At the peak of the bubble economy, Japan was unlike the rest on the planet – its city skyline gleamed with the promise of limitless prosperity, and its streets pulsed with the electrical energy of a nation on the point of an unprecedented future.
For a lot of, Tokyo represents that golden era – a city transformed by an explosion of population, infrastructure, and innovation within the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. And nothing embodies the bubble era quite like Akihabara Electric Town. It’s the essence of Japan’s leap to global dominance in electronics manufacturing.
I’ve desired to shoot on this neon-drenched corner of Akihabara ever since I saw Mark’s photos of Junya-san’s WRC Impreza back in 2018. Once I began talking to the owner of this FD3S, Ayato-san, I knew it was the proper automobile for the job.
Sprawling electronics megastores and game arcades line the Electric Town streets. Outside, cosplay girls tout each innocent and questionable services – a mirrored image of Japan’s outward modesty masking a devilish, behind-closed-doors culture.
I remember my first visit to Akihabara – stepping out of the JR station was an amazing sensory experience. The streets buzzed with energy, and J-Pop pumped from every store with an unexplainable politeness. Despite living here for five years now, I hadn’t been back to Electric Town since that first visit. This time – at 9:00pm on a Sunday – it felt quieter. Friday nights could also be livelier, but there was something about it – it appeared like the party was over. It’s 2024, in spite of everything, and Japan’s economic bubble has been deflated for over 30 years.
So, what automobile could match this location? It has to scream ‘peak Japan.’ A Skyline GT-R? A Toyota Supra? Too obvious. Yes, the GT-R is the epitome of Japanese automobile design and mechanical excellence – but its iconic status worldwide has made it a bit too… vanilla. It’s still Japanese at heart, however it’s now not quintessentially so.
For me, the FD3S Mazda RX-7 is the true Japanese sports automobile.
Compact, beautiful, with a timeless design and an modern (if barely bonkers) rotary engine – it’s like nothing else on the planet. And Ayato-san’s RX-7 hits the mark. It perfectly mirrors Japan’s rise and fall as essentially the most futuristic, essentially the most eccentric and advanced automotive industry of its time.
The bottom automobile is a Series 6 Type RZ, one in every of only 175 ever made, and Ayato-san is its second owner. But what truly sets this rare FD apart is the body kit it wears.
That is the 97GT wide-body kit designed by RE Amemiya for its 1997 Tokyo Auto Salon FD3S demo automobile (pictured above). Only two kits were made before it was deemed too expensive for mass production. We don’t know the whereabouts of the demo automobile – however it was either repurposed or scrapped – so Ayato-san’s 97GT kit is prone to be the one surviving example.
The RE Amemiya 97GT demo automobile featured a naturally aspirated 20B three-rotor peripheral ported engine with MoTeC management, backed up by a Supra 6-speed transmission. Ayato-san’s automobile remains to be powered by its original 13B-REW engine. Nevertheless, it’s now bridge-ported and has traded its twin sequential turbochargers for a giant single HKS GTIII-4R. With 400PS on tap, it gets along very nicely, and its titanium exhaust system, made by RE Amemiya in collaboration with Ito Syokai, ensures that its ported pulse is heard loud and clear.
I’m unsure if it was Ayato-san’s neo-goth aesthetic that influenced me, however the moment I saw his automobile parked in Electric Town, I couldn’t help but consider H.R. Giger’s designs for Alien. The sculpted rear bumper and organic curves of the fender cutaways resemble the armoured body of an alien insect from a distant galaxy.
So, where on earth did Ayato-san find this rare piece of Japanese tuning history? Yahoo! Auctions Japan, after all. The RX-7 wearing the kit was covered in moss and prepared for the scrapyard, but Ayato-san took a raffle, hoping a garage could successfully restore and refit the 97GT aero on his freshly acquired Type RZ.
Ultimately, the specialist work was carried out by Matsuda Automobile Body. The kit required some fibreglass repair, but care was taken not to change its original shape.
Originally, Ayato-san ran the kit’s original rear wing and the identical 17-inch RE Amemiya AW-7 wheels seen on the demo automobile, but he’s since modified up the look with a couple of contemporary touches. The FD sits on Desmond RegaMaster EVO II wheels – 18×10-inch +15 throughout – while the front bumper has been fitted with a carbon fibre splitter and canards. The large rear wing remains to be an RE Amemiya piece, but this time of GT300 design.
I often wonder what Japan would appear to be today if its economy had continued on its futuristic trajectory after 1991. In the event you’d asked a tourist in 1990 what Akihabara Electric Town might appear to be in 2024, they’d probably have described something out of Blade Runner 2049. But the reality is, Japan peaked within the ’90s, and things haven’t modified as drastically as we’d hoped. ASIMO now looks like a Tamagotchi in comparison with the humanoids being built by Boston Dynamics.
Geoeconomics are beyond our control, and Japanese automotive giants like Mazda, Subaru, Toyota, and Nissan are at their mercy. We are able to’t change the past, but we will keep driving it – just as Ayato-san is doing along with his 97GT Mazda RX-7.
Toby Thyer
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tobythyer.co.uk
This Article First Appeared At www.speedhunters.com
