Modified Import NewsAll News
Browse by News Category
Tokyo Auto Salon 2010: Carlsson Impresses with a Stable of Modified Benzes
As much as the Japanese love modifying and tuning their cars, enthusiasts in the land of the rising sun love to get their hands on a fine German luxury car. While names like Brabus might be known best in Germany, Benz-tuner Carlsson has a huge following in Japan, thanks in part to its smart marketing…
Tokyo Auto Salon 2010: Toyo Tires IS-F
Showing off Toyo Tires’ Proxes C1S rubber was a Lexus IS-F sporting a very innovative vinyl wrap. From far the car looked to be a matte silver, but up close the wrap has a brushed aluminum theme. Another interesting piece to this IS-F was the Hamann styling. Famous for tuning European automobiles, it seems as…
Tokyo Auto Salon 2010: ASI Green Toyota Prius
Seen at the booth of wheel manufacturer RAYS Engineering at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon was a nicely tuned Prius by ASI. Called the ASI Green Prius, this car is part of a new line of ASI tuning kits aimed at hybrid models. Currently it also includes a kit for the Honda Insight. Sporting a…
Tokyo Auto Salon 2010: Honda Shows Off Civic Type-R Euro and Sports Modulo
It has been over a decade since North America was introduced to Honda’s infamous Integra Type-R. At the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon, Honda is showing off two versions of its tuned Civic Type-R; one in hatchback form and another in sedan form. The white paint scheme with red badging that has become synonymous with the…
Tokyo Auto Salon 2010: Tommy Kaira GT-R, First Live Photos
Famed Japanese tuner Tommy Kaira did not disappoint with the public debut of its “Silver Wolf Edition Ebbrezza-R” kit for the Nissan GT-R. As many of the factory panels as possible were replaced with carbon fiber, including on the interior where an array of dry carbon parts are used. Outside, a new aero kit includes…
Tokyo Auto Salon 2010: G’s Toyota FT-86 G Sports Concept
Toyota has recently announced its G Sports conversion car series that will be sold through Toyota-brand dealers in Japan throughout 2010. These G’s series vehicles are designed for owners interested in having a unique vehicle and several of them took center stage at Toyota’s booth at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon. We have heard plenty…
Tokyo Auto Salon Preview: Tommy Kaira Set to Debut Nissan GT-R Aero Kit
Japanese tuner Tommy Kaira is set to unveil an aggressive aero kit for the Nissan GT-R at the Tokyo Auto Salon. The kit is set to include a new carbon fiber front bumper, new front fenders, side skirts, a rear diffuser and rear spoiler. In addition, some minor performance modifications, like a new exhaust system…
Honda Insight Sports Modulo Concept Focuses on Exciting Eco
While Honda has made known plans to squeeze added fuel economy out of its Insight, the Japanese automaker is set to debut a new concept that looks at the sporty side of the hybrid. Called the Insight Sorts Modulo Concept, it is set to debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon later this week. With the…
Report: Nissan to Display Nine Modified Vehicles at Tokyo Auto Salon, Including 2010 NISMO GT-R
Nissan is preparing an onslaught of modified vehicles for the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon, working with partners like Autech and NISMO. An included in the list of nine custom Nissan’s will be a NISMO-ized 2010 GT-R, featuring a new NISMO Data Logger Kit. This kit allows an owner to download data collected by the onboard…
Report: First Photos of Mugen-Tuned Honda CR-Z Leaked
Hot on the heels of a leaked brochure outlining the many details of Honda’s upcoming CR-Z hybrid sports car, a similar brochure showing a modification package by famed Honda-tuner Mugen has appeared online. No details on the kit have been confirmed but judging from the photo we’re looking at a new aero package including front…
SEMA 2009: The Trucks of the SEMA Show
A big part of the SEMA Show each year (both in terms of quantity and, well, size) is the truck and off-road industry. Some trucks get lowered suspensions and some lifted, some run on supercharged 4-cylinders, while others rely on massive turbocharged diesel units. Yet despite all that divides some truck lovers from others, they…
SEMA 2009: Turbo Mazda3 and Tuned MazdaSpeed3 Defy SEMA Norm By Going Clean and Less Extreme
Mazda doesn’t officially have a presence at the 2009 SEMA Show, but the Japanese automaker did decide to bring two custom cars to Las Vegas. Using in-house parts (many from the Mazda RX-8) and calling upon the automaker’s World Challenge motorsports partner, Tri-Point, Mazda has come up with two fresh and clean examples of the…
SEMA 2009: Trio of Tuned Kia Souls Debut in Vegas
Kia’s big news at the 2009 SEMA Show was the announcement of the brands foray into motorsports, but the track-ready Forte Koup wasn’t the only car on display at the Kia Motors booth. In fact, three more traditional SEMA vehicles were on display. Competing in the youth-oriented box-car segment, the Soul is a hit with…
SEMA 2009: GOTO Racing Shows Its Time Attack Nissan GT-R
Modified Nissan GT-Rs are surprisingly few at the 2009 SEMA Show, but the ones that are in attendance are impressive machines. With the GT-R’s impressive Nürburgring lap time it was only time before tuners and race shops got started on tuning the GT-R to fulfill its motorsports calling. The car features modifications including shocks by…
SEMA 2009: Modified Honda Insight Makes Sure Prius Isn’t the Only Tuned Hybrid at SEMA
Situated right across the isle from Honda’s official SEMA Show booth we found a modified Honda Insight at the ENEOS Oil booth. Owned by Insightcentral.net member Xtremeview, the car features a custom aero kit and a lowered suspension. Other modifications include a set of Rays wheels with Yokohama Parada tires, a Tanabe exhaust and some…
SEMA 2009: WALD Black Bison GT-R Debuts at Aftermarket Expo
To our surprise, the number of Nissan GT-Rs at this year’s SEMA Show is much lower than expected, with the Camaro being the obviously dominant vehicle. One of the nicest GT-Rs on display is the Black Bison model from Japanese tuner WALD. We found the car over at the Jonari booth, the company that distributes…
SEMA 2009: AIT Racing Delivers Carbon Fiber Widebody Nissan GT-R
One of the most surprising vehicles a this year’s SEMA show (and a refreshing change from the excessive number of Camaros) was the dry carbon widebody Nissan GT-R. Hidden away on the back side of the 3T Motorsport booth, the car was built by AIT Racing, which specializes in aerodynamics for a long list of…
SEMA 2009: Toyota’s Hard Kandy Yaris is Aimed at Female Buyers… Duh!
Toyota actually bothers to spell out in its press release on the Hard Kandy Yaris, that it is aimed at attracting the attention of female buyers. We kind of thought the pink and white interior and exterior was a bit of a give away, but…. whatever…. The custom Yaris also gets a custom body kit,…
SEMA 2009: Toyota Tacoma All-Terrain Gamer Might Be the Most Ridiculous Thing at SEMA
Hideous? Absurd? Why of course it is! This is the SEMA Show after all. Known throughout the world for some of the most extreme show cars that are destined to be thoroughly mocked before being retired to collect dust in a backlot warehouse, the Toyota Tacoma All-Terrain Gamer is just such a vehicle. Starting life…
SEMA 2009: Midnight Rider Tundra Tailgater a Tribute to Brooks and Dunn
Built as a tribute to country music duo Brooks and Dunn, Toyota unveiled the Midnight Rider Tundra Tailgater at the 2009 SEMA Show. Out back, the truck’s bed folds out to reveal a complete tailgating station with countertops, a BBQ, an ice chest and even a draft beer tap. Oh, and let’s not forget an…
SEMA 2009: Toyota Tundra Hot Rod Gets Rock and Roll Treatment
Toyota and the Hot Rod movement aren’t two things you’d normally associate with each other, which is why a Hot Rod Toyota Tundra is the perfect concept vehicle for the SEMA Show. Built by Phoenix-based motorcycle shop Sucker Punch Sally’s, the Tundra gets a long list of design cues from the hot rods of the…
SEMA 2009: Five Axis Priuses Make Going Green Stylish… and Blue
Thanks to tuner Five Axis, the Toyota Prius has never looked this cool. Now in its third generation, the 2010 Prius has gotten considerably better looking over the years, but the two modified versions on display this week at the 2009 SEMA Show take green motoring to a stylish new level. Five Axis has built…
SEMA 2009: GReddy Gives the Hyundai Genesis Coupe a Total Tune-Up
As promised, import car tuner GReddy debuted its X-Gen Street Genesis Coupe at the 2009 SEMA Show. Apart from the wild and wacky paint job (a SEMA necessity), the modified 2.0T model is the kind of car we’d like to have in the driveway. The philosophy behind the build was to improve performance in all…
SEMA 2009: Mummbles Marketing xB Wins 2009 Scion Tuner Car Challenge
It wouldn’t have been our choice, but a panel of judges awarded the team at Mummbles Marketing as the Scion Tuner Car Challenge winner for their Teal Blue Pearl xB. Looking more like something we might have seen at SEMA in 2003, the Mummbles xB features a 9-piece widebody kit from BRS Autodesign with shaved…
