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Camera retro rocket bunny7/7/2023 Once the kit had arrived from Japan, the FD went under the knife for its wide body transformation. Rather than just building an FD that happened to have Rocket Bunny parts, he wanted to fully embrace the TRA Kyoto style with a cohesive theme. With the car in his possession, Jim got to work on the build. In May of last year, Jim bought a 1993 RX-7 R1, having already discussed with Miura the idea of doing a build for the 2014 SEMA Show. Not only had he fallen in love with TRA Kyoto’s latest design, he’d long thought about picking up another FD, and the timing seemed to be perfect. When Jim caught a glimpse of the upcoming Rocket Bunny kit for the FD3S RX-7, he was sold. Eventually, he invited Miura to come to the 2014 Tuner Galleria Chicago event, held last March. He met Kei Miura for the first time in 2012, right when the new Rocket Bunny Scion FR-S kit was hitting the market.Ī year later Jim traveled to Japan where he visited Miura-san’s shop in Kyoto and discussed the idea of future collaborations. In 2009, Jim started a series of car shows called Tuner Galleria, and this led him to making even more contacts within the automotive aftermarket. He founded a club called TWCompetition and was involved in a number of builds that ranged from BMW M3s and AMG-Mercedes to a twin turbocharged Ferrari 360. In the following years, Jim saw himself moving towards European cars. In 2001, the FD was wrecked and Jim replaced the car with a Honda S2000. He went on to build many other cars too, including an AWD Eagle Talon TSi, an EK Civic Type R and one his favorites – a Competition Yellow Mica FD3S RX-7 with a full array of Blitz parts. Jim got his start modifying Japanese cars back in 1991 with a Mugen-equipped Honda CR-X. It was this younger generation of hot rodders that helped kickstart the tuning movement in the 1990s. Rather than just wanting to own something like a Supra or an RX-7, these guys wanted to start playing with their dream cars – fitting high-end tuning gear from Japan, turbo upgrades, rare body parts, larger wheels and more. While the ‘Cuda or Countach guy might have fantasized about parking his car in the garage, waxing it on Saturdays and taking it out on Sundays, the younger generation saw their cars a bit differently. Each generation will have automobiles they dream of buying when they have the means to, and there’s a reason why many are predicting that Japanese sportscars will be the next big boom in the collector car market.īut the one thing that is different about this group from the ones that came before is what they dreamt of doing to to their cars. Sure, the cars have changed over the years, along with the ways we are exposed to them, but the feeling has always been the same. Just as earlier generations idolized that HEMI ‘Cuda down at the local drive-in, or the Lamborghini Countach from the poster on the bedroom wall, these people grew up dreaming about Acura NSXs, Mazda RX-7s and twin turbocharged Toyota Supras. In the past few months I’ve often written about how the Japanese sports cars of the 1990s have become icons for an entire generation of auto enthusiasts who are now settling into their adult years.
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