Google maps were kind to us, as we consistently selected to avoid toll roads we were brought deeper and deeper into the countryside of Japan.
Sometimes you never know what you are going to get in an email. A couple of months back we received an email from a young fan of the site telling us about how his father owns not one but two Nissan GTR’s. In Ireland the GTR is not exactly a common site to begin with so after a quick exchange of details we decided to pack the car and head to Cashel to check this out for ourselves. I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing; this was a pretty awesome sight to behold.
You just can’t get enough of a good looking 180sx. I don’t care what anyone says but when there is a perfectly styled example in front of your eyes it brings the same amount of excitement as anything else. Over the years Ireland has robbed its fair share of these from Japan, many have been drifted, and others have been butchered, others have been stored away and others have been done like this. The ones which have been styled this good are always a treat.
The one thing that always gets me excited about running this website is the amount of surprise cars which pop up that I just have to see in person. Ireland is action packed full of surprise builds. Owners who really build cars for themselves are what get me excited the most. Similar to the KE70 we featured a few months back, this RX7 appeared on the internet out of nowhere and when it appeared in my news feed I had to find out its story. Throughout the boom Ireland purchased its fair share of these beauties but the common feeling amongst people towards these cars is fear, due to the Rotary engine set-ups which was a relatively new thing to Ireland… Most car enthusiasts would have a fear of these cars because of the high maintenance which would steer people most of them away from ever really touching such an incredible looking chassis.
The 32 skyline has to be one of the nicest pieces of eye candy to ever come from Japan…. so little is needed to create such a timeless look..Those classic tails, one of the most iconic rear ends known to the car scene worldwide…. Much of the mature generation was introduced to it Via car games outside of Japan, and the younger Via the internet and another feeding of car games…. I’ve always had an insane fondness towards the HCR32, its like the misfit little brother of the GTR… On a casual cold night I tracked down one of the nicer local examples for a quick photoshoot….
It’s obvious to many just how strong the AE86 following is here in Ireland, there was such a ridiculous amount of these cars brought into our little country over the last ten years. Nicky’s 86 was one of these cars; it came in as a slag from Japan, with a collection of desirable goodies. Somehow he managed to build on what many would have called an already awesome car. I have to admit, like many who have seen this car in the flesh, it just makes you smile, it could easily be one of the best looking Trueno’s this little green isle has ever seen.
What I love about Japfest is the amount of racing and activities that are on throughout the day as well as the show thats inside the paddock. It can be a somewhat overhwleming task to cover everything as you have time attack, Prodrift, drag racing and track time on all at the same time. There’s something for everyone.
The R32 is by far one of the most popular cars to come out of Japan. The BNR32GTR is by far one of the best cars ever made; it was almost unbeaten in the N1 category in Japan during its reign of terror. The car really pushed what was possible handling and electronics wise at that time. What is so good about this R32 Skyline is that it started life as an a lower base model, the GTS-T sporting an RB20DET and a Rear wheel drive setup. The lower model R32’s always lived in the shadow of the higher spec GTR model amongst hardcore Skyline Fans, but that didn’t stop anyone’s visions of creating the perfect R32 without having a GTR. This GTS-T was torn down and rebuilt from the ground up.
This year the weather was looking super dodgy, we didn’t get a chance to make it down on Saturday but on Sunday morning as we hit the road it was already looking to be a shit day. Somehow the rain staid in the clouds and it turned out to be another awesome day in Cork. The Drift Ireland guys basically had the entire “show and shine” type of area from last year to themselves apart from one accord. Nickys Trueno is out of this world sexy and was hidden in between Pete’s GS pimp wagon and that beautiful 180 we should do a feature on.
This shot of the Blue 86 wearing Meisters at Ennis shot by Michal Metlicka is awesome. Such a nice car that I didn’t get to appreciate enough that weekend.
With the weather being so crazy lately it was nice that on the day this meet was organized, there was a cold winter sun on a nice crisp day. This meet was held in Portlaoise. They had set up a Gymkhana course where you could have a little fun if you wanted. Its great to see that Ireland still has a strong following of the 86 and other early RWD chassis from Toyota and a decent amount of cars made an appearance.
Ive seen a lot of tasty looking mx5’s or miata’s coming out of the US lately and the UK. Ill stick more up over the coming weeks. Not too much floating around spec wise on this all i know is its turboed. Its mad to see that the whole stance and look of the car changes by getting it to sit right on some Work meister wheels. Good stuff.