Option — Shōwa Car Tuning & Buyers Guide (2000 Edition)

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About this issue

180 available scans from Option — Shōwa Car Tuning & Buyers Guide (2000 Edition), 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.

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Page 15 — English draft translation

2.

This naturally aspirated Hachi-Roku, “Spirits Kotaro,” was built around the idea of enjoyable driving. It has air conditioning and power steering, and is comfortable and versatile from town to mountain pass to circuit. Amazingly, the customer reportedly gave them the base car for free! It uses a late-model AE92 4A-GELU engine, upgraded with an AE101 four-throttle setup and an original kit. The powertrain and suspension are carefully developed; in the Hachi-Roku’s heyday this would have been a full-tune build. But the aim is fun from the street to the pass, so the interior is mostly stock and the rear seats remain usable.

Captions and page details
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Shōwa Cars 2000!

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The heart of Spirits Kotaro is a late AE92 4A-GELU with Toda Racing cams (264° intake / 288° exhaust). An original Spirits four-throttle kit for the AE101 throttle bodies includes the intake manifold, throttle wire, vacuum tank, funnels and ECU (¥168,000). It produces a sufficient 160 PS in the lightweight Hachi-Roku.

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Original Spirits carbon-fiber aero parts further reduce the light Hachi-Roku’s weight: carbon hood ¥86,000, carbon lip spoiler ¥39,000, and carbon rear spoiler ¥39,000.

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BRIE

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Techno PRO

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Apart from the standard 36-centimeter Nardi wheel, the dashboard is mostly stock. Kotaro’s concept is a car you can drive without having to brace yourself…

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Orido

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Spirit

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…that is part of it, too.

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CHECK!

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From the city to mountain passes and circuits…

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…and true to that idea, it is incredibly fun. The sound—especially the intake—and the response are excellent. It feels like driving an old carbureted car with perfectly dialed-in tuning. There is nothing to criticize.

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…Hachi-Roku versus…

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The two-tone body and carbon aero create a sharper look. It has Spirits’ original straight-through under-differential exhaust, all-stainless 50 mm piping and a 100 mm tailpipe.

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The seats are Bride Brix models. The rear seat remains fully usable.

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Power, suspension—everything is balanced. When you press the accelerator…

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It is the joy of driving a car that feels like a natural extension of a stock Hachi-Roku. It is for people who loved these cars years ago—including those who once went all the way with one and now want to come back. It is not tiring to drive, so you can keep it for a long time.

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The latest Shōwa-car tuning!

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…or turbo!?

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Naturally aspirated side…

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NA side / Manabu Orido

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Orido…

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iA

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Orido and Tarzan Yamada settle it once and for all!

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Stock engine +

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bolt-on twin-scroll turbo

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…how far can it go?

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TEC-ARTS AE86

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03-3878-5864

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5-7-14 Funabori, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo 134-0091

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TEC-ARTS

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MOTUL

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TEC-ART’S

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Asahi

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…

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from…

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“Use the power band from 4,500 rpm and it’s great on the street or circuit!”