Author Archives: Ben Hsu
PIXELATED: Tokyo Xtreme Racer is coming back
Video game publisher Genki recently tweeted an picture of a Nissan GT-R idling at a Tokyo expressway pull-off zone at night, ready for action. For JNCers of a certain age, then image should instantly evoke the thrill of Tokyo Xtreme … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, Video Games
Tagged alto, gt-r, honda, nissan, r35, s660, shutoku battle, suzuki, Tokyo Xtreme Racer
18 Comments
VIDEO: The world’s first race cars to broadcast live from the cockpit were Toyota Celicas
Toyota Australia has just released an interview with Aussie racing great Peter Williamson. As you may recall, Williamson passed away in 2016, but his legacy as the world’s first in-car camera broadcaster lives on. The interview was conducted at the 2016 Toyota … Continue reading
VIDEO: Japan’s best drivers compete in Japan’s slowest car
The brilliant thing about Best Motoring is that one day you get an epic AE86 track battle, and the next day you get antics rivaling 2002-era Top Gear in silliness. Take this 1996 episode, for example. Daihatsu had just resurrected the Midget II … Continue reading
Posted in Video
Tagged best motoring, daihatsu, Midget II, Motoharu Kurosawa, Tsukuba Circuit
7 Comments
VIDEO: The ultimate AE86 track battle
In 2005, to commemorate volume number 86, Hot Version invited Japan’s top AE86 to Tsukuba Circuit to lay down some lap times. This era was the peak of innovation for AE86 tuning with the TRD N2 Corolla Levin, driven by Keiichi Tsuchiya, as perhaps … Continue reading
Posted in Video
Tagged ae86, corolla, corolla levin, hachiroku, hot version, sprinter trueno, toyota, Tsukuba Circuit
5 Comments
QotW: What’s your JNC New Year resolution?
Shogatsu, or New Year, is the most important holiday of the Japanese calendar, as important as Christmas in the US. It’s a chance to get a fresh new start on life, which perhaps means finally getting around to that project. In which case, we … Continue reading
JNC THEATER: Watch a Nissan Cefiro drift its way through Protector 2
Despite its status as a formidable drift chassis in Japan, the A31 Nissan Cefiro looks to the rest of the world like an average late-80s sedan. That’s exactly what makes it the perfect stunt vehicle for Protector 2, the action-packed martial arts film … Continue reading
QotW: What part of 2016 are you most eager to forget?
December 31 is when the Japanese typically throw a bonenkai, or “year forgetting” party, to drink away memories of a particularly crappy trip around the sun. Maybe your ride suffered a horrible mechanical malady this year, or perhaps a favorite racing idol died, or … Continue reading
Merry Christmas, everyone!
May you enjoy not just your presents, but the box they came in. メリークリスマス from JNC! Image courtesy of Nissan.
VIDEO: Watch Adam Carolla hillclimb Paul Newman’s 300ZX
The Drive just concluded their video series following Adam Carolla’s journey to England as he enters his freshly restored, ex-Paul Newman Nissan 300ZX in the Goodwood Festival of Speed‘s hillclimb. Restored in the UK (a proper British restoration, not one of … Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged 300zx, adam carolla, Bob Sharp Racing, Goodwood Festival of Speed, imsa, nissan, paul newman, z31
3 Comments
VIDEO: A street-legal, AWD, 1100hp Celica
At this point Lexus 1UZ swaps into lightweight classic J-coupes that weigh almost nothing are not a new thing. However, squeezing 1,100 horsepower out of the 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo turned up to 27 psi necessitated a GT-R’s AWD drivetrain for Jamie … Continue reading
Do you have what it takes to be a Japanese Car Meister?
Two years ago, the a new automotive exam was introduced in Japan and is growing in popularity. Asking 100 multiple choice questions, passing it awards the taker with the coveted Car Meister Certification. You have only one hour to take it, which works … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2016 NISMO Festival at Fuji Speedway
For 20 years, Nissan’s motorsports division has put on an annual gala for followers of its many racing machines and successes. The NISMO Festival is a Burning Man for Nissan nuts, a mecca for fans of Sunny and Skyline alike. Best of all, … Continue reading
Posted in events
Tagged 240z, 240zg, 350z, 370z, 510, 910, b110, b310, bluebird, c10, cherry, datsun, fairlady z, fuji speedway, gc10, gt-r, Hakosuka, haruhito yanagida, mt. fuji, NISMO, NISMO Festival, nissan, prince, r32, r35, r380, r381, r382, R90C, R91CP, R92CP, s110, s12, s30 z, silvia, skyline, sunny, Super GT, ts cup, Yoshikazu Sunako
7 Comments
NEWS: Mazda revives NA Classic Red, introduces Tokyo Auto Salon lineup
It’s subtle, but if you look carefully the ND in the accompanying photos is missing the metallics, blues and purples in Soul Red, the signature color slathered on all modern Mazdas. No, it’s the appropriately named Classic Red, one of the three original … Continue reading
QotW: What are you asking Japanese Santa Claus for this year?
Pulled on a flying zokusha by eight flying Nara sika deer, Japanese Santa Claus travels the world bringing sweet diecast cars, rare JDM parts and, if you’re really good, possibly entire cars to good little JNC boys and girls everywhere. … Continue reading
BIKES: Honda reveals retro-styled 2017 CB1100 EX
Honda has announced the 2017 CB1100 EX, a motorcycle styled after the renowned 1969 Honda CB750. That model was the world’s first production superbike and transformed the world of motorcycling when it debuted.
VIDEO: Nissan restores 1987 Paris-Dakar Patrol
In 1987, Nissan won the diesel class of the Paris-Dakar Rally with a turbodiesel Patrol. It was promptly retired and languished in a museum for almost three decades. Then, a group of Nissan engineers saw some photos of it in a … Continue reading
