Honda V8 Coming Soon... In 2015

Rumours of an impending Honda/Acura V8 are certainly nothing new, but while we previously predicted that such an engine would make its production debut as early as 2010, word on the street is that the projected launch date could be 2015 at the earliest. The next generation of Honda Legend/Acura RL will supposedly carry on with the same SH-AWD underpinnings and transverse engine layout of the current models, with the generation after that being the recipient of the hotly-anticipated...

01/12/2008

Hawt: 2010 Acura NSX Rendered In Super GT Mode

Although it's been out of production for near on three years, Honda's legendary NSX still does battle on the circuits of Japans Super GT touring car series. Racing in the GT500 category, the Super GT NSX's aren't exactly what you'd call factory-issue. Nearly everything is changed. The V6 engine sits longitudinally rather than being transversely mounted, displacement is upped to 3.5 litres and the Super GT racer sits lower and wider than the its road-going cousin. The NA2 NSX's replacement...

26/11/2008

Honda Lifts Lid On FC Sport Concept At LA

Honda has just unveiled their latest sports car concept at the LA Auto Show, the hydrogen-powered FC Sport. Built around the hydrogen fuel cell technology that's already debuted in Honda's FCX Clarity, the FC Sport is designed with supercar-level performance in mind. Pity about the looks, though. Without a doubt, the FC Sport is one of Honda's most ungainly concepts, and appears to be constructed entirely out of flat sheets of glass and plastic. The rear of the car and its weird...

21/11/2008

Hideki Tanabe of Power House Amuse Passes Away

Some sad news today. Hideki Tanabe, proprietor of the world-renowned tuning and parts company Powerhouse Amuse, passed away on September 20 after enduring a long illness, leaving behind his wife, the company he founded and thousands of bereaved fans, friends and acquaintances. Responsible for the incredible R34-based Carbon-R time-attack car and the S2000 GT1 that many of you will remember from Gran Turismo 4, Tanabe-san was also Powerhouse Amuse's resident tuner, parts designer and race...

23/09/2008

Honda Shows Off Civic 5D Mugen at Moscow

Honda took the wraps off the Mugen-developed Civic 5D Mugen at the recent Moscow Motor Show, and suffice to say, it's one delectable looking hatchback. Mugen have succeeded in transposing the Type R flavour of the two-door FN2 Civic Type R onto its five-door sibling, and it's tempting to say that the end result is a car that appears harder, edgier and more athletic than the top o' the line CTR. It's a pity then that the Civic 5D Mugen is just a styling exercise for now, with neither...

01/09/2008

Hmm... Baffling: JUN Release Baffled Sumps For 4B11 and B16B/B18C

If you're a bit of a motorsports fiend and regularly track your car, you'll no doubt be aware of the perils of oil starvation. Under hard acceleration, cornering and braking, oil can slosh away from the oil pump pickup and result in some rather undesirable outcomes like excessive conrod-to-block interaction or, if you're lucky, a spun bearing. JUN have come to the rescue though, with their new baffled sumps for Mitsubishi's Evo X-spec 4B11 (right) and Honda's B16B and B18C (below left). The...

29/08/2008

Honda Considering JDM Models for US Market, Civic Type R on the Cards?

While most regional markets have enjoyed some kind of Type R goodness over the years, our friends in the USA have consistently been denied the ol' Red H - which is slightly puzzling, considering the sheer number of Honda fanboys that seem to reside in that country. That may change in the near future though, as Honda North America is reportedly evaluating several JDM-only models for export to the Land of the Free. The impetus behind Honda's desire to expand their US range has been booming...

11/08/2008

Hoonage: Travis Pastrana & Ken Block Fang it Up in '09 WRXs

Here's a great time-wasting video for you all to start your working week with. For your entertainment, we've got rally pros Ken Block and Travis Pastrana wasting some tyres and getting sideways in what appears to be a 2009 USDM Subaru WRX and a WRX STI. Awesome AWD burnouts after the jump.[Source: Youtube]

28/07/2008

Honda OSM Unveiled at British Motor Show

Honda's OSM concept has finally had its big unveil at the British Motor Show in London, and after being able to lay eyes on it in the metal it now seems that all hopes for a proper S2000 replacement have evaporated.It's the side profile that gives it away: with such a short wheelbase and a front axle that's placed so perilously close to the passenger compartment, it looks like the OSM is definitely not intended to be the tyre-smokin' RWD roadster we all hoped it would be. Instead, the OSM...

23/07/2008

HKS Kansai Announce Parts Line Up For GH WRX STI

Despite its love-it-or-hate-it styling, Subaru's new Impreza WRX STI has steadily gained acceptance in the enthusiast community as a worthy successor to the outgoing GD model. The performance aftermarket has also welcomed it with open arms, and Japanese tuning company HKS Kansai have revealed their new range of parts for the STI.The range is all-encompassing, and covers pretty much everything from suspension hardware to seat rails. Nearly every part is targeted at the performance enthusiast,...

12/07/2008

Honda OSM To Debut At British Motor Show, Honda Insists It Ain't The New S2000

On July 22 we'll be able to lay eyes on Honda's newest concept car, the open-topped OSM. While the lack of roof and sporty proportions may suggest that the OSM is a forerunner to the new S2000, don't get too excited: Honda say that it's only a concept and in no way intended to replace the aging roadster.Like the CR-Z hybrid sports hatch, the OSM (or Open Study Model) is designed to incorporate a low emissions powerplant with a lightweight and capable chassis. Honda are remaining coy on engine...

10/07/2008

Honey, I Shrunk The 4A-GE...

Back in the glory days of high school I squandered much of my youth bent over little pieces of plastic, desperately trying to arrange them into a shape that more or less resembled a car without gluing anything critical to my fingers or inhaling too much paint. I pretty much abandoned this hobby soon after I realised that scale model cars rarely - if ever - excited the ladies and that "professional model car builder" was not really the most impressive job description. Still, I'm always impressed...

07/07/2008

HKS Release Turbocharger Kit For GD4 Fit

HKS have announced the release of their bolt-on turbocharger kit for the 1st-generation Honda Fit/Jazz, giving owners the ability to crank out around 30% more power than stock. It ain't cheap though. At just under USD$3500, you'd better be deadly serious about squeezing every last ounce of performance out of the Fit's 1.5-litre four-banger. Still, it's a lot cheaper and simpler than a K20 swap and with 5.7psi of boost it bumps power up to a respectable 94kW at 5700rpm, while torque is 167Nm at...

12/05/2008

Highway To The Danger Zone: Honda Z600 With Jet Power

Well, it's almost the end of the week, and that means it's time to unwind with something stupid/massively cool. For this week, we present what could very well be the most literal interpretation of the term "hot hatch". In fact, this bad boy is so hot the hatch had to be ditched to make way for the gas turbine that powers it. The Garrett JFS100 used in this Z is normally used as an auxillary power unit in larger aircraft to provide power to start the main engines, however when mated to the...

01/05/2008

Hennessey To Develop Tuning Parts For IS-F, GT-R

Hennessey Performance Engineering is a company that isn't normally associated with Japanese cars. In fact, the American tuning house specialises mostly in Detroit iron, as well as the odd European car, but parts for Japanese cars have never appeared in their tuning catalogue. That'll be changing soon though, with Hennessey set to develop their own upgrades for the Lexus IS-F and the Nissan GT-R. The IS-F range will feature an air induction kit, stainless steel headers and exhaust system, ported...

13/04/2008

Happy 26th Birthday, Tsukuba Time Attack!

Forget the Nordschliefe. In the world of Japanese modified cars the quintessential time attack track is undoubtedly Tsukuba Circuit, which has played host to time attack events for 26 of its 28 years. Car Top magazine recently published a retrospective on the circuit's history along with the laptimes of several notable vehicles, and our friends at Nihon Car have put some of these records up on their site. It makes for interesting reading: Not only is the R35 Skyline quicker around the circuit...

04/04/2008

HKS Bring The Grunt To Evo X

With all the hoo-ha surrounding the aftermarket development of the R35 GT-R, news of the other Japanese performance stalwarts has fallen by the wayside. However, tuners have definitely been busy working away on our favourite performance cars, and HKS have recently announced their lineup of aftermarket parts for the CZ4A Lancer Evolution X.

Engine upgrades are relatively light, with a boost controller, fuel controller and low-restriction intake and exhaust enough to see the X to the 280kW mark - a handy increase on the stock 206kW output. HKS Hipermax III coilovers, a set of front and rear "tawabas" (towerbars), Project ? brake pads and 10-inch wide Advan Racing RZ rims (wearing 265mm wide rubber) round out the handling mods, while a couple of lowered seat rails give the cockpit a racier feel.

New front and rear bumpers and side skirts look good, while the various carbon-fibre add-ons are a bit naff for our tastes, though one thing the novice racer will appreciate are those shiny orange tow hooks - perfect for those unexpected excursions into the gravel trap.


Most of the mods are reasonably priced, although JPY 26,040 for floor mats and JPY 16,590 for a carbon-fibre wing mirror cover seems a tad extreme.

You can check out what HKS has to offer the Evo X on their site here.


[Source: HKS Kansai, via Carscoop]
[Images courtesy of HKS Kansai]

29/03/2008

Honda Targets Europe With CR-Z

According to a senior executive at Honda, the production version of the CR-Z concept (above) will be specifically aimed at the European market and will cost roughly 25,000 Euros for the base model.

The CR-Z Concept took several design cues from the much loved Honda CRX, gave them a modern spin and then wrapped them around a petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain. According to Mark Turner from Honda UK, the production version of the CR-Z will play a key part in Honda's European sales strategy, given the highly fuel-consuption-conscious market. A multitude of European governments are also pressing for tighter legislation concerning fuel economy and emissions, which will also play into the CR-Z's hands.


Final engineering and R&D work is currently being completed at Offenbach, Germany, while Turner says styling won't be too different from that of the CR-Z Concept. A petrol-only powerplant may also be on the cards, should the market demand it. Given that the production car is likely to make use of the Civic Hybrid's powerpack, a CVT auto may be the only transmission option for hybrid CR-Zs, meaning a traditional petrol-only motor may be a necessity for die-hard enthusiasts.

What isn't clear is whether a petrol motor will lower Turner's projected price for the CR-Z - 25,000EUR is a hell of a lot of money for such a small car, while 28,000EUR for an up-spec model really is too much, hybrid or not. Consider this - you can buy a Honda Civic Type R (FN) for the equivalent of 24,000EUR. Sure, it might club baby seals with it's petrol-only 148kW K20, but it comes with a manual transmission, rear seats, those special Red H badges and - like the CR-Z - it looks like a freaking spaceship.

Whether the European public is willing to fork out big dollars for a hybrid hot hatch remains to be seen, but we should find out soon enough - the CR-Z is due to enter production sometime in 2009.


[Source: Automotive News (sub. req), via World Car Fans]
[Images courtesy of Honda]

21/02/2008

Honda NSX Confirmed for 2010 Comeback

After it failed to make an appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show in October, the highly anticipated next-gen Honda NSX has been the topic of rumour after rumour, particularly regarding when it'll be unveiled.

As American Honda President Tetsuo Iwamura said to Wards Auto, ?We are developing it without any delay, so most probably we will have it in the period we already promised,?
Mr Iwamura later elaborated on this, saying that the car would arrive in 2010.

The NSX successor has obviously got quite a way to go before a prototype is ready to hit the show circuit - the most we've seen of it so far has been a rather... customised S2000 test mule running around the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Although Mr Iwamura said to expect a 2010 arrival, it'd be safe to say that we'll be able to get a proper look at the new NSX at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show.

[Source: Wards Auto]
[Image courtesy of Lukasak]

21/12/2007

Hatchback No More: New STI Gets Wrecked

Ouch. It's inevitable that someone will trash a brand new sportscar shortly after its release, but that doesn't stop it from being just a little bit heartbreaking to see the end result. Witness here what is surely the very first GH WRX STI casualty.

The STI has suffered some pretty extensive damage to the rear, with the hatch all but unrecognisable and the whole car missing a few cm from its overall length. The front bumper has had a whole corner ripped from it, while the rest of the car is either crinkled, wrinkled or just doesn't line up no more.


It isn't clear who's fault the crash was (although our money is on a pretty severe rear-ending), but it's always sad to see a brand-new sportscar lying in ruin. A minute's silence, please.


[Source: Caradvice.com.au]
[Photos courtesy of Tom Jakovljevic]

20/12/2007

Huh? Is The Mazda 6 MPS Back On The Cards Or What?

Okay, word from Autocar is that Mazda will be bringing a Mazdaspeed version of their newest Atenza (Mazda 6) to the Tokyo Auto Salon, however it was only just a few weeks ago that we reported Mazda had effectively canned any development of a performance sedan based on the new Atenza. So what's going on?

The Mazdaspeed Atenza is supposedly meant to be a design concept only, and according to Autocar is not meant to indicate any commitment by Mazda to developing a hi-po version of the mid-size sedan. That being said, it sure does look purposeful with that deep bumper and those big wheels filling out the guards. We look forward to seeing more of it at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January


[Source: Autocar]
[Photo courtesy of Mazda]

19/12/2007

HKS To Release Tuning Parts For Evo X

HKS Kansai is said to be developing a slew of performance upgrades for the just-released Mitsubishi Evolution X.

According to their press release, HKS have been busy developing parts to help extract more power and increased grip from the Evo X. Being a completely new engine, the 4B11T suffers from a lack of aftermarket tuning experience, however HKS has produced a low-restriction exhaust and some ECU tweaks to help liberate a few ponies. Suspension modifications are limited to revised spring rates and wheel/tyre packages, though the bronze Advan RGII's look pretty tough.

A release date for the parts isn't clear, nor is pricing, however JPCN anticipates that all will be revealed by the time the Tokyo Auto Salon rolls around in January, where aftermarket suppliers will no doubt be peddling a variety of wares for the newest generation of Japanese performance cars.

[Source: HKS Kansai]
[Photo courtesy of HKS Kansai]

22/10/2007

Honda To Unveil CRX Successor At Tokyo: Carscoop

According to Carscoop, a source close to Honda says the marque will be unveiling a compact sports coupe at the upcoming Tokyo motor show - a car that could possibly see a revival of the CRX nameplate.

This news isn't exactly a bolt from the blue though. Back in July we reported that Honda had virtually greenlit the CRX-comeback project and that a prototype of the car would probably appear at this years Tokyo Motor Show. We also reported that Honda had decided the new CRX would be a petrol-electric hybrid and that its projected launch date would be somewhere between 2009 and 2011, but at this stage these are all unconfirmed rumours. We'll know more once Honda delivers their press conference at the Tokyo Motor Show, but right now its pretty much a certainty that a CRX successor will appear soon.

[Source: Carscoop]
[Photo courtesy of Carscoop]

07/10/2007

How NOT To Modify A Turbo

So, you've got a boosted MX-6 and want some extra go? Whatever you do, don't do what MX6.com member Copex did and (very badly) weld vane extensions onto your turbocharger's turbine wheel (above).

This easily tops my list of "Most Ghetto Modification", but what's the most ill-advised, poorly executed and downright dangerous mod you've ever seen? Comment away!

Copex's original thread is here.

[Source: MX6.com]
[Photo courtesy of Copex]

03/09/2007

Hulkamaniac? More Like Hulkanidiot

It's not often that we feature celebrity related news here on JPCN. In fact, this is probably our inaugural celebrity news piece and sadly it involves the death of a car.

Nicholas Bollea, son of Terrence Bollea aka Hulk Hogan, was involved in a serious car crash two nights ago, where his Toyota Supra (RIP) left the road during what may have been a street race. Nicholas, a 17 year-old boy with no respect for powerful cars or road rules, has been released from hospital after suffering only minor injuries. His passenger John Graziano was not so fortunate and is still in hospital, having sustained far more critical injuries than Nicholas.

That's Nicholas' JZA80 Supra above, looking somewhat like Bumblebee in mid-transform. Street racing makes baby Jesus cry.

[Source: TMZ]
[Image courtesy of TMZ]

28/08/2007