Tokyo Auto Salon 2014 was held Makuhari Messe. Just 14 acres of concrete jungle all filled with lustrous modified whips with an estimated net worth of more than $100 million and thousands of man hours spent to bring to life the best of the best in automotive art and modification. The show is set to go on for 3 straight days and with utter excitement, we headed in to experience the finest in the automotive industry.
First up – find the Liberty Walk booth. With news spreading that they have 13 cars scattered around the convention halls, it was most definitely going to be our highlight of the show. Unlike the shows we get here in Malaysia, there were 13 halls and 2 buildings set to blow everyone’s minds and we were most definitely spoilt for choice. We thought it was best to start from the end in building 1 and work ourselves through the halls so thats what we did.
Jackpot! Birdseye view of hall 7 and 8; from a distance we saw the big bright white and red banner that projected “LB Performance”. What a blast to see this it in the flesh. Positioned within the vicinity of the booth were 4 signature cars that brought the brand to life – the Liberty Walk GTR, Murcielago LP640, BMW M3 and its newly launched Ferrari 458 widebody conversion set for unveiling at Tokyo Auto Salon 2014.
Of course with the big 4 aside – LB Performance also showcased their restored and heavily modified Kenmeri Skyline which took centre stage at their booth. Its undoubtedly a thing of beauty but outshine by the exotics surrounded by it.
Look around the area and it was also conquered by the good stuff from LB Performance, taking stand at other booths including 3 more Liberty Walk LP640s, a GTR and LB’s latest installation on the styling upgrade department for the Lamborghini Aventador. Tough to explain the eccentricity of our minds within the first 10 minutes entering TAS14.
And this was just the start…
Within hall 7 and 8 stationed cars that caught our attention.. and some that disgusted our appetite. But lets not look so negative and enjoy the best of the best that TAS14 had to offer. A collection of Fiat 500s matched with multiple stylings, widened as usual crowned amongst many of the utterly outrageous cars that made it to TAS14.
At the same time, this F40 and Carrera GT stood out in the crowd for not only being an exotic, but also rare. Its not easy to come across an F40 and this highly sought after Supercar is most definitely not an everyday ride. But a company called Roberuta has changed the perception and transformed these cars into easier daily drivers; courtesy of their specialised air suspension.
As great as it sounds, it pains us to see an F40 fitted with air lifters. But then again, theres more to the technology..
Tokyo Auto Salon is nothing without ostentatious modified whips and you’d be surprise how involved some brands are. Check out this Chrysler 300C at the Lexani booth packing 24″ wheels with air rides and lamborghini scissor doors to match. We don’t get to see this here do we?
Moving about around Makuhari Messe and we realise just how diversified the Japanese are when it comes to their cars. Yes – Japan is the “Land of JDMs” but they are very bold when it comes to modifying Euro Sports Cars and American Muscles.
Whilst the tuners were making a statement on the exhibition floors – Tokyo Auto Salon has also taken the attention of car makers and they too took part in this festival. Spread across the few floors, companies like Mercedes AMG, Lexus, Nissan and Honda has brought something special to the TAS14 to showcase to their fans of their involvement in the industry.
Lexus unveiled their all-new racer that is taking part in the 2014 Super GT series called the LF-CC. Racing in the GT500 catergory, this all-new racer is powered by a 2.0-litre Turbocharged engine that sets to blow the sound barriers with its exhaust note. Go and listen on youtube if you haven’t heard.
Cool props on display at the unveiling; illustrating the car in action.
Honda too had their next Super GT racer on display. The all-new NSX Super GT is set to replace the outgoing HSV-010GT racer in the GT500 class and will go head-to-head with the Lexus LF-CC in the series. Now down from 3.4-litre V8 in the HSV to a 2.0-litre turbocharged hybrid system, this will be the next highlight of the race series.
The past makes it to TAS14 as well with the Toyota 2000GT race car from the 60s which set the bar for the rare breed of cars within the show. Only 337 units ever came to life and the value for a fine example today will set you back over RM1 million.
But not all things always have to start life that expensively. This very Custom Hot Rod began life as a Mazda MX-5 which has been fully transformed into this awesome looking thing! When was the last time you heard Hot Rods were built on a Japanese based chassis?
The custom work is really impressive. It is rather difficult to tell that it was all derived from an MX-5.
There is so many to showcase and it is difficult to show you the vast amount of epic cars that shined at TAS14 due to the sheer size of the show. We will be splitting the overview into 3 different parts divided amongst the best of the best that stood out at Tokyo Auto Salon in the coming days. So stay tuned. Till then, here is a little gallery for your viewing pleasure..
