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The legacy of JGTC Super GT – TAMIYA COLLECTION FEATURETTE
Motorsport in the Land of the Rising Sun – The history of the JGTC Super GT and its models: Unlike many other racing series around the world, the Japanese Super GT series had not one, but two predecessors. To get back to the roots of the series, you have to look way back. The Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC) has been held in Japan since the late 1960s and was initially largely dominated by the first generation of the Nissan Skyline GT-R. When the FIA launched Group 5, this change also left its mark on the Land of the Rising Sun in the second half of the seventies: In 1979,…
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From RB30 engines to scaled modelcars – JDM MEET FEATURETTE
How it all started: On 10 August this year in Matten near Interlaken, it was that time again. The 2024 car meet for Japanese car fans was organised at the airfield for the fifth time. But for the first time, the fifth anniversary event was not only accompanied by food shops, but also by stands that had nothing to do with food as well. And this is where our model car shop came into play: we have been selling various scaled modelcars from various manufacturers and brands under our partner Doramas for several years. The link to the webshop can be found at the end of this article or directly…
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Bōsōzoku, the craziness of Japan POP RACE FEATURETTE
Welcome to the Bōsōzoku subculture of Japan! 暴走族! Literally, it means “brutal running tribe”, which already says the essentials about this subculture: it’s all about tuning cars and motorbikes to generate a brutal look. Originally, the Bōsōzoku gangs were pure motorbike clubs, but gradually migrated into the car scene. These gangs experienced their heyday at the beginning of the 1980s. They were recognisable by their tokko-fuku (特攻服), the “special attack uniform” based on the uniform of kamikaze pilots with slogans in kanji characters. Later, the influence of the actual gangs faded, but the subculture remained and shifted to cars. Bōsōzoku style was born! An absolute masterpiece in its own way:…
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Modelcars featuring Exposed Carbon Fibre? – NEXT LEVEL FEATURETTE
What’s the matter about carbon fiber? Carbon is considered one of the materials in automotive construction whose importance will increase in the future. Designers love it in all its variations: Real carbon, partial carbon, carbon foil, in the interior or as add-on parts – the dark material looks noble and sporty at the same time. Engineers are at least as enthusiastic about carbon: it guarantees high strength and rigidity with a low specific weight. For this, however, it has to be produced at great expense. So it is beautiful and valuable – and that makes carbon the black gold among high-tech materials. In motor sports in particular, every kilogram saved…
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Legacy of Nissan Skyline GTR R34 – JDM FEATURETTE
The Skyline Culture: The roots of the Nissan Skyline GT-R go back to 1969, when Nissan introduced the Skyline 2000 as the “2000 GT-R” sports version. At the time, the Japanese car, which was powered by an in-line six-cylinder, had 160 hp and weighed only 1,100 kilograms, was Nissan’s reaction to American muscle cars. The attempt failed to some extent, the GT-R sold rather sluggishly due to the oil crisis in the 1970s and was discontinued in 1973. (Today, however, the so-called “shoe boxes”, Hakosuka, are traded in good condition for well over 200,000 Euros). It was not until 1989 that project manager Kozo Watanabe decided to offer a GT-R…
