for modern black and white. Black wheels give the car the aggressive sporty look, while matching blacked out inner door panel takes a page out of McLaren's book and provides perfect contrast to the white body paint that enhances the sexy shape of the body kit so well.
Yet for more authentic JDM look, there is always Varis. Varis has been enjoying popularity all across the world by creating modern looking kits for Mitsubishi Evo Sti, Lexus, amd BMW.
If we were to sum-up entire StanceNation event, however, it would about wheels.
Big wheels
Black wheels
Gold Wheels
Proper set of wheels can do a lot to a car such as Subaru Legacy B4 Blitzen. Those were from days when Legacy's were cool.
Speaking of Sedans, nothing screams VIP like properly slammed Toyota Century on Work wheels.
Perhaps it is now common to see luxury European cars being given a distinctive JDM touch.
This year, along with Europeans there was heavy presence of cars from US of A.
Namely Ford Mustang GT, with this example displayed in front of Work Wheels booth being upgraded with some distinctive RTR bits and the mandatory wide body kit.
Kind of sets the mood for SEMA, doesn't it?
I was particularity interested in this example, since it is none other than the ZL1 model Camaro. Capable of embarrassing some exotics around the "Ring" it somehow managed to find its place here at StanceNation Japan.
To complete the all American Holy Grail, here is a Dodge Challenger Scat Pack. I am pretty sure this would be the only one in Japan.
Onto the classic and this is where this event really shines as the Japanese take pride in their car history and at the same time they are not afraid to make some improvements. Results often can be described as textbook balance of vintage design and modern performance.
It was also great to see Toyota Soarer making a comeback as it almost felt forgotten just a few years ago.
I do see a lot more of them nowadays with tasteful mods enhancing the last century's luxury coupe's individuality and performance.
But boy or boy was I surprised to see this?! I bet all scooby fans will jump with joy after seeing an almost extinct Subaru XT in all its glory with pop-up headlights!
Or how about this? A White Lotus Esprit S2 slammed on airbags?
Trying to keep the British end up....
After market wheels? slammed rides? Exhausts? Forget about all of it, as right there before me was the super clean, showroom condition Toyota Supra JZA70! I haven't seen seen an unmodded A70 Supra in probably around 25 years so definitely a photo moment.
Well, for photo guys the whole event was one big photo op.
Mostly because of the cars,
but sometimes...
see what I mean?
Yes, it's a bikini in October.
Speaking of Bikini's this is the reason why such large crowd is gathering here each year: this group of fabric challenged females moving around stage in most un-choreographed way I have seen since that bizarre Bangkok Motor Show video are called Cyber Japan Dancers. I know what you thinking, but let me reassure you that this isn't a form of cyber-crime; apparently all they do is dance, if you can call it that.
Meanwhile, found in a frunk nearby
So there we have it, perfect mix of cars, girls and good Hawaiian coffee at a nearby mall; needless to say, I was set for the day, as we are only getting started.
This concludes Part I of StanceNation Japan coverage on Motorflair. Please do take your time and scroll down for more car shots and check back soon for Parts 2, 3, and 4 where we will cover the BMW's, cars roaming the streets outside the event, and couple of cars I picked to show off some of the details.
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