While I was framing the car up a million things were running through my head. Would the photos look good? Should I ask about the museum? Do they want to sponsor my EK? The list went on, but once I started shooting I came into a rhythm. Watching the beautifully sculpted curves of the car I did my best to accurately capture each intricacy. The way the brushed aluminum emblems reflected the light, how the fenders rolled over into intimidating sharp shoulders and the texture of the carbon-fiber were all equally important.
This was an aerodynamic work of genius, taking styling and performance cues straight from SuperGT. The way the scoop peers over the roofline sends chills down your back in person. And it was easy to tell that Mugen was extremely proud of their masterpiece - at no time were there less than five employees watching my every move, making sure nothing on the car was harmed and that every last logo was straightened and clean, moving the car wherever I needed it - under normal terms a photographer would have to pay $2,000 a day for this type of assistant team.
After shooting most of the exterior, I moved on to the engine bay. For those of you not familiar with the NSX, the engine layout of this vehicle was completely changed. Normally the C series engine is mounted transversely, or in other words, left-to-right. The Mugen team decided to take the development of this car to another level and repositioned the engine directly in the middle of the compartment in a longitudinal, or front-to-back, configuration. This engine layout allowed the team to make custom headers, which would now lead straight out the back into the exhaust, instead of wrapping around under the engine like they would with the OEM configuration, allowing for a shorter/more free-flowing exhaust system.
Once I was done with the engine compart-ment I moved to the interior, comprised of full red suede. After hastily snapping a few shots I decided to press my luck and asked Tetsu if it would be possible to sit in the car for a few shots. Fortunately, Mugen obliged and I removed my Dunks and stepped in. It took all of my will power to prevent myself from grabbing the steering wheel and pretending to go rip on the Wangan. A few shots of the shifter, console and gauge cluster sufficed.
Before I knew it, I was getting the "you better hurry up" look from Jon and I knew my time with the car was almost over. I had the team reposition the car one final time as I scaled the stairs towards the upstairs cafeteria to get an overhead view of the RR. Once I was in place I directed the car into position and had JDM Wong run around the car to reposition my lights. My 50 minutes with the car had gone by in what seemed more like five - but I didn't care. That was all the time I needed.
Out of all the cars I have ever shot, not only was this my personal favorite, but it probably has the most meaning and by far the best story of all. While sorting through the extremely vague spec sheet and talking with Charles about the car, he mentioned something I never realized - as a fellow Mugen nut, he talked about how for all of these years we did as much research as we could about Mugen's concepts, or cars that never were. How everything that we knew was essentially hearsay and that now, I would be the one with the inside scoop. I would be the one documenting the fact for others to trustingly repeat on web forums. I was now the one that knew of the unwritten secrets... but unfortunately for you, what happens at Mugen, stays at Mugen.