111 Images From Wekfest Japan

For my final look at Wekfest Japan 2022, I wanted to give you a comprehensive feel for what this show is all about.

It’s hard to fully understand just how vast it is unless I show you as much as I can, so I’ve collated 111 additional images, making my Wekfest coverage as large as that of this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon. That should say a lot about this event.

On top of that, it looks as though – after a decade of hearing that Nagoya’s iconic Port Messe exhibition dome will be demolished – the venue’s time is now actually up.

Wekfest Japan’s organizers now have the task of finding another spot for the event, one large enough to fit a lot of cars, and also centrally located in Japan so that it’s accessible to people from all over the country. Having it held in Nagoya has been a key aspect of the show, and one of the reasons why there’s always a big turnout.

Anyway, let’s dive right in with a look at some of the standout German cars…

I’ve been following Coutner Japan’s latest E24 BMW 635CSi build on Instagram and was so happy to see it in person. This thing is one of the most aggressive and in-your-face expressions of the tried and tested black-on-black approach, proving that if you get it right the result will be impressive. Like 99% of the cars at Wekfest Japan, this deserves its own feature.

There was plenty of air-cooled Porsche goodness, and it was nice to see that these cars are slowly but steadily falling into the hands of younger owners who want to modify them.

It’s so cool to see 911s being built up to these levels, from all-out restomods to replicas of rare iterations, and of course slammed examples on custom wheels.

There was definitely a lot of inspiration for Project 964…

Of course, no German car selection would be complete with some VWs. This wild, widened Mk1 Golf is from Voomerang.

If air-cooled VWs are more your thing, I’ll have a nice selection of those in my forthcoming coverage from the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals.

The Best Of Japan

As you’d expect, Japanese cars make up the bulk of this event, and you can always count on a huge Honda turnout, from old school to new school and plenty of USDM inspiration.

Tactical Art builds always grab my attention.

RS Watanabe wheels on a DC2 Integra is something I don’t think I’d ever contemplate, but look how well they work.

You don’t see many Nissan Pulsar GTi-Rs around anymore, let alone modified as cool as this one.

Who doesn’t love a little bit of VIP…

The AT141 Toyota Corona GT Coupe looks so good slammed, and this example, owned by a member of the Lowbrain crew, ticks all the right boxes. I really want to shoot it properly, and given that it’s local to me I should be able to make it happen.

Miyoshi Racing Paddock Okayama is well known for its circuit racing exploits, so you know the result is going to be good when they turn their hands to street car builds.

But their main showpiece at Wekfest this year was a faithful replica of Keiichi Tsuchiya’s FC3S Mazda RX-7 from the 1991 JSS Fuji Speedway race.

Miyoshi-san was keen to show me just how close to the original car this tribute is, so pulled up a video of the race to show me. Right now, the only thing different are the wheels, everything else is exactly as it should be, right down to the worn race bucket and kinked shift lever. But best of all, it’s a 100% functional race car.

All that really remains is for Dorikin to have drive, and perhaps even don the legendary replica green helmet that was prepared alongside the car.

Stance in Japan extends to scooters, and there’s a whole subculture around these two-wheeled creations. Who’d like to see more from this scene?

Stepping Out

A small part of the event was held outside, and there were no shortage of interesting machines here too.

I lost count of how many Nissan Zs I saw this year, but there were a lot. Next year, we’ll no doubt see some slammed new-gen cars too.

This stunning VW Scirocco hits a lot of shows in Japan, and I always have to grab another look; it’s so clean.

Heading back inside, there were a few Mazda Roadsters – AKA Miatas and MX-5s – that I needed to check out.

The example directly above is a Roadster that thinks it’s a Corvette Stingray, all thanks to Mitsuoka and their oh-so-Japanese conversions.

Remember S&A Auto Create, the guys that built the K20C1-swapped NSX? Well, they also brought along a pair of customer-owned S30 Fairlady Zs.

Which one would you go for? The glorious-sounding white car with the OS Giken TC24 head, or the mustard one thats keeps it single cam but features pretty much every other mod you can make to a naturally aspirated L31? Two different routes, two stunning results.

This EP82 Starlet GT was on another level.

Wekfest always dishes up the odd surprise, and this dumped Subaru Legacy was one of them this year. It kind of reminded me of the wild creations that Bee Dragon built back in the day. Their Presidents, Crowns and Centuries on static drops always featured pumped wheel arches like this.

The Legacy is most definitely not running a static suspension setup though. Two weeks on, I’m still trying to comprehend exactly what’s going on with this crazy air ride install.

James Bond would surely approve of this Lotus Esprit.

Here’s Masaru Ishikawa’s latest creation, which he completed the night before the show. The Silvia features custom fender work and Ishikawa Body’s signature OEM S13 teardrop wheels turned into works of custom 3-piece art.

It’s not all show at Wekfest Japan; who doesn’t love a big-power R32 Skyline GT-R?!

And you can always count on something to remind you that you don’t need to go big to have fun. In fact, you can stay pretty damn small and finesse the details for an awesome result.