D Car — July 2004
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About this issue
246 available scans from D Car — July 2004, in right-to-left reading order. Japanese OCR and English translation drafts are available throughout. Drafts have not received exhaustive image proofreading; unreadable source remains recorded in the archival data.
Page 40 — English draft translation
“Flashy and fast” is the theme of this Spider Gull. Bought new in 1997, it has received more than ¥5 million in custom work. Mr. Eto has carefully built it around the idea of being both eye-catching and quick, bringing it close to completion with a one-off gullwing mechanism. There’s much more to see than the doors. The red Brembo calipers stand out, reflecting the owner’s wish to improve both braking and cornering. It also runs 19-inch G-Games 77 Vaio wheels and vinyl graphics for a show-car look. The turbo has been upgraded throughout, for an estimated 280 hp…
Captions and page details
Open top + gullwing doors = an impact combo!
The interior panels are finished in black, with clear taillights, a large wing, and underbody neon drawing the eye at the rear. The side steps and rear aero are by Kaminari.
DCAR
The carbon canards are an unexpectedly fresh match for the factory aero with its shining three-diamond emblem. The carbon bonnet is also by V-S Racing.
DCAR
The Cool Ride · Tel. 093-475-9696 · Though based on a kit, it was almost entirely rebuilt, including the base plate.
One-off
Mr. Eto is delighted with the Cool Ride’s gullwing setup, especially its smooth operation and rigidity. The shop also supports a wide range of other vehicles.
…with the supporting parts to match. Arms, a tower bar, and urethane body reinforcement also sharpen its handling.
HKS
StheetGlaw
VeilSide
5ZIGEN
ADAPEXI
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Gullwing
Gullwing trivia
One-off advantages: broad vehicle coverage
To make people ask, “Wait, that car has gullwing doors?” you need a rare base vehicle. Few gullwing kits fit rare models, so a one-off is often the answer. The shop considers each car’s fender shape and door weight when building the setup, leading to a satisfying result.
This Civic coupe with a Solara-style front end also uses one-off gullwings. The doors are barely offset and rise almost vertically.
03
On the Scoot FD, the hinge adds a second motion to the usual two-axis movement, creating a complex opening path. Special mechanisms like this are typically one-off builds.