Japan Report: Tokyo May Not be a Supercar Showdown After All
Read it and weep, folks. The big Japanese supercar clash at the Tokyo Motor Show that we’ve all been waiting for has been blown off course.
On one level, this month’s Tokyo Motor Show was supposed to be a high stakes poker game between the Nissan GT-R, Lexus LF-A, and Acura’s next interpretation of the NSX.
(Click through to find out why Tokyo might not be as exciting as we had hoped.)
The GT-R is still on track. Emerging from the tightest security known to motordom, the new GT-R will be unveiled at exactly 1:50 p.m., local time on Wednesday, October 24.
Tokyo ’07 was also supposed to be the coming out party for the production Lexus LF-A. Instead, Lexus shows every sign of going with the same LF-A concept that’s already been seen at Detroit this year, unless there’s a dramatic last minute press day “surprise
Comments
Ducati Minor
I worry about the word "supercar" being applied so broadly. It seems to have replaced "exotic car" in the press lexicon. I would not refer to the LF-A or GT-R as "supercars," in spite of their assuredly firm speed.
Jonathan Fung [Gotakon]
I definitly have to agree with Ducati Minor. I wouldn't refer to any of those as supercars. Yes, they are fast, but somehow, in my mind, one requirement for a real supercar is price. Another is a certain lack of practicality focusing on form over function. But the GTR and the LFA both seem too livable, and relatively affordable (for those in the market.)
Super Car Blog » Blog Archive » Tokyo's stillborn supercar b
[...] Winding Road’s Japan correspondent, Peter Nunn, has dashed any hopes of the Tokyo Motor Show bubbling over with Nipponese supercars. Sure, we’ll get to see the rebirth of Godzilla in the form of the R35 GT-R, plus the unveilings of the new Evo X and STI certainly aren’t going to suck. But the knockdown, drag-out brawl between Japan’s Big Three (Honda, Nissan and Toyota) is going to be distinctly one-sided. [...]
Bill Jonn
Wow, I'm surprised. I usually don't post on autoblog like this but this is too funny.
Let me put it this way for those who refer a supercar has to be expensive.
What is a car for? ----> To drive and enjoy.
What make a supercar? -----> A car that exceeds the expectation from a normal car. Hello,.....hence "super"-car.
A supercar is not about price. To be qualify as super, a car has to be able to exceed driver's expectation in drivability, speed, handling, performance, durability, and of course enjoyability.
Price is just a consequence of making a car a super-car. And if someone can find a better way to make a super-car with less cost than the rest then more power to them.
For those who prefer a supercar has to be expensive (as in Ferrari expensive, listen to what Nicolas Cage said in "Gone in 60 seconds" --> "Self-indulgen weiners"
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Bert
I'm a die-hard nissan fan and have a website about Nissan, but I tend to agree with the rest that the GT-R is not a supercar. It's a sportscar and a damn good one at that - performance very close to a supercar. I mean, a supercar is very exclusive - you dont just go out and buy a Bugatti Veryon or Koenigsegg CCX or Pagani Zonda do you? Neither would you with the very exclusive 20 only built and handcrafted by Nismo race engineers Skyline GT-R ZTune? Those cars a supercars because they are specially built for ultra performance, use expensive construction materials or are constructed in a special way and have some sort of unique/exotic styling that really sets them apart from the rest. They have to have a lot of special stuff in their DNA that makes them a supercar.
The GT-R is just a sportscar. It's taking on the 911 Turbo which is also just a sports car. And I dont consider every single Porsche and Ferrari a supercar - only one or two really really special models. The GT-R just doesnt have enough to be a supercar. A really really really really good leave-a-Porsche-911-Turbo-in-the-dust sportscar is what it is.
Winding Road » Archive » Japan Report: Could the New NSX App
[...] But then, as we’ve already reported, Honda canned plans to show the car on the basis that, with the Acura launch into Japan put back two years, there was no Acura stand at the show to sit on. [...]
Motor Authority » NSX Concept could still appear in Tokyo
[...] Now the guys at WindingRoad say Honda might bring in the new concept as a last minute challenger for Nissan’s GT-R and Lexus’ LF-A concept. Nissan pulled a similar stunt when it rolled out the original GT-R Concept back at the 2001 Tokyo Show and now Honda could do the same. [...]
Winding Road » Archive » We’re Headed to the 2007 Tokyo Moto
[...] Acura NSX - This is a huge question mark for the Tokyo show. We’ve heard rumors that the NSX will be the same concept as we saw in Detroit earlier this year, but then we heard it could be a nearly production car, too. We’ll have to wait and see. [...]
Tokyo’s stillborn supercar battle | AutoBlogGuide
[...] Winding Road’s Japan correspondent, Peter Nunn, has dashed any hopes of the Tokyo Motor Show bubbling over with Nipponese supercars. Sure, we’ll get to see the rebirth of Godzilla in the form of the R35 GT-R, plus the unveilings of the new Evo X and STI certainly aren’t going to suck. But the knockdown, drag-out brawl between Japan’s Big Three (Honda, Nissan and Toyota) is going to be distinctly one-sided. [...]
Tokyo’s stillborn supercar battle | AutoBlog Guide
[...] Winding Road’s Japan correspondent, Peter Nunn, has dashed any hopes of the Tokyo Motor Show bubbling over with Nipponese supercars. Sure, we’ll get to see the rebirth of Godzilla in the form of the R35 GT-R, plus the unveilings of the new Evo X and STI certainly aren’t going to suck. But the knockdown, drag-out brawl between Japan’s Big Three (Honda, Nissan and Toyota) is going to be distinctly one-sided. [...]
VehicleBuzz.net » Blog Archive » Tokyo’s stillborn supercar
[...] Winding Road’s Japan correspondent, Peter Nunn, has dashed any hopes of the Tokyo Motor Show bubbling over with Nipponese supercars. Sure, we’ll get to see the rebirth of Godzilla in the form of the R35 GT-R, plus the unveilings of the new Evo X and STI certainly aren’t going to suck. But the knockdown, drag-out brawl between Japan’s Big Three (Honda, Nissan and Toyota) is going to be distinctly one-sided. [...]
Tokyo’s stillborn supercar battle | ToysForBoyz.com
[...] Winding Road’s Japan correspondent, Peter Nunn, has dashed any hopes of the Tokyo Motor Show bubbling over with Nipponese supercars. Sure, we’ll get to see the rebirth of Godzilla in the form of the R35 GT-R, plus the unveilings of the new Evo X and STI certainly aren’t going to suck. But the knockdown, drag-out brawl between Japan’s Big Three (Honda, Nissan and Toyota) is going to be distinctly one-sided. [...]
Coming to America: 2010 Launch for the Acura NSX in the U.S.
[...] Everything from a weak reaction to the Acura Sports Car Concept, to the stalled launch of the Acura brand in Japan has contributed to the NSX [...]
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