Japan Car News: Maruti Suzuki Rally, WRC Yaris, S2000 Rumours And More …
2017 Maruti-Suzuki Desert Storm Revving Up
Kicking off their 15th annual rally from GIP mall in Noida, Maruti-Suzuki’s 2,000 km., 6 day race has begun. Rally enthusiasts will navigate through scenic Rajasthan over a challenging series of terrain in Hanumangarh, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer, eventually arriving in Jodhpur for the February 4th finale and prize award ceremony.
In a statement to the press, Maruti-Suzuki Executive Director of Marketing and Sales R.S. Kalsi said “Pioneered in 2003, Desert Storm has been an effort to replicate our success in off-road rallying in the Western region of the country. The perfect recipe of thrill and competition challenges motorsport enthusiasts to acheive greater milestones in their motorsport journey. At Maruit-Suzuki, we believe that rallies bring out the best in men and machines, and the increasing participation each year is encouraging and helps us strengthen such motorsport events. With no restriction on participation, we encourage all motor enthusiasts – be it amateur or professional, man or woman from all regions to gain as much experience as they can from these events.”
With its three categories of XTreme, NDure, Xplore and Moto, Desert Storm 2017 shows promise for tremendous excitement and intense competition. This year will also see 10 female competitors in the race, include prior year podium finishers Bani Yadav and Sarah Kashyap with teams Dakshin Dare and Raid de Himalayas.
Often referred to as mini-Dakar, Maruti-Suzuki Desert Storm 2017 will also feature a 207 km stage, the longest in Indian Motorsport history. All participants are cleared to race after a scrupulous one-day scrutiny check a day before flag off. As grueling as the rally is expected to be, all participants are provided with ground team safety precautions throughout the rally’s long and winding course.
Invitational Pits the 1985 Mazda RX-7 Against Longtime Rival the 1974 Honda Civic
In spite of their advanced age and approaching-classic status, two JDM legends went toe-to-toe for the title Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. Both the ‘85 RX-7 and the 74 Civic were modified for this grudge match of a race. Who went home with the trophy? Read on to find out.
The race was set between Mazda owner David Freiburger and Honda Civic enthusiast Mark Finnegan at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada. Both drivers cleaned and applied basic maintenance to both models before pulling up to the starting line. However, Finnegan’s Civic suffered a catastrophic engine failure mid-race and had to be towed from the track. The legendary Civic was examined and worked on by the Honda specialists at Hasport, who happened to have a spare engine for the ‘74 Civic available, but the car was configured with a CVCC engine instead, a decision that clearly did not pan out at the track.
As the race was intended to determine which of the two vehicles still had the juice to win an one-on-one race between legendary JDM cars, the Civic failed to hold up its end and no clear winner could be decided since the race didn’t last long enough to truly demonstrate which car was superior.
Both Mazda and Honda have recently released insanely hot new editions of the RX-7 and a brand new Civic Type R, each car carrying on the proud traditions of both manufacturers in terms of performance and style, and both are demonstrating the panache and power necessary to become legends in their own time. Hopefully the question of which classic car is the superior JDM legend will have to be established in future competitions at the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational.
Toyota Debuts Insane WRC Version of Their Tame Yaris
It may say Yaris on the label (or Vitz in Japan), but Toyota’s new WRC tuned Yaris is like no Yaris ever seen before. Built with a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine cranking out an aggressive 375 horsepower, this all-wheel drive Yaris is ready to take on the mud, grave, snow, sand, and just about terrain surface the world of rally has to offer. This new Yaris is like the short kid in high school who hits the gym the summer after freshman year and comes back for year two with a pair of 20 inch biceps and a grudge.
You may rationally know from looking at the spec sheet that this is a purpose-built racer, but that doesn’t do much in the way of preparing you for just how ludicrous the Yaris WRC looks. The front end looks like a sleek-headed pitbull showing just enough teeth to let you know they mean business. AS if that weren’t enough, the wing and exhaust on the back end complete the the ensemble look of serious aggression issues. Top that off with an exhaust note that sounds like somebody kicked over a nest of mutant yellow jackets, everyone is going to take one look at this car and say “No way that’s a Yaris.”
Here’s the really insane news though: the head of Toyota Europe recently made statements to the effect that this freakish WRC monster is going to be be a strong influence in the design of the newest Yaris hot hatch set to debut next fall, saying “it’s no use doing motorsport if you can’t reflect it in your product if you can’t reflect it in your product.” Details are scant regarding the newest consumer Yaris beyond projections that it will produce at least 210 horsepower, but if it’s anything like its WRC big sister, this is going to be one heck of a hot hatchback when it debuts next year.
Further Details Emerging for Honda’s Planned S2000 Revival
Honda has been behaving a bit like a fickle girlfriend with their hot and cold attitude toward development of a new S2000 for some time now. Their plans to develop and create a three tier lineup of sports cars began in 2015 with the S660 micro-coupe, a mid-engine turbo 660-cc inline 3. 2016 saw the debut of the newest NSX supercar, a mid-engine turbo 3.5-liter V-6 with several electric motors headed the latest lineup from Honda’s Acura brand label.
Now the question has become whether or not Honda’s product-planning is going to add that third model to its sports car lineup in between their current micr-coupe and supercar offerings. Their primary dilemma, according to one source at Honda, is that the S660 is Japan only, and the NSX is an Acura, Honda’s main label has no sports car currently available for sale. Seeing as the U.S. is Honda’s largest market by a wide margin, it would make sense to provide U.S. dealers with a sports car. More details about that model – purported to be a revival of the S2000- have at last come to light.
Honda originally launched the S2000 in 1998 as part of its 50th anniversary celebration, and as they approach 70 years it is time to bring back the S2000 magic for a new generation. Inside sources at Honda have revealed the they will indeed celebrate their upcoming major anniversary with a 2018 S2000, as well as an RC213V-S superbike. The original rumor was that the new S2000 would use the new Civic Type R 2.0-liter turbo, but apparently those plans have been scrapped in favor of a brand new powertrain and a unique chassis.
Rumor has it that the new motor will be identical to Mitsubishi’s current 2.0-liter I4 engine, offering up more than 320 horsepower. Other sources have stated that the new S2000 will also feature a new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission to optimize its unique weight distribution as well. Time will tell what the final product looks like on the outside and under the hood, but right now the news that a new S2000 is on the horizon for the near future is more than justifiable cause for excitement.
Experts and Pundits Ponder the 2018 Nissan Z
The 2018 Nissan Z is coming to replace the 370Z, but the Japanese automaker claims that will not arrive in 2017 due to its not being ready in time. Notoriously secretive, Nissan has revealed little to no information regarding the appearance or specs of the new Z despite the tireless efforts of enthusiasts and journalists. This complete redesign is anticipated to come equipped with a lot of new tech, as well as a gorgeous new exterior and interior designs.
Rumors claim that its new platform will be smaller than the 370 model, and that the new engine will feature a 2.0-liter turbo with a 7-speed automatic transmission currently installed on 2018 Nissan models, and estimates in the neighborhood of 250 horsepower seem to be the common high water mark for the upcoming sports car. Nissan is also reportedly attempting to provide superior fuel economy with the new Z car, with estimates as high as 50 MPG highway.
Regardless of the hearsay, there is tremendous buzz surrounding the debut of the 2018 Z, and everyone in the Japanese car fandom is eagerly awaiting actual confirmation from Nissan regarding their newest sports coupe.
