In the event you’re the style of person to have a hobby, obsession or passion, then you definately’ll know all too well just how much time these items take up. On the very extreme they will be all-consuming fevers that occupy every waking moment of 1’s existence.
Automobile obsessions are among the most crippling. Just try adding up what number of hours you spend enthusiastic about, tinkering with, and driving your money pit. Now, imagine trying to keep up that dedication to your hobby while running a busy Tokyo roastery and café at the identical time. I believe we’d all find ourselves drowning in a sea of fair trade coffee beans before we even began searching for our automobile keys.
So you may probably imagine Yoshiaki Shimada‘s delight when his son Masaki developed a keen interest for rotary-powered cars. Yoshiaki-san – the present owner of the RE Amemiya Super GReddy 8 RX-7 – could now give attention to his business, CafeAiR, while living semi-vicariously through his son’s own Mazda journey.
To be fair, it was inevitable for Masaki-san to grow to be a rotor-head. Before Yoshiaki-san was a successful business owner and arabica bean roaster extraordinaire, he spent many late nights out on Tokyo’s highways having fun in one other wild FD3S.
Twenty years ago, Yoshiaki-san also participated in Japan’s version of the Cannonball Run – as organised and documented by Video Option – which was contested on a bit of the Tomei Expressway in between two fixed speed cameras. You may relive a few of that motion here.
Did you see the GReddy 8 within the video? When Yoshiaki-san took ownership of the ex-RE Amemiya demo automobile, the RX-7-based custom-kitted speedster still wore the enduring hot pink paint seen on its debut on the 1999 Tokyo Auto Salon. He ended up respraying the Mazda white, but when Masaki-san purchased his off-white FD3S RX-7, it seemed nearly as good a time for Yoshiaki-san to return the GReddy 8 to its famous hue.
Each cars have a time capsule quality about them, as if they’ve been locked up in a late-’90s/early-’00s Japanese tuning shop and left untouched for 20+ years. That’s largely true of Yoshiaki-san’s automobile, and in some ways also of Masaki-san’s Mazda, as his was modelled off one other famous Japanese tuner RX-7 from back within the day. I’m, after all, talking in regards to the legendary 327km/h Scoot Sports FD3S.
While Hidekazu Koseki at Scoot in Yokohama takes care of each cars today, the GReddy 8 retains most of its original equipment, including RE Amemiya’s ‘AC987′ custom bodywork, Porsche headlights (although now later-model projector versions) and Trust TD06-25G turbo-equipped 13B good for 400PS. The engine has had a Scoot rebuilt in Yoshiaki-san’s ownership, and the bonnet, rear spoiler, suspension and muffler are all updated Scoot Sport pieces.
When Dino spotted the automobile back in 2015 it had been fitted with some aftermarket BBS wheels, however it’s now back on the unique RE Amemiya AW-7s seen in its ’99 Tokyo Auto Salon spec. All is true on this planet.
Visually, Masaki-san’s RX-7 looks loads like Koseki’s Scoot automobile – from the unique kit with added rear wheel spats (supposedly good for an additional 5km/h at the highest end for Koseki’s original automobile) to the Enkei NT03 wheels and Stack digital dash display.
Under the hood, Masaki-san’s FD3S runs a Scoot-built 13B side-port with a jumbo Trust T78-33D single turbo and flat-mounted intercooler. Tuned through a Link engine management system it makes a solid 550PS.
It may well put that power down too, due to chassis and suspension setup effective tuning carried out by a friend of Yoshiaki-san’s at Autopolis Circuit in Ōita Prefecture.
The common love that father and son share for rotary tuning was heartwarming to see firsthand, and an inspiration to all. Hobbies are best shared, and as seen here, they’ll bring friends and families even closer together.
I would like to present an enormous due to Yoshiaki-san, who took the time to fulfill me for the shoot with Masaki-san after an extended day spent roasting beans and brewing coffees.
Toby Thyer
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This Article First Appeared At www.speedhunters.com
