To put it into perspective, there are cars in production today by manufacturers with millions of dollars spent in design and manufacturing that don't look half as good as Tamon's exotic creation. It's so different, in fact, that it wouldn't do it justice by calling it a common RX-7 with an aero kit. Hate it or love it, you have to appreciate the energy spent on the design of the former FD and how clean the entire car looks. While most of us staffers are content with installing a filter, header, exhaust, couple of car fresheners, and maybe a car wash in every three-month span, Tamon was able to build almost an entirely new car. After adding custom side mirrors and cooling vents in the hood, the entire car was sprayed with Show Up Eki Show's bright Jade Orange paint. With trick bodywork, Tamon didn't want to run the stock taillights, so with some research he found that the ones off an '03 Infiniti M45 best fit the new lines of his design. As for the non-existent rear hatch, Tamon had to fabricate a new trunk and rear to replace the stock configuration. ![]() Wrapping the widened stance are Tamon's own front and rear bumpers with a carbon fiber duct and side skirt. Going for an exotic super car look, the next step was to widen the fenders for a total increase of 30mm in the front and 70mm in the rear. Tailoring it with an emphasis in creating a car that looked like a production spec model and not some freaky homemade Frankenstein Fiero knock-off conversion, Tamon began by sourcing a custom headlight from Trial to give the car a distinguishable fascia. With the hard part over, Tamon's next step was to start applying his design to the now open air RX-7. After forwarding him a blank tech sheet and the arduous task of completing it, Tetsu and his god-given abilities to speak Japanese and rebuild Honda motors contacted the owner of the vehicle and design house credited for the build, Tamon Shoji (no, not the feminine product, silly-that has the letter P) of Tamon Design. Thinking of someone along those lines, it dawned on me that Tetsu, our lovable yet mildly diminutive and incredibly passive JDM correspondent, would be the ideal target. Instead, I did what all good editors do, pass the buck onto someone else, preferably onto one who is ill-equipped to defend himself. After a lengthy five-minute brainstorm, I did what our staff is renowned for, giving up. So that lead to the conclusion that this was some sort of chop top coupe conversion. And it couldn't be some new German, Italian or Swedish creation-by my last count we haven't made the mistake of featuring a Euro since May of '97 (check this month's Classic Super Street in the Street Speak section). But the low profile, shape of the front fenders, and the protruding ass belies anything resembling a S2000 or 350Z convertible. The first obvious giveaway should have been the roadster configuration. Now that the task of identifying the mystery machine fell to me, I searched for subtle clues in the body.
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