
One of this year’s most anticipated motoring events is the Tokyo Auto Salon, held last January 10-12 in all 11 exhibition halls of Makuhari Messe, Chiba City. In contrast to the Japan Mobility Show, TAS brings in more of the non-OEM automotive scene from tuners to modders, 4×4 folks, and stance guys alike.
You get the bling, the glamour, the performance and the style in a convention center the size of four SMXs joined together.


















Besides the intricate yet exuberant performance and design modifications the Japanese auto scene is known for, the country really loves its kei cars. Short for kei-jidōsha, the size and the displacement-restricted classification give owners a whole load of discounts. From 20% off at the tollways, to a roughly 50% cut from registration-related matters, it’s no surprise you see a load of yellow-plated kei cars out on the streets.
Well, both modders and manufacturers alike are keen to remind us that these dinky little vehicles are nothing to sneeze at.










There were several GR Yarises out on the exhibition floor, but what piqued our interest most was an unassuming unit out at Toyota’s booth. Clad in the typical camo livery on cars under development (to make our lives as photographers and journalists harder), the hatch had a curiously empty engine bay.
With some technical wizardry slapped on the front to move the powerplant out the back, the mid-engined M Concept GR Yaris sports Toyota’s brand-new 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged G20E engine rumored to produce upwards of 400hp.



Continuing Toyota’s nonchalant booth presence was the 2025 Dakar-spec Land Cruiser 300 that the brand would use for the Stock Production Car category of the famed Dakar Rally. The LC is positioned right beside its great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather, the Land Cruiser BJ from 1951.
Toyota’s push into motorsport is partly due to chairman Akio Toyoda. Several of the vehicles he grew up with (now in his own personal garage) were on display, giving us a glimpse into how cars shaped his life.
Left of that display were a bunch of even more unassuming cars, but quite possibly the two most important vehicles for the start of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division. The blue fourth-generation Supra served as Morizo’s training vehicle, and its adjacent Altezza served as Car #109 for Toyota’s very first entry in the 2007 Nurburgring 24 Hours.




















Nissan had quite the special car on display, yet with all the GT-Rs on the exhibition floor, it was quite easy to miss. That was until you noticed the EV charging plug slapped right on its rear quarter panel.
Why desecrate such a beloved icon? In a PR released by Nissan, it asked the lead engineer how it started the project. After spending a whole day testing the X-Trail e-Power at the brand’s Tochigi proving grounds, the team seemed pretty confident with how good the EV system was.
Well, some team members took interest at the R32 Skyline parked nearby. They pulled it out of its slumber, ran it on the track, and even the young ones agreed that the GT-R was way more fun.
The EV project is a way for the team to help preserve the giants of the previous decades. Parts may be unavailable to rehabilitate a conked-out internal-combustion engine, and several jurisdictions may soon dislike having gas-guzzling vehicles out on the roads, but the looming possibility of an electric conversion means we can still partake in the pure motoring pleasure that some of these vehicles offer.

















I gained a lot of insight from my first-ever Tokyo Auto Salon. Given that our vehicles mean a lot to us, customizing them for a specific task or lifestyle makes our cars even more personal. It shows us who we are, what we’re capable of, and how we want to be seen by the world.


Oh, and if you can manage to make your end result prim and proper, go absolutely nuts with it.
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