Chasing Rare Ferrari's and Lamborghini's in World X Series Rally Japan

Cannonball Run has always been one of my favorite movies.  Whether it's Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman driving a Countach, Roger Moore, Jackie Chan, Burt Reynolds, or just the idea of getting into a car and driving just for sake of driving joined by people who want nothing less than that.

My rally itch began last year when Gumball 3000 rolled through Japan; I knew I had do something like, but with entry fees in tens of thousands of dollars, I could not even imagine myself getting involved.  Come November 2018, Mr. Conrad Wall comes to my rescue and the rest is history.

Fast forward to September 2019 and I am now on my second rally accompanied by some of the most amazing people I've ever met pursing one common goal: pure driving pleasure.  (Story of my first rally is here)

Enter World X Series Rally Japan Round 3.  The complex route took us through some of my favorite locations:

Departing Tokyo late Friday evening, going to Daikoku,

then cruising to Hakone where were scheduled to stay at beautiful Odawara Hilton Resort and Spa

next morning saw us exploring some of the most iconic roads in Hakone region

Onto Tomei expressway to Osaka.

Following day started with a mandatory gas stop,

we then took off towards Nagoya via lake Biwa.

Heavy congestion took us onto some B roads West of Kyoto,

where we went through jungle and borderline abandoned mountain passes until we finally reached beautiful lake Biwa.

Nagoya was the next stop

Next was the last day of the rally and it turned out extremely busy.  We started bright and early with some Suzuka Circuit Hot laps,

then got into our cars and drove all the way back to Nagoya to visit the most iconic tuner shop in Japan:

 The one and only Liberty Walk,

Where we received an absolutely amazing warm welcome as well as 

obligatory tour of the shop.

After picking our jaws from the floor, we got into our cars and headed back home to get much needed rest.

But the route alone wouldn't make it for a great rally, 

and while having the right people certainly helps, this is a car blog,

so let's talk about some cars:

We start with an absolute jewel of this year's rally: Yuji's Mansory Ferrari 458 Italia "Siracusa" ,

One of only 3 in Japan, it completed entire rally with no issues and was asking for more.  It took on questionable roads and then shined on the track as if it was made for these sort of things, to which any rally veteran would say: it certainly was!

I will cover this car in greater detail in following blog entry, but for now just look at these lines!

Next on our list was this beauty: Audi R8 LMX edition,

Owner of Elusive Autos knows his cars, and was very specific about the R8 he wanted.

After his old R8 GT Spyder met its unfortunate demise,

he made sure it was replaced with something equally rare:

Result: one of 99 in the world, and only one in Japan, in unique to this specific variant shade of blue.

Next are the Aventadors, and yes, we had a few and they come in all shapes and colors,

Starting with this gorgeous SVJ,

to SV Roadster both joining for the night run,

another SV,

And this beautiful LP700 with DMC aero kit!

While we are on subject of Lamborghini's how can we not mention this Diablo SV?!

Apart from a few LED placements, this car is fully original and according to the owner it runs and drives without issues.

And speaking of the owner, he got a treat for us coming soon to be featured on Motorflair!

Moving on some Japanese muscle,

We have the stock R35, which was  proof that stock GTR is fast enough... albeit, needs its speed restriction deleted.

This Nismo GTR though is the epitome of Japanese engineering!

A blast from the past was this R33 Skyline GTR, which  is all function.  The owner is not afraid to squeeze every bit of performance out it so he got the proper set of mods to fulfill his need for speed.

A set of Öhlins dampers and custom built aero kit is enough to say that the owner is all about function.

So is our Toyota 86, but it could really use a Turbo.

Or an engine from this Forester STI.  The Subaru SUV from an era of fast SUVs before they were cool!

Last but not list on our JDM list is this Ferrari....

Yes, you read that right - a JDM Ferrari! Liberty Walk kit and Powercraft valvetronic exhaust have completely changed the character of this car.

It sounds like a ZERO fighter plane, if not louder and style.. well, see for yourself.

One of a kind amazing machine with equal amount of performance and character.

A character that is a perfect match to this dude.... If you you don't know who this is, make sure you click on this link and follow my buddy Steve POV on youtube!

A special mention goes to this monster Jeep which crushed its way (sometimes literally) onto the lineup.  Hey, if anyone would know, a rally is not always about owning most expensive and flashy cars.

After almost a decade of running Cannonball rally in Europe Conrad Wall knows well that unique and crazy vehicles are the foundation of a fun rally, and this Jeep was a testament to that!

We will close with a tribute to my M3, which again swallowed all these miles as if they weren't there.  Hauling luggage, people, and keeping up to Ferrari's and Lambo's,

and even sometimes going off-road!

This was a truly amazing adventure and I can't wait till the next one!  Please check www.worldxseriesrally.com for future events and follow them on instagram!



































 

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