What JDM issue would be complete without giving props to the cars that have given our and consequently, your - eyes a proverbial boner over the years? Think of these cars as the greatest our scene has ever seen, and we just happened to be lucky enough to be there to capture the moment. Granted, there are tons of cars that are completely worthy to fill a top 100, but we had to limit this to what we could pull out of our collective archives. In no particular order actually, in chronological order, dating from the older years:
Signal Auto
1998 Honda Civic Type R
Mods: 1.6L B16B, SARD/KKK turbo, Cross transmission and LSD; Tanabe Sustec Pro coilovers, 17x7" Volk Racing Daytona Speed wheels, 4.7-inch lowered roof, custom paint by Signal Auto Show-Up, Kosquito Super Air body kit, Bride racing seat
Why We Love It: In the late 90s, Signal Auto found their way over to the US to try their hand at drag racing. Turns out they brought this rather unique Civic Type R to the game. With a chopped roof, slick graphics and having a real CTR, nobody was sure what to make of this JDM dragster. It wound up clocking some super low times and cemented Signal’s presence in the US for years to come. These days, Signal puts most of their energy into their Show-Up division in Japan, doing awesome body work and paint for their clientele.
Sunny Styling
1996 Honda Civic
Mods: ’98 1.6L B16B, Blitz KKK/K3T turbo, Top Fuel fuel pump, turbo manifold and blow-off valve; A’PEXi N1 coilovers, Mugen strut tower bar, ’98 Integra Type R 5-lug conversion, 17x7.5" Blitz Technospeed Z1 wheels, Buddy Club body kit, JDM CTR headlights and Championship White paint; A’PEXi Power FC and FC Commander
Why We Love It: Before JDM conversions went super hot, Sunny Lau from Sunny Styling put his cool twist on a ’96 Civic hatchback, and in effect, created his own pseudo-CTR. All original Buddy Club aero with custom carbon-fiber pieces he made himself, the car also received a B16B from a CTR and turbo goods from Top Fuel Japan to make it a real standout.
HKS Japan
2000 Toyota Altezza
Mods: 2.2L 3S-GE, HKS GT3037S ball-bearing turbo, racing wastegate, intercooler, camshafts, forged pistons/counterweighted crankshaft, titanium coated piston rings, F-CON VPro, EVC Pro boost controller and tons of top secret HKS Mods they wouldn’t even tell us; XTrac six-speed sequential transmission, 18x11" ADVAN TCII Pro Centerlock wheels, Alcon brakes, custom carbon body panels and flares; Bride seats
Why We Love It: Back when Super Lap Battle/time attack was strictly a Japanese thing to do, HKS decided it was time (in 2001) to build a car called Track Attack, a Toyota Altezza (that’s IS300) designed to, at the cost of only $300,000 USD, break the lap record at Tsukuba Circuit and broke it, no, make that destroyed, at 55.85 seconds. One lap, one record, the HKS Track Attack Altezza never went on the track again due to chassis restrictions. For HKS thankfully, they would have others
Top Fuel Japan
Honda Del Sol
Mods: Custom rear mounted B18C, HKS GT3240 turbo, Top Fuel pistons, connecting rods, blockguard, cams, dual turbo exhaust and stainless manifold; A’PEXi intercooler and Power FC; OS Giken clutch, HKS Hiper Damper coilovers, Endless NA-S EK9 brakes, 17x9.5" ADVAN RG wheels, Yokohama ADVAN A048 tires, Mugen front bumper, side skirts and rear bumper; Top Fuel fenders and Zero-1000 wing; Recaro SR4 seats
Why We Love It: The late 90s and early 2000s saw many attempts at a rear-engine Honda, but many of those were failures. Top Fuel Japan decided out of sheer boredom and being that crazy that it would be fun to build a successor to their CR-X dragster. Enter this del Sol, custom-fitted with a turbocharged Integra Type R motor in its trunk. This Mugen-kitted racer only required 550hp to pull off a shakedown pass of 10.8 at a 400-meter track in Japan, proving that insanity works wonders in the house of Yasuji Hirano.
Top Secret
Toyota Supra GT-300