Picking ten standouts from this weekend wasn’t easy, but our judges somehow managed it. Here are the Best Modified Cars at Japfest 2023.
Japfest is one of the premier modified Japanese car shows, certainly in the UK, and possibly even further abroad too. You only have to look at the sheer number of cars, drivers, and fans that attended the most recent edition at Silverstone this weekend to understand why. But it’s not just about quantity at Japfest, it’s about quality too.
So, to give a metaphorical pat on the back to some of the best in show, we hand out ten rosettes every year to our judges’ favorite motors. If we overlooked your pride and joy, please don’t be offended – it’s all a matter of personal taste, and trust us, these final shortlists are never unanimous!
Anyway, this year exhibitors treated us to an incredibly high calibre of cars, spanning across a multitude of different marques and genres. So, to capture the vibe of the show, there’s plenty of variety in our selection of the Best Modified Cars at Japfest 2023.
The Best Modified Cars at Japfest 2023
Let’s start close to home with a couple of cars that we featured in our very own Fast Car paddock. Jack Britton’s Nissan Primera – a roadworthy replica of the ’90s BTCC Super Touring racecars – is a build that we’ve been following from afar for quite a while now. From the early stages of the project, Jack really impressed us with the level of care and attention to detail that he brought to this build, and it’s fair to say that his efforts have certainly paid off.
Joining the Primera in our paddock was an FD2 Civic Type R with some serious JDM street cred. Even stock ones are rare and noteworthy cars on this side of the world, but this particular example has had the FEEL’s tuning house parts catalogue thrown all over it. In fact, it’s the only FEEL’s-tuned FD2 in the country, which we reckoned was surely worth a rosette.
Other winners included an R32 Skyline which features in the upcoming Fast X movie, and a gorgeous Midnight Purple R34. Continuing the Nissan theme was one of the cleanest S13s we’ve ever seen. Finished in two-tone green and grey, fans of the Initial D anime series will recognize it as being very similar to the coupe that Iketani drives.
Our friends over at Auto Finesse wowed the crowds with their most recent build – a Pandem-kitted GR Yaris, while on the other end of the Toyota spectrum, a VIP-style Century limousine oozed Yakuza-cool. Check out all of these cars, and the rest of our top 10 picks in the gallery below!
