Yuta Akaishis s30

By now I hope you’ve read the feature on Yuta Akashi’s 240z over at MotorMavens.  If not, go ahead.  I’ll wait here.

It’s been kicking around the ‘net quite a bit lately, and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews.  It is my least favorite car I have ever liked.  I need to qualify exactly what that means.  I love the rawness of Yuta’s work.  He has a purpose, and does everything he can to get there.  Nothing will stop him, and most of all he doesn’t get hung up on details.

On the Street

As a daily driver, this is a terrible car.  Yuta stretched and slammed it, which immediately takes it down a few notches as a streetable machine.  It’s nearly on the ground, and he can’t even leave the front bumper on when driving through unfamiliar territory.  It does still have the ever-simple l24 engine with round-top SU carburettors as a redeeming point.  Because of that, it’ll never run perfectly but you can pretty much guarantee that it’ll always run no matter what.

On the Track

As a track car, the same things hold it back.  The engine does not perform well under hard turning, suffering from oil and fuel delivery problems.

On paper

Cosmetically, it’s about perfect.  It’s a gorgeous visualization of Yuta’s priorities.  He wanted it low, wide, and straight and it’s beautiful.  I’m not a fan of form before function, but when someone really nails the form with no holds barred I can’t help but respect it for that.