While Osaka Auto Messe was predominantly taken over by VIP and Kei style cars, one of the exhibition halls was reserved for the old skool – the companies that built the foundations of the Japanese modified car industry with their latest creations on display. The URAS stand was tucked away in a corner but was manned by the legendary Nomuken and ever-enthusiastic Manabu “Mana-P” Suzuki – getting my photo taken with these two and trying before they tried to discuss Manchester in broken English/Japanese was definitely one of those “pinch me” moments. Representing URAS on the car front was this cool JZX100 that I believe Nomuken threw together a few months prior to the show using assorted items from the URAS parts bin.
On the other side of the hall was the most talked about drift car at the time – the OTG Lexus LFA. I tried to get a better picture but…
…this was the best I could manage thanks the hordes of guys swarming to take photos of the models. This was a recurring theme at plenty of the bigger stands throughout the show, something I’m not really cool with to be honest. Save yourself the effort and just stalk them on Instagram instead? Haha.
I’ve already done a post on the Origin Labo. stand and the awesome cars that featured on it – getting to meet the drifter I look up to most (Naoki Nakamura) and study his competition-spec PS13 in the flesh was pretty mind blowing.
The other side of the hall was a melting pot of some of the most famous Japanese tuning houses imaginable. Considering Auto Messe is a lot smaller than the likes of Tokyo Auto Salon, getting to see so many of these big names in one place far exceeded my original expectations for the event.
The Top Fuel S2000 is legendary in the Time Attack scene – I don’t think I really need to explain why once you’ve studied the pictures.
The JUN Synergy powered BRZ – the perfect example of a car built in a tuning industry that seemingly knows no bounds.
RS Pantera FD3S.
I’ve been a fan of TRIAL ever since I saw their feature on one of the old JDM Insider DVDs – the scale of their operation is truly eye opening and this GT86 demo car from them emphasis their company ethos perfectly.
One of the other exhibition halls was reserved for European cars and some of the bigger names in the industry, including Junction Produce, Work Wheels and RAYS. This was the first time I’ve seen a Rauh-Welt creation in the flesh and, to be honest, the visual impact wasn’t as great as I’d been expecting it to be. I guess I much prefer the likes of Stella rather than this green example.
I don’t think I need to explain anything regarding the below picture.
This new weight saving spoke design from RAYS was pretty cool…
…and their demo Lexus RC-F was absolutely stunning.
And to finish, my favourite car of the event. All the legendary tuners, incredible drifters and insane domestic builds, and a little BMW 2002 was my personal highlight. This thing was, put simply, absolutely impeccable, with everything from the gold tow hook, the interior retrim and the half-cage being nothing but spot on.
