Madcap Japanese tuning houses rub shoulders with major manufacturers at Japan's most extreme motor show
The Japanese car industry gets to let its hair down at the Tokyo Auto Salon, Japan’s equivalent of America’s SEMA show, where major manufacturers share space with extreme customising outfits.
Japan’s five biggest car companies all turned out for the show, each bringing highly tuned race-oriented versions of standard road cars – highlights include Honda’s Mugen tuned N-One city car and Nissan’s Nismo Leaf.
The Toyota GT86 was, predictably, the car of the show, with dozens of modified examples from the hardcore (Gazoo Racing’s twin charged Sports FR Concept) to the completely restyled (the rebodied 86 x Style Cb). The Sports FR, with the addition of a supercharger and a turbo, makes 326bhp, and was conceived as an homage to the last Toyota Supra - it features Supra-inspired front and rear lights, and a big rear wing.
Toyota also showed a GT86 modified by tuning outft TOMS, with a 400bhp 3.5-litre V6 replacing the standard four-cylinder engine.
Mazda concentrated on diesel power, with a 6 and a CX-5 equipped with its new 2.2-litre four-cylinder. The CX-5 was fitted with carbon panels, while the 6 (shown as a Tourer and a saloon) was modified with a bodykit and 20-inch alloys. Mazda also wheeled out its Le Mans racer for 2013, powered by the same 2.2-litre four.
Nissan used the show to launch the new Juke Nismo in Japan, where it goes on sale in February. It also announced a customisation programme for the Juke and showed a Nismo modified Leaf, with a body kit designed to improve the car's efficiency.