Students of automotive design and history will advise us the death of the rear-engine air-cooled car was dictated by a number of changing fashions and requirements. Pollution and noise requirements ensured two-strokes with their oil-burning lubrication systems, were phased out, and still more stringent regulations in many jurisdictions started to enforce additional requirements.

Making the job of NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) engineers difficult, the requirement for low drive-by ambient noise levels put the rear engined car at a natural disadvantage – with induction, combustion, and exhaust all at the same end, a rear-engined is naturally louder (from one end at least) than a car with its potential noise sources evenly distributed. Air-cooled versions perhaps more so.

The addition of a water-jacket for cooling, the deletion of large and many air-flow promoting openings, and an always running air-cooling fan, further makes water-cooled engines attractive. Requirements for heater and demister operation also favoring a water-cooled engine, with air-cooled engines requiring complex heat exchangers, flaps & valves, or even auxiliary engines to heat the cabin rapidly.

Abandoned car collections can be found all across Japan: kei-cars, sports cars, saloons, trucks, even buses. I’ve seen a few of each type, but only ever a smattering of air-cooled goodness. So, this collection in Saitama, on the Kanto Plain north of Tokyo, is even more remarkable as almost all of its neglected machines are rear-engine and air-cooled. A real find.

Honda 360, Subaru 360, Honda TC, Honda Vamos, Suzuki Cervo, Mazda Carol, all in various state of decay. The only ’360′ missing appeared to be the Mitsubishi. A large number of whole engines, cylinder heads, fans, cooling shrouds, interior trim, and the usual junkyard parts lay about from the collection.

Subaru 360 and Honda TC kei-trucks are reasonably common, as too are Suzuki Cervo, but Honda Vamos are quite rare, as is the Ford Anglia inspired four-cylinder Mazda Carol. The red one here is quite complete, with any missing parts appearing to lie scattered on the ground near by.

Also in the collection is a Mitsubishi Debonair, resplendent in funeral black, the only faux-pas being wire wheels, perhaps fitted in the 1970s when I suppose they were a popular accessory to make cars look “classy”. At least they are real wires, not just plastic hubcaps from proto-Auto Bacs.

The collection also includes a boat-tailed Alfa Spyder under cover, a few lesser Japanese classics, but also a car I’ve never seen before – a Daihastsu Compagno. Though not air-cooled, or rear-engined, its small convertible configuration would have made it an obvious nice-to-have for any car collector. In surprisingly good condition, its European style is perhaps reminiscent of a small Fiat or Alfa Romeo. A Daihatsu otaku might be aware of its design and marketing history?

Unlike some abandoned collections throughout Japan, this set is actively owned by someone and at least one of these interesting machines is posted for sale via on-line classic car sales, so it would be reasonable to assume offers would be accepted accordingly for others seen here.

Continuing the air-cooled in Saitama theme, just down the road from this collection, and made by the company that was later to produce the Subaru 360, an air-cooled Rabbit scooter was parked out front of the local scooter distributor…

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Tokyo’s Metropolitan Expressway — Shuto Kōsoku Dōro — is Tokyo’s answer to handling large volumes of traffic traversing the megalopolis.

The first sections were opened in time to showcase Tokyo for the 1962 Olympics. Not designed as an unlimited speed road, its main purpose was to ferry cars around at moderate speeds, unhindered by the non-car friendly Tokyo streets.

While some sections snake alongside rivers, or behind buildings at ground level, most of the road sections are elevated above ground, or tunnel under major areas such as the Imperial Palace or other surface roads.

Many sections of road deck are multilevel, often consisting of four or more layers. Because of limitations of the landscape, buildings, subterranean infrastructure (other roads and train lines), the often convoluted elevated sections, tunnels, dividers, ramps, interchanges, and tollbooths all conspire to enhance the legend of the Shuto as being a challenging road to drive, at any speed.

The Shuto also includes the Tokyo Wan Aqualine, a 15km straight-line blast under, and then over, Tokyo Bay (wan) to Chiba. The Aqualine used to be a ‘private’ road, built by private interests and with a toll value set at the wish of the operator. Like many private roads in Japan (such as the Atsugi Toll Road to Fuji-san), they used to be un-policed for speed limits. This open status promoted street racing gangs, sometimes badging themselves with ’250′ or ’300′ patches – representing their supposed topped-out kilometer-per-hour speed achievements on public roads.

Sadly, or perhaps for the better, speed limits on private toll roads are now policed — not before I was able to enjoy nailing the throttle on a Ferrari V8, roof down, in a vain attempt to chase down some hairdresser in his RX-7. I am not sure what sounded better: the five-valve V8 from Modena, or the Hiroshima rotary cracking and spitting fire on the over-run as we screamed through the tunnel section. At some ridiculous speed, I chickened out, and watched the RX-7 disappear into the distance.

While street racers have used sections for racing, notably the Wangan (Bayshore) sections, the Shuto gained global exposure with the 1998 release of Shutoku Battle, a Dreamcast console game known as Tokyo Extreme Racer for export markets, accurate for its representation of the Shuto’s layout and surrounding features of Tokyo; down to being able to see my old apartment as you raced past at high speed. I still wake in the middle of the night when hearing a loud exhaust, thinking perhaps I am still in my bed next to the Akasaka-Roppongi-Knot (‘ARK’), a particularly notorious set of bends known to claim the unwary.

Working nearby to the Shuto too, and while enjoying car talk at work one day, one of the senior managers — perhaps sixty years of age — commented that he too enjoyed fast cars, driving a Legacy Turbo. As a joke I asked, “So Tanaka-san, do you get up at 02:00 and go racing around the Shuto?”

“Of course!” he blurted out rapidly, looking at me as if I was mad to even ask such a question.

One notable site for all car types to congregate is the Shuto’s Daikoku Futo – halfway between Yokohama and Tokyo on the Wangan route.

With no other facilities except a gas station and some fast food sellers, it is perhaps a natural place to congregate, talk about rides, and enjoy the sounds of fast cars screaming overhead on the elevated sections.

The Parking Area (‘PA’), on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays is often full of interesting rides. Not only for legendary Japanese cars like GT-Rs, twin-cammed Toyota and fast rotaries, but bikes too, the Porsche, Ferrari & Lamborghini clubs sometimes show up, as do a regular smattering of bozosoku and general shakotan style aficionados.

On the access roads outside the PA, in front of the local koban, less responsible drivers have been known to practice their mountain drifting skills. The massive tire marks, rubber-marbles in the gutter, and the sometimes dinged guard-rail, are all obvious signs of some serious drift work.

YouTube has numerous postings, including bemused police in their koban, and their attempts to shut the drifters down.

The new Yamate Tunnel adds another 10.9km of fun to the run from Ikebukero to Meguro. It features some remarkable engineering, including a twelve-level climb from the subterranean run to nine levels above ground to join the Chuo Expressway at Hatsudai – this up-and-down roller coaster ride alone is worth the ¥700 entrance fee.

While I ride the Shuto two or three times per week, commuting on my barge-like Maxam scooter, the best time of course is as recommended by Tanaka-san in his Subaru: late evenings, or early mornings. Chasing the fire-breathing RX-7s and GT-Rs is a lot more pleasurable when I can forget the camera, and enjoy the wail of an Audi V8, a Nissan inline six, or a high-revving Mazda rotary next to me as we scream through the tunnels and wind through the many routes around Tokyo.

All at the recommended speed limit of course.

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Skorj is a photographer/journalist living in Japan. For information on licensing these and other images please contact Magnesium Photos

In the film Messengers (Yasuo Baba, 1999) one of the protagonists says to our Lycra-clad heroine, ‘You look like a race queen.’ Parochially translated for American audiences as, ‘You look like a slut‘, this missive unintentionally sums up the role of race queens in the modern world.

A variation of the Formula 1 car racing European pit lane girls (who are supposedly present to hold umbrellas over drivers), race queens – or ‘campaign girls’ – are frowned upon in many Western countries as examples of sexism, and of cynical marketing for an otherwise male-dominated industry.

Contrary to the fall-off of sexist advertising campaigns for cars and the automotive industry globally, the race queen still survives in Japan. Major trade shows and industry events in Japan might have seen a reduction in their race queen populations recently, but this is more a sign of economic austerity over any update to sexual perspectives in Japan.

Buoyed by their high status in the modeling industry in Japan, super race queens continue to generate large fan-bases in their own right, commanding high appearance monies, and often driving their own careers accordingly.

The 2010 Formula 1 season opened in Melbourne recently, with a series of very mildly dressed pit lane girls (‘more modern’ was the statement). The same weekend held the annual Tokyo Motorcycle Show at Tokyo’s Big Sight in Odaiba. Present in a bewildering array of skimpy clothes the race queens continued to pout, pose and preen for the cameras as they do countless times a year across Japan.

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If any threat exists to race queens in Japan, it will not be from a waning popularity in their hardcore otaku fan base, nor will it likely come from ‘safety concerns’ associated with their skimpy clothing, and it will certainly not come from any change in perception of the role of women in Japan. Any further demise in race queen populations will surely be a result of purely economic motives.

As for our Lycra-clad heroine in ‘Messengers’, in Japan at least, she triumphs, beats her derisive competitor and wins the heart of the leading man, making a lot of money along the way…

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These photos are a selection of work that is available for licensing. Please contact licensing@magnesiumphotos.com for more information.

The feeling of entering these shops is not unlike that of entering a temple. You step into the dim light, surrounded by mysterious, arcane objects, only some of which you can properly identify.  As the incense-like sweet smell of grease and oil hits your nose, you begin to question the depth of your convictions. Are you worthy of entering, or will you be shuffled quickly and politely out again after your query is dismissed?

You’ll be greeted by an acolyte, who will set aside whatever task with which he was busying himself, clean his hands on the rag from his back pocket while discerns the nature of your visit before disturbing the monk-like masters of the shop, who likely won’t yet look up to acknowledge your presence, too busy breathing life into a shaft-driven bike from the 1930′s or machining a long-out-of-production part for an ancient Triumph or Indian. For them, there is too much to be done and too few people with the skills to do it. These are not people you disturb for petty interruptions.

Stepping back into the light of day, you carry the feeling of having set foot on hallowed ground, a sacred enclave of these remarkable machines of steel and rubber and grease and gasoline.

The shops are generally small and work areas cramped, but you feel a sense of the workers’ camaraderie as they work in close quarters.

There’s a jovial air about the shop at times. These men are doing what they love and loving what they do. Yet, there’s seriousness of purpose and a reverence for the bikes themselves, a limited and dwindling supply of vintage machines that are made to be subjected to the fierce demands of the road. These are the caretakers of this particular corner of history, the guardians of a tradition that is always at risk of disappearing.

Summer evenings are often spent not only repairing bikes, but admiring them.  They live and breathe bikes and sitting down with one, you get the sense they are sitting down with a friend.

This old Sunbeam carries a club badge for The Vintage Motor Cycle Club, a club formed in 1946 in Hog’s Back, Guildford, Surrey. The badge itself is old enough to be considered a vintage collectible, but at the time it was new, the bike was already a bit of a relic.

These photos are a small selection from a much larger body of work that is available for licensing. Please contact licensing@magnesiumphotos.com for more information.

In enjoying cars & motorcycles, to me there are only a few standout machines. While a ragged-edge racing 911 (stripped shell, slicks, Carrera prepped 3.6) reminded me of what it would be like to drive around with Britney Spears duct-tapped to the roof – naked – only few other machines have electrified me as much as the Audi R8.

Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, big Benzes, Rollers, Aston Martins, and a wide range of Porsche all fall away under the combined elements of the R8. Road feel (very 911-like), noise (as good as a Ferrari), looks (greater impact than any present Lambo), and a drivability that matches a Toyota Camry. Smooth, refined, precise, efficient, with good visibility, and overall ease of use make it a stand-out choice for anyone looking to drop their investment banker’s bonus in one hit.

No convoluted i-Drive navi, no silly drop-the-roof needed to reverse foibles, no trendy ‘Start’ button, no hold-your-tongue-the-right-way and hope-for-the-best gear changes, just a simple, refined configuration, tidy design, and very German presentation. No other car feels so at home dropping in for coffee at Omotesando Hills, running out to Costco (perhaps not at 300km/h), or blasting around the Ashinoko Skyline on a mist shrouded morning.

While some suggest the extra second or so off 0-100 from the new V-10, louder note, and generally more supercar feel from the latest update 5.2L version make it a better car, the plain-jane V-8 suits me just fine…

If you are interested in using these in a commercial work, these photos are a small selection from a much larger body of work that is all available for licensing. Please contact licensing@magnesiumphotos.com for more information.

For over a  century car makers have known the grill is the face of the car whether its the aggressive shark-like snout of the Dodge Charger or the happy little french moustache on a Karmann Ghia. As they say, the eyes are the gateways to the soul, so too is a car’s face its window to its essence. Much like the human face, the grill of a car is the expression of what lies behind. Varied and expressive as every human emotion, a car’s face can portray how it intends to handle the road of life. Here is a collection of just of few of the famous we have grown to love over the years.

If you are interested in using these in a commercial work, these photos are a small selection from a much larger body of work that is all available for licensing. Please contact licensing@magnesiumphotos.com for more information.

The last decade has seen the Tokyo Motor Show move from one of the most glamorous, over-the-top, motoring events on the annual calendar, to a more subdued, and very restrained event. For 2009, with the well publicized situation of having the European manufacturers staying away, and the then poor state of the global economy, the TMS was expected to feel a lot different.

Only a few major releases were scheduled (one being a rather ghastly, totally tasteless Lexus ‘sports car’) the show occupied only the main hall, instead of the usual multiple, and wide-spread halls. Even the campaign girls / race queen numbers were well down, causing great concern among the otaku looking for their usual T&A fix. Only a few manufacturers were able to keep it together under these constraints, but Suzuki clearly had a handle on a few good ideas. Along with their usual range, they also presented a 1979 Swift with an appropriately attire companion. Easily the stand-out display (at least on press day).

Nissan too, while covering a large floor space, were restrained. While the ever charismatic Carlos unveiled their Leaf Plug-In, the rest of their stand was suitably low-key. A curiously named SUV styling exercise did however catch a few people’s eye.

Honda (always a favorite of mine) too, had a restrained stand, with perhaps their most interesting device being an Insight based updated version of their popular 1980s CR-X.

On assignment for a UK scootering magazine, I was not impressed by any of the scooter or motorcycle stands, with perhaps Yamaha’s EC-1 being a single exception. The only other major events on the two-wheeled scene were from the hideously and overwrought stylists at the Korean and Taiwanese scooter manufacturers. Instead of ball-point pens, they should have been giving away Sic Sacs in their press kits.

While 2009 was a quiet event, leaving the show I kept thinking about that little Suzuki…

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This was the photo that inspired the yet to be published series, “Analogue Bike.”