Autos Car Photos: February 2010

Alfa Romeo Junior Z car

Following on from the previous entry...here is another special car sighting in Tokyo. Spotted just around the corner from Super Autobacs (yes I'm there too often!) an immaculate 1973 Alfa Romeo Junior Z. Z of course stands for Zagato. Don't know much about this little car except it looks very nice in the flesh. First time I"ve ever seen one up close...

FIAT 131 Mirafiori Abarth

It never seezes to amaze me the cars you get to see in Tokyo. Spotted this orange Fiat 131 homologation special at Super Autobacs just outside Tokyo. Brings back a lot of memories as my father used to drive this (albeit the normal road car) back when I was a little kid and it's the first car I ever got to drive. They were built between 1976 and 1981 and people might recall Walter Röhl won a few rallies with this thing!!

Powered by a twin-carb, twin-cam, 2.0 L 4-cylinder FIAT engine it develops 140PS at 6,400 rpm and considering the 985 Kg it must still be a fun car to drive. It was the Italian version of the AE86!! They even made a Shilouette Group 5 racer based on the 131. It was powered by a 260PS 3.5 L V6.

Rally car....

Gr.5 racer...

Mazda Roadster RS (MX-5/Miata) pic

Spent some time savoring the dynamics of one of the most fun cars out there, the new Mazda Roadster. The design is very closely linked to the Ibuki concept shown at the Tokyo motor show two years ago and really does succeed in bringing the most successful roadster in the world into the new millennium. The cute looking Roadster has put on a bit of weight, up to 1100 kg, but that is to be expected considering the slightly bigger dimensions. The new 2L engine, which sits far back into the chassis almost all behind the front wheels, kicks out an ok 170 PS.

Top up

Out on the road the superbly balanced handling of a lightweight FR car is what impresses the most. The engine however sounds uninspiring at the best of times, it's very unrefined and it almost hurts to hear it rev over 6,000 rpm. I'm sure Mazda could have done a better job of giving the 4-cylinder better characteristics. What really did bug me though was the ridiculous throttle mapping the Roadster had. At first I thought there was something wrong with it, revs would hang on for so long when backing off for a gearchange. Of course it is all thanks to the electronic throttle which makes the accelerator pedal feel it's linked to a PS2 rather than a real engine. This resulted in extremely slow gearchange as you had to wait for rpm to drop to engage the next gear. Avoid doing this and you discover the meaning of driveline-shunt! All in all it is a fun drive but there are a lot of little things like the unprecise gearchance and comical body-roll that really spoil the experience.

The interior is a very nice place to be in. It looks and feels modern, despite the plasticky feel, to be expected of in this price range, and accommodates tall drivers without a problem. The Bose CD-based audio system is nothing to write home about but it does a good job of diffusing your favorite music around the cabin. On long motorway journeys with the roof up though things get very noisy and it becomes hard to hold speeds higher than 130 km/h. The roof mechanism looks a bit cheap from the inside and if you get caught behind a truck at anything over 100 km/h the roof will vibrate so much it will suck your ear-drums out!

I was not impressed with the Michelin tyres fitted to the car. They provide ok grip but are a bit scary on the limit. So all in all a good car but could have been so much better.

Toyota Vitz (Yaris) RS cars

The new Toyota Vitz went into production earlier this year and has been selling pretty well in Japan. It's biggest test is succeeding in the lucrative European market which is saturated with offerings from local manufacturers. It will go head to head with cars like FIATs new rather good Punto.

Overall it has grown considerably from the previous generation model and has plenty of interior space to sit 5 adults in comfort. Plenty of convenient storage spaces and cubby holes to keep anyone happy while the tilting rear seats (twin splitting on non sports models) offer impressively large and tall loading area. The RS comes with some nice sporty seats but, like in 99% of Japanese cars, are still way to high for tall drivers. The upright driving position might not be to everyone's liking but you do get used to it after a while. The RS came with the optional CD-based navigation unit which was excellent and feature packed and the keyless entry system which curiously uses the exact same Engine Start/Stop button as found on the Lexus GS & IS. I'm sure Lexus owners might have something to say about that!

The RS is distinguished by larger diameter wheels and a sporty bodykit as well as more aggressive rear LED-lights compared to your more sedate models.

The 110HP 1.5 VVTI engine offers plenty of go with a nice torquey low-rpm power-band but is right at home revving away to the 6,500 rpm redline. The five speeder is a bit vague but once again, like in every modern car I drive, the most annoying and hard to digest aspect is the damn throttle mapping. Electronic throttle it the culprit once again. You can stab the accelerator to give a quick throttle blip and you can virtually count to 5 while engine revolutions rise slowly and fall back to idle even slower. The result is slow gear-changes and a real pain to live with. Handling is superb, very precise and sharp turn-in which allows you to really commit to fast sweepers. Steering could do with some more feel but all in all a great all rounder. The RS is as happy pootling around Tokyo center returning 16 km/L as it is up on fun mountain roads being thrown from corner to corner. Even the brakes were superb.

Only real question is will the RS ever make it to Europe? I certainly hope so as I have no doubt it will give the hot european offerings a run for their money.

Lexus IS 350 car

Spent some time sampling the superb Lexus IS350. What a car! Really can't fault it in any way except maybe for the lack of rear room and, as ever in Japanese cars, the high driving position. Powered by the creamy-smooth 318PS 3.5 L V6 as used in the GS (the GS has 3PS less) the IS is as much of a performance car as it is a refined entry-level luxury car. And that's without going into how good it looks! I mean if you had the choice would you pick the IS or a BMW 3-series? I know which one I would take home.

And then there is the interior. Again, nothing to fault. If you really want to be picky, and in cars this good it's the only way you will find some negative aspects to counterbalance your argument with, there are a few things that could be addressed. As mentioned the high driving position. Can't quite figure out why this was allowed to pass as Lexus proved they can do it right in the GS. Other than that the gear lever shifter looks dated and the plastic surrounding of the central console looks and feels cheap. The wood trim is totally out of place in a car like this and I really do wish more trim options were available like flat or brushed aluminium or even carbon fiber to reflect the sporty feel of the IS.

The IS is an extremely comfortable car on the motorway and it can also be a hooligan's car, but not as much as you would assume. It lets you get away with the odd burn-out but for some reason Lexus has preferred to let the nannying stability control take over at the slightest hint of a slide. With all that shove coming from the V6 this happens all the time on wet roads. Brakes are superb and I was surprised to find some rather big 4-pot monoblock calipers up front. The 6-speed auto is excellent in every way and if you set it on "sport" it will downshift aggressively and even blip the throttle! But I'm sure I'm not the only one who would still appreciate a good old DIY manual. Superb car, a bit pricey here in Japan but an almost obvious choice over a BMW 330i.

Posted by dino at 02:46 PM | Comments [0]

November 02, 2005

●340 km/h Revolfe Supra

Just had to go and shoot this car built by Revolfe in Yokohama. Love the purposeful exterior and real Wangan racer 700PS engine breathed on by a big fat laggy T88.

This is actually a customer car, and from the looks of the interior he likes his toys!

Let's not forget the engine!

You don't want to mess with this car. It might poke you with that big antenna;-)

Here is a free ad for Brembo!:-)

Poste

Type-ONO MR2 cars

How about this for something different! Totally custom wide-body Toyota MR2 from Team Autobots Japan. Built by the owner, Ono-san [hence the name "Type-0no", nothing to do with Type-One;-)] this MR2 has been treated to some very impressive body modifications. Check out the front section that lifts up at the touch of a button to reveal some mean looking subs and amps. All the body panels have been hand molded and joined to create a "one-piece-look." The interior features equally impressive touches in the form of full alcantara make-over and custom instrument binnacle.

Check out the location....biggest cemetery I have ever seen!