Tegiwa in Japan – Day 4: Mugen, GruppeM Racing & Spoon Sports
Day 4 of our Japanese adventure was a whirlwind tour of legendary tuning houses, starting with the hallowed halls of Mugen. Mugen, a name synonymous with Honda performance, needs no introduction to any true JDM enthusiast.
While we waited for their doors to open, we stumbled upon an arcade – and what better way to pass the time than a virtual tear-up on the Tokyo expressway in an NSX (naturally, Luke emerged victorious).
10 am struck, and the Mugen showroom doors swung open. The coolest detail? Their entrance door handles – repurposed Formula 3000 engine conrods! We were greeted warmly and treated to a feast for the eyes in their showroom. We were then introduced to Mugen’s MD, General Manager, and Deputy Assistant Manager, followed by a fascinating presentation about the company’s history and vision.
Unfortunately, the factory tour was top-secret (no sneaky content this time!), but let’s just say we witnessed firsthand some of Japan’s most impressive manufacturing processes. We peeked through a privacy screen into the engine room, and even got to see the disassembled ARTA Civic FL5 GT500 race car – a testament to the relentless pace of Japanese motorsport, considering it had just battled for 3 hours a day and a half prior!
Back outside, a couple of Mugen demo cars awaited our attention. The Civic FK8, sporting a full Mugen catalogue – carbon fibre galore, a full titanium exhaust and an awesome rear wing – was a true embodiment of unadulterated performance. The tiny S660 kei car, meanwhile, packed a surprising punch with its Mugen makeover. Recaro seats cradled us in comfort, and the guys even fired up the engine for an experience for our ears.
Next stop: Mugen’s behemoth autoclave, a house-sized marvel responsible for crafting their exquisite carbon fibre parts, including those adorning their race cars.
The showroom tour was a sensory overload of iconic JDM treasures. The centre piece? The Jordan 198, Damon Hill’s former Formula 1 steed. Plus they had the mighty 3-litre V10 engine, a masterpiece of engineering – 121kg of pure power, screaming to a 16,500 rpm redline and churning out over 700 horsepower. To top it all off, the Mugen crew offered us the chance to climb into the cockpit – an experience most can only dream of!
Mugen’s S660 concept car, a treasure trove of motorsport memorabilia, and a smorgasbord of Mugen parts rounded out this incredible visit.
With Mugen etched into our memories, we embarked on a journey to Spoon Sports/Type One. En route, fate intervened – a glimpse of GruppeM Racing HQ! We immediately told the taxi driver to pull over so we could have a look around but unfortunately, Golden Week (a bank holiday in Japan) had them closed for business.
A detour and a long walk to the train station later, we reached Spoon Sports, only to find them closed as well – a double dose of bad timing! This was disappointing because we were told they’d be open for us to have a look round.
Disappointment aside, window shopping through their display window wasn’t a total loss. A feast of Hondas, including their latest FK8 and FL5 track weapons, were scattered around their shop.
Day 4 may not have gone exactly according to plan, but the thrill of the chase and the unexpected discoveries are all part of the Japanese adventure!
