At the height of the bubble economy, Japan was unlike anything else on the planet – its city skyline gleamed with the promise of limitless prosperity, and its streets pulsed with the electric energy of a nation on the brink of an unprecedented future.
For many, Tokyo represents that golden era – a city transformed by an explosion of population, infrastructure, and innovation in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. And nothing embodies the bubble era quite like Akihabara Electric Town. It’s the essence of Japan’s leap to global dominance in electronics manufacturing.
I’ve wanted to shoot in this neon-drenched corner of Akihabara ever since I saw Mark’s photos of Junya-san’s WRC Impreza back in 2018. When I started talking to the owner of this FD3S, Ryota-san, I knew it was the perfect car for the job.
Sprawling electronics megastores and game arcades line the Electric Town streets. Outside, cosplay girls tout both innocent and questionable services – a reflection of Japan’s outward modesty masking a devilish, behind-closed-doors culture.
I remember my first visit to Akihabara – stepping out of the JR station was an overwhelming sensory experience. The streets buzzed with energy, and J-Pop pumped from every store with an unexplainable politeness. Despite living here for five years now, I hadn’t been back to Electric Town since that first visit. This time – at 9:00pm on a Sunday – it felt quieter. Friday nights may be livelier, but there was something about it – it seemed like the party was over. It is 2024, after all, and Japan’s economic bubble has been deflated for over 30 years.
So, what car could match this location? It has to scream ‘peak Japan.’ A Skyline GT-R? A Toyota Supra? Too obvious. Yes, the GT-R is the epitome of Japanese car design and mechanical excellence – but its iconic status worldwide has made it a bit too… vanilla. It’s still Japanese at heart, but it’s no longer quintessentially so.
For me, the FD3S Mazda RX-7 is the true Japanese sports car.
Compact, beautiful, with a timeless design and an innovative (if slightly bonkers) rotary engine – it’s like nothing else on the planet. And Ryota-san’s RX-7 hits the mark. It perfectly mirrors Japan’s rise and fall as the most futuristic, the most eccentric and advanced automotive industry of its time.
The base car is a Series 6 Type RZ, one of only 175 ever made, and Ryota-san is its second owner. But what truly sets this rare FD apart is the body kit it wears.
This is the 97GT wide-body kit designed by RE Amemiya for its 1997 Tokyo Auto Salon FD3S demo car (pictured above). Only two kits were made before it was deemed too expensive for mass production. We don’t know the whereabouts of the demo car – but it was either repurposed or scrapped – so Ryota-san’s 97GT kit is likely to be the only surviving example.
The RE Amemiya 97GT demo car featured a naturally aspirated 20B three-rotor peripheral ported engine with MoTeC management, backed up by a Supra 6-speed transmission. Ryota-san’s car is still powered by its original 13B-REW engine. However, it’s now bridge-ported and has traded its twin sequential turbochargers for a big single HKS GTIII-4R. With 400PS on tap, it gets along very nicely, and its titanium exhaust system, made by RE Amemiya in collaboration with Ito Syokai, ensures that its ported pulse is heard loud and clear.
I’m not sure if it was Ryota-san’s neo-goth aesthetic that influenced me, but the moment I saw his car parked in Electric Town, I couldn’t help but think of H.R. Giger’s designs for Alien. The sculpted rear bumper and organic curves of the fender cutaways resemble the armoured body of an alien insect from a distant galaxy.
So, where on earth did Ryota-san find this rare piece of Japanese tuning history? Yahoo! Auctions Japan, of course. The RX-7 wearing the kit was covered in moss and ready for the scrapyard, but Ryota-san took a gamble, hoping a garage could successfully restore and refit the 97GT aero on his freshly acquired Type RZ.
Ultimately, the specialist work was carried out by Matsuda Car Body. The kit required some fibreglass repair, but care was taken not to alter its original shape.
Originally, Ryota-san ran the kit’s original rear wing and the same 17-inch RE Amemiya AW-7 wheels seen on the demo car, but he’s since changed up the look with a few contemporary touches. The FD sits on Desmond RegaMaster EVO II wheels – 18×10-inch +15 all around – while the front bumper has been fitted with a carbon fibre splitter and canards. The giant rear wing is still an RE Amemiya piece, but this time of GT300 design.
I often wonder what Japan would look like today if its economy had continued on its futuristic trajectory after 1991. If you’d asked a tourist in 1990 what Akihabara Electric Town might look like in 2024, they’d probably have described something out of Blade Runner 2049. But the truth is, Japan peaked in the ’90s, and things haven’t changed as drastically as we’d hoped. ASIMO now looks like a Tamagotchi compared to the humanoids being built by Boston Dynamics.
Geoeconomics are beyond our control, and Japanese automotive giants like Mazda, Subaru, Toyota, and Nissan are at their mercy. We can’t change the past, but we can keep driving it – just as Ryota-san is doing with his 97GT Mazda RX-7.
Toby Thyer
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tobythyer.co.uk
