Tokyo Auto Salon isn’t Tokyo Auto Salon with out all of the hype of a Liberty Stroll automotive reveal, and for 2024, Wataru Kato and his staff delivered all of the power with one other ’80s supercar icon on the middle of all of it.
We’ll get to the LB-Works Lamborghini Countach in a second, as a result of that was simply one in every of a lot of Liberty Stroll vehicles on show on the Makuhari Messe final weekend.
Liberty Stroll shared house with Tag, Bullet, and Sphere Gentle manufacturers, with a complete of 100 employees working throughout the large sales space over the course of the three-day occasion.
Nobody does it larger at Tokyo Auto Salon than Kato-san, and are available 2:00pm on Friday afternoon when the covers got here off Liberty Stroll’s two TAS 2024 headliners, there was a rock live performance vibe.
Let’s begin with the Countach, which encompasses a model new LB-Works physique package that provides 40mm of additional width to either side of the this ’80s poster automotive. On high of the fenders, which after all require the unique bodywork to be lower to suit, the whole package encompasses a new entrance bumper with diffuser and canards, aspect skirts and aspect diffusers, and out again a rear diffuser, rear wing and roof air consumption.
Pricing has but to launched, however given the total package options extra items than the LB-Works Ferrari F40 equal, it’s unlikely to be any cheaper than that, which runs US$127,600 in FRP and US$160,600 in CFRP, plus becoming after all and the opposite requirements – air suspension and customized wheels.
The query is although, if you had a Countach, would you think about the LB-Works conversion?
Talking of F40s, probably the most talked about automotive of Tokyo Auto Salon 2023 was again, this time with a brand new Metallic Blueberry exterior courtesy of Inoztech. It’s, after all, not the primary F40 that’s been given the Inoztech wrap therapy, however we’re loving the blue vinyl and contrasting white livery from Blackfish Graphics.
When you dream of proudly owning and driving a Liberty Stroll-enhanced supercar however solely have a kei automotive price range, don’t fear, Kato-san has one thing particular for you. This candy little machine was unveiled by the LB Children. No, it’s not the electrical ride-on, though that does look cool…
It’s this – the LB-Works LB40.
If you will get your palms on an Autozam (Mazda) AZ-1, LB-Works can flip it right into a micro F40 reproduction. And even higher, the conversion doesn’t include a full-size price ticket; the total package, which is a mixture of FRP and dry carbon, runs simply US$22,660 plus becoming.
The Fiat Abarth 595 is just not fairly as small as a kei automotive however continues to be compact by trendy requirements, and it too now has a Liberty Stroll answer. LB-Works teamed up Abas Works for this demo automotive, and it wears the total package – entrance bumper with canards, hood, aspect skirts, rear diffuser and wing, and naturally huge physique fenders in any respect 4 corners.
Kato-san is likely to be finest identified for his shock supercar-widening antics, however his roots are squarely in shakotan. So it was cool to see his outdated Kenmeri Skyline again at Tokyo Auto Salon – albeit this time with The Smurfs collaboration we didn’t know we would have liked. And the way cool is the C10 Skyline parked alongside?!
Blurring the strains between up to date automotive design and shakotan model is the LB-Works Nissan Fairlady Z/400Z, which Kato-san unveiled on the SEMA Present final 12 months.
One other 2023 launch was this – the LB-Works McLaren 720S. The whole physique package provides a entrance diffuser, entrance canards, hood, aspect diffusers and door panels, a rear diffuser, rear wing and huge fenders. The black on black scheme seems sinister.
The ultimate automotive we need to present you is a collaboration between Liberty Stroll, Alpharex USA and Likewise. This GR86 is hard!
One other 12 months of Liberty Stroll at Tokyo Auto Salon has us asking the identical query as at all times – how will Kato-san high this? I assume we’ll all discover out 12 months from now.
The Speedhunters
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Pictures by Rick Muda
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Extra Pictures by Toby Thyer
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