2020 happened, but (Spoiler Alert: We are still here!)

Wow, just wow. Waking up on this late December morning still wondering what has happened in last 12 months. 

Perhaps one of the reasons I wasn't posting, was the sheer pace at which we were hit by surprises in 2020.  By the time I'd finish writing, the information in my post would already be outdated.  


The year took off with a flying start!  

Annual visit to Daikoku PA on January 3rd was an absolute blast,

Followed by ever crazier Auto Salon, where new connections were made and while I didn't have much time to look at cars, 

Everything I saw was absolutely mind boggling!

Starting with this Nissan Skyline ER34 with brand new Liberty Walk Silhouette kit

To this Novitec Largo McLaren 720S

and how could we forget the ultra rare Mercedes Benz CLK GTR next to Jaguar XJ15 at Roberuta booth?

One of my personal Favorites was the Supra,

Where the tuner didn't just focus on wheels and Body kit, but did a lot of work on the performance as well

I also wanted to highlight the Nissan Skyline 400R with a bit of Nismo bits.  

Or the example tastefully modified by Varis,

This car epitomizes Japanese sports sedans in 2020, hope we'll see more modified examples in the streets

Then came the World X Series Rally 200 Mile Saturday - a single day event focused on group of car enthusiasts hungry to cover some distances 

While appreciating each others rides.  

What an epic day that was

We had amazing plans for 2020,

But little did I know that this little rally would be the last....

At least for now.  

We have a lot a under our sleeve, but unfortunately transpiring this into reality is not up to us.

Then was one of personal favorite shows: Nostalgic 2 Days staged at its usual locations in Yokohama

But this year it was overshadowed by news of new weird disease rampaging in China and making its way to Japan.


The notorious cruise liner was just a few miles North from the venue!  As you can imagine, from then on, things went downhill.

World X Series Rally, which we really kicked into high gear in 2019 with partnership with iconic watchmaker Roger Dubuis went into indefinite hiatus.

Shows got cancelled,

cars got parked,

or even sold

While I hit a series of personal challenges so for few weeks my M3 joined the parked crew.

But then something happened; Japanese lockdown got lifted, I got bored, and problems... let's just say they started solving themselves!

sitting at home was no longer an option, and my car needed a ton of work to be done.  

So a few visits to our friends at Check Shop 

Some overnight parts from UK


And Rod Bearings were swapped, 

Along with new Spark plugs, fluids, and set of brand new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.

For good measure added an exhaust from Supersprint, AFE Carbon Air Intake, 3D Design Lip and a carbon spoiler on the trunk.

And a pair of Piloti Driving Shoes to complete the set!

Car looks and feels like nothing I could ever imagine.  True pride and joy, and the fact how well it responded to these changes makes me never want to stop driving it, so for the rest of 2020, that's exactly what I was doing.

On comes the All Genre Touring Club

What started with a small group of car guys desperate to rack some miles developed into a 100+ member owners club where only one thing happens: 

We get together and drive, and I don't think any of us wanted anything else!  

And when I say All-genre, I mean all-genre!

We got everything

From JDM

to Supercars,

lots of Beemers,

even one of the very first Corvette C8's in Japan!

Our events were an absolute blast,

From US style Cars & Coffee

to epic night drives,

to rallies on some of the most beautiful and exciting roads Japan has to offer!

Every morning I wake up and thank car Gods for not letting the pandemic affect Japan in ways it did other countries.

Even in November we had amazing fully sanctioned car shows, and thanks to Japan Super Car Association,

we could see some of the most incredible cars scatted across shopping mall in Odaiba,

Not too often we get to see such cars up close and personal,

and some we may never see again!

Then came the annual Hakone rally, where about 120 supercars joined.

I knew this was going to be epic, so I went to do a little shopping...
Enter the full frame!  Sony Alpha 7R2 mirrorless masterpiece of technology,

delivering some of the most impressive image quality,

Colors,

And incredible sensitivity in poor light!

So what can I say, car is running, camera is ready

Bring on the 2021! 

We are good to go!


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