Authenticity Without Purpose: Automobile Council 2017

Automotive Council is a relatively new event held in August, which unfortunately I had to skip last year and having missed the opportunity to see a rare La Ferrari Aperta and Mclaren F1 I was eager to attend this year.  Alas, none of the desired unicorns were to be seen, which is rather unfortunate, but on the flip side it gave me a great opportunity to see what the show was all about it.

Which, even after spending a few hours at the venue that takes only a part of 1 pavilion at Makuhari Messe, I was still uncertain about the objectives of this show.

 Is it a market place? Then where are buyers and sellers?

Is it an exposition of rare classics? Well, in such case it needs to do play catch up with Nostalgic 2 Days event held in Yokohama in February?

Is it just a social marketing event and opportunity for car clubs to have more people join their ranks?

Possibly, but it wassn't that obvious either.  With that said, I enjoyed an opportunity to check out some of the mose rarest and bizzare cars one can lay their eyes upon.

It seems that major manufacturers were not going to let this one go, either as Nissan brought their next generation concept vehicle,

and placed it next to their all time classic.

The absolute jaw drop was were a series of  90+ year old Rolls Royce's presented by Wakui Museum
Each was meticulously polished and resotred to its factory glory,

allowing us to observe some of the finest details about how luxury cars were build in the beginning of last century.

I loved the sophistication with which cabin was constructed.  Forget ergonomics and safety; this is a true masterpiece of automotive art, ultimately reminding of Swiss made pocket watch, which in the world of smart phones and wearables is a definition of uselessness, but will always attract more attention and be of higher value.

The engine was a simple straight six, with whooping 7.2 litter capacity known for its smoothness was an epitome of luxury and reliability.  Note the unique side valves and dual spark plugs.

This is my first time seeing this, and indeed what a suprise appearance of the Ford Escort MK1 in Japan.

For those of us Hunting Unicorns, here is the one: this is a 1985 RUF BTR Cabriolet based on air cooled Porsche 911 930 Turbo.  With only 3 available in this configuration, this car, with original paint and parts is as rare as it gets.

Powered by 3.3L Turbocharged flat-six, this 400HP pocket rocket can reach up to 300km/h.    The car belongs to a restoration shop called Hara Motors.  While this little fun machine is their pride and joy,

this Aston Martin Lagonda shows excctly what are they capable of.  The car looks absolutely brand new,

with this luxurios fully rebuild interior is the absolute highlight.

It was great to see some of the modern marvels, and if you followed my Instagram,  you would see that I have spotted a few new NSX's being driven around Tokyo,

but this was my first chance to get up close and personal with Japanese production model, and I must say, it was absolutely stunning.
With that said, this would be the one everyone would pick, right? The first one, sexy pop-up head lights, tested, configured, and approved by Ayrton Senna himself.  Those were the days...

Personally, I would go for this one.  The revised, more powerful, functional, and modern NSX Type R.  I also despise pop-up headlights; call me weird.

This beauty was at Audi booth, and I was so shocked to see this, that I completely ignored the new RS5!
Right next to it was its reason for existance, and a car that put modern Audi on the map. 444 BHP Group B Audi Quattro Rally Car!

Right next to it, another legend: The Mercedes Benz 190E DTM Evolution!

And how can we skip this legend? The Le Mans winning Mazda 787B on Gold Volk Racing wheels!

Eventually, engine cover went off exposing the complex rear sub-frame, double wishbone suspension, and the four-rotor power plant, making it the best sounding race car known to man.

Just look at all that incanel and carbon fiber!

Finally, a racing unicorn! How and why did this Ferrari 308GTB rally car ended up in Japan we'll never know, but this just sums up the entire argument that racing during last century was a lot more fun.

I would like to end my comments with this: Citroen was slamming cars before it was cool.  Air bags, hydroponics, low riders, stance, air lift systems, they owe their existence to this.  Behold the grandfather of stance: Citroen SM!

And how about reducing your drag coefficient by hiding your lisence plate behind a piece of glass?!  Just how cool and creative were these guys, and above all, what the hell happened?

On that note, I will close my coverage right here. Please scroll down to see more images and make sure to check back soon for another update!




















































 

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