Great artists and creators are defined by how well time remembers their work. With the passing of time, our sense of awe grows deeper at the power of the expression of these creative individuals. Many moons ago, artists and craftsmen at confection masters M&M/Mars gave us the the Snickers and Milky Way candy bars. Prior to the release of the these tasty blends of chocolate and nougat, the snack industry was mired deep in the doldrums of blandness. Hershey's had mastered chocolate but done precious little with it, just simple bars of of chocolate. How blas. How boring. RE Amemiya seeks to carve a similar mark on the automotive landscape with the creation you see before you. The noise emitted by this FD3S at full song can give goose pimples. It stands as a testament to Amemiya's ability as a creator, craftsman, and car artist. Moreover, the statement this sculpted FD3S makes can be summed up by the feeling you get when you stare at this unique labor of passion.
First things first, Amemiya is Mazda-rotary performance. The idea of a car hop-up guru becoming a household name in America seems an unlikely proposition. Steve Saleen and Smokey Yunick are hardly household names, and Amemiya's achievements with the Mazda rotary engine rival these men's automotive cunning. People often associated with fast cars like Nick Cage and Jay Leno have achieved their primary fame in other ways-the cars are just a passion. Perhaps old-school guys like Ed Roth or George Barris would rank similarly in the popular consciousness...except Amemiya's handiwork takes place today in a busy Japanese shop. This is not the bustling Southern California car culture of 35 years ago, and Amemiya's efforts lean more toward hard-core performance than gingerbread-styling foofaraw (though the body kit seen on these pages, you must admit, is pretty wild).
For as long as anyone can remember, Amemiya has been the man in Japan to race and modify RX-7s-from serious race cars in top-line Japanese series to honkin' streeters. He is lord and master of all things rotary. From cushy Cosmos to lowly RX-2s and -3s to screaming 500-horse RX-7s, Amemiya is the guy. How he has tickled the collective Japanese populace's fancy remains unclear, though some of it is no doubt cultural and therefore nearly impossible to explain. An admiration for intelligence and cunning, priding this above the sheer empty good looks of the movie star crowd, perhaps?
Oh, some may cry that many of Amemiya's promotional play toys look too similar to each other (he has exclusive deals with a number of vendors who market various mechanical and decorative bits under his name, so of course he's going to hype them on his own shop hotty). This is no different than in the '60s, when Astro Wheels and Kelly tires graced every Ed "Big Daddy" Roth creation. Some show, all go, and a bulletproof-performance reputation. That's the motoring legacy of RE Amemiya.
When you've got a market sewn up as well as Amemiya has, it's hard to imagine that you need to advertise; at the same time, the pressure is on to stake your claim as an innovator. Well, look around. Notice anything? Like a bright pink RX-7 that's reshaped to look part Porsche, part RX-7, and pure Amemiya. Well then, looks like his gambit worked. What is left here to convince you that this is really an RX-7? Perhaps only the shape of the doors, curving up as they approach the rear wheels. The front end treatment is influenced by the Porsche GT1-the headlights are seemingly smoothed back by the air; its quarter-panel openings are relieved behind the wheels, leaving an aggressive bodyline in its wake. The rear decklid has been extensively reworked to blend the back of the seat into the rear spoiler.
By Inspector Clouseau
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