My second visit to Tokyo was amazing and best of all I got to really enjoy Tokyo Auto Salon this time around. Last year, I caught the flu just as I was landing at Narita Airport so spent most of my week inside my hotel room. This year I attended TAS 2017 on “media day” which is designed to let photographers/media members take photos of the cars and booths without a bunch of crazy car fans in your shot. But in my opinion, media day seemed much busier than last years show. Good for the industry not so much for photos. But was still able to get some good shot for you. Here are some of my favorite cars from the show.
The second booth in the first isle was the Blitz booth who always comes through with some good looking cars. The booth and car selection was well coordinated and had a good mix of aggressive and conservative vehicles. Including this Toyota 86 on Enkei GTC01RR wheels.
Here’s a closer look at the Enkei GTC01RR.
Nothing too aggressive here but I almost didn’t recognize this MX5 Miata. I’m not a big fan of convertibles so was happy to see this version in their booth. I believe those are Enkei PFM1 wheels on there which will be available in the US in 2018.
This BMW E30 was definitely one of my favorite cars at the show. The Pandem body kit and BBS wheels look amazing.
Speaking of E30’s, how about an M3 wagon on BBS wheels at the KW / Pandem booth? Love the chunky R888 Toyo tires.
If the BMW E30 wagon was not enough, this VW Golf MK2 was sitting right next to it. It’s strange but when at SEMA, I usually get pretty tired of seeing Rocket Bunny or Liberty Walk builds but here, I was hunting for them.
The Spirit of Drifting aka the Hachi Roku is a WMD favorite, especially when spotted in Japan. The Trueno!
I think this Skyline was here at TAS last year but still looks so good.
More Pandem love with this matte gray / primered R32.
Here’s a rear shot, digging that step lip in those wheels.
Now to a couple of drift cars including this Nascar powered Formula Drift Toyota 86. I believe Fredric Aasbo was driving this car a while back.
This K’SPEC D1 Toyota Supra looked pretty beefy. Love the RS05RR wheels.
Clean looking Mazda RX7 FD… notice the dude who got in my shot. ;)
And lastly, this Liberty Walk Mazda RX3.
Didn’t feel like fighting mobs of photographers like this (it’s a big part of TAS)…
My final thought on this year’s TAS show is It was packed and full of amazing and crazy builds. Maybe impractical for the US streets (or Japan) but to be honest, that’s what I/we come for – crazy body kits, fat lips on wheels, etc. I love the style. From my brief visits, Japan car culture is definitely alive and seems to be the staple. That being said, I feel the US and Japan bounce ideas off each other and create a pretty awesome and important part of car culture and we are really glad to be a witness to it! After a long day at the show, it was time to get on the bus and head back to the hotel – this beautiful sunset couldn’t be wasted so I shot the first car I saw on the way to the bus…
This 370Z. Shout out to our sponsors Turn14 Distribution, Koyorad, and Enkei Wheels and everyone who has ever purchased gear from us. We would not be able to this without you. Thanks for checking us out! – Alex