Hemmings once again turns their gaze to J-tin, this time choosing 10 cars that provide “Cheap Fun under the Rising Sun” (subscription required). The bravest pick is a tie between the Isuzu Impulse (shown above) and the Nissan NX2000, which we heartily applaud. (more…)

We’ve been so hung up on the Mazda T2000 that we almost forgot that today was MazFest 2009! Imagine rolling into the car show with that behemoth. Or better yet, taking it on the road course at Fontana’s Auto Club Speedway! Actually, we were content just to observe and report on the cars that were there. (more…)

Since our post earlier this week was pretty popular, we thought we’d round out the week with some more old school SA22C RX-7 love. Here’s a couple of vids.

This first vid is from Japanese video car magazine Video Option. It starts out with Ama-san from Tokyo rotary tuner RE-Amemiya building up an SA22C (shame there’s not more of that buildup phase) and then we skip ahead to Tsukuba Circuit where it’s put through its paces by Shinichi Yamaji (who I believe raced GT300 for RE-Amemiya at the time), posting a very respectable 1:05, a good time for a mildly tuned FD. If this doesn’t make you want one, I don’t know what will!

More video after the jump.

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One of the cars that seems to have been a little left out by the whole J-nostalgic movement is the SA22C RX-7 (or FB as you’d know it in the States).  It seems to straddle the 70s era of fender mirrors and chrome and the 80s period where everything seemed to have turbos, fuel injection and digital dashes.  In its driving qualities it’s a lot closer to the old school than it is to the 80s FC RX-7, while its styling and amenities are more in line with the later era.  So to me, they’ve always had tons of appeal, and it’s only a matter of time before people start to take notice and values rise.  The fact that they were built in serious numbers makes them a much more practical resto proposition than an RX-3 too.  But while everybody wants a period-look RX-3 or RX-2 with flares and dished Watanabes, I’ve always thought that in Japan the SA22C is a little unfairly ignored.

So it was great to find an awesome enthusiast site for the marque at 22C Works.com. It’s an excellent community of SA22 junkies in Japan and just check out their awesome photo galleries. The site also has a big section on modification and upgrade tips, and a great resource for vintage car commercials here.  Let’s hope that we’ll start to see more SA22Cs in the nostalgic style.

And now for your viewing pleasure, a video packed with fantastic footage as it covers the history of rotary-equipped Mazdas in racing. Part 1 is an overview that culminates with the FC RX-7, apparently the newest rotary car at the time the video was made. Part 2 really gets cooking as the Savanna RX-3 takes on the hakosuka Skyline GT-R. In Part 3 we see the Savanna RX-7’s rise to international glory in the IMSA series, which just happens to be the subject of JNC magazine’s Issue 3 cover story. Parts 2 and 3 after the jump. (more…)

You’ve all heard of the stories of Daikoku Parking Area. On weekends, it serves as the gathering area for a multitude of Japan’s outrageous car cultures, from hashiriya street racers to bosozoku bikers to crazy vanners with more fiberglass than metal content on their rides.

Nowadays, the police have harshed the buzz and closed off Daikoku’s nuttiness on weekend nights. You can catch some action on Friday, but it’s still the main rest stop between Tokyo and Yokohama so you never know what you’ll see at any given time. Last Sunday I happened to be passing by and stopped for some photos. Not much in the way of classics, but if you’re from the states here’s some rare JDM machinery nonetheless.

More pics after the jump. (more…)

I’ve been on a SA22/FB RX-7 kick recently. I think it’s because the styling was so radical for its time, and the rotary engine suited that theme perfectly. It was practically born to race, and began taking checkered flags as soon as it was unleashed at events like the 24 Hours of Daytona, Spa 24 Hours, and various touring car championships in Australia, Great Britain and the US.

That’s why this 1978 RX-7 found on NZ Performance Car caught my eye. It has a 13B turbo running 20 pounds of boost and a list of mods almost as long as Chile. That translates to a terrifying 514 wheel hp and it looks absolutely evil. Actually, I think it’s exactly what a Series 1 RX-7 endurance car would look like if Mazda still made SA22s new.

Mark Burgess built it for New Zealand’s OSCA, or Open Saloon Car Association, series and began winning races with it as soon as he stepped onto the track, just like RX-7 drivers of yore. Remind me, why don’t Americans watch touring cars again?

Oh noes! Our friends a The Motor Report, um, report that the upcoming revival of the Nissan Silvia is dead in the water. Anyone care to venture a guess as to why? Ding ding ding! That’s right, the correct answer is: the economy. The global meltdown has now claimed so many victims recently we’ve lost count. The lightweight RWD coupe would have been a worthy surely reignited a rivalry against Toyobaru’s similar effort which, as far as we know, is delayed but still clinging to life. We don’t know if this car would have been a worthy successor to Silvias past, but now we’ll never have the chance. Nissan is also canceling the Infiniti four-door GT-R, shattering all our hopes for a PGC10 redux.

But here’s the good news. TMR also says that an Inside Line source spilled the beans on a new-generation RX-7 already “well along in development.” Hurrah! The new rotary that powers it will be an 800cc x 2 configuration and is predicted to crank out at least 270hp naturally aspirated, while the car itself will weigh only 2640 pounds. Rotorheads who need a larger car can rest assured that the RX-8 will be succeeded by a a design larger than the RX-7, called the RX-9. That’s two Mazdas in the pipeline!

Time to check in with our friends at Speedhunters, who have had the fortune to see the famous yellow and green Toyota 2000GT land speed record car in person.

If you’ve read Lifelong Pursuit, our profile about Shunichi Kasai’s Toyota 2000GT, you’ll know that in 1966 a prototype 2000GT broke 16 FIA-sanctioned world and international land speed records in a 72-hour endurance run at the now-decomissioned Yatabe test track. Oh, did we mention that it was during a torrential rainstorm?

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For your weekend viewing here’s some drool-inducing footage of vintage Nissan Skylines. Hakosukas, kenmeris, japans, you’ve got it all. Click through for another video with Z-cars, Celicas and the stray 810 Bluebird, Mazda Familia, Luce, RX-7 and Toyota Chaser. Thanks to zetozeto99 for the tip! (more…)