As a nation that is famous for his patience, discipline and peace of mind, the Japanese seem to have the habit of restoring the most ruthless and uncompromising racing cars.
Probably the most famous – or most documented, at least – Takeshi Moroi’s Porsche 962C in 2012 can be seen in Dino. Decades earlier, this would have killed the Mulsanne directly at more than 200 km / h. However, it is somehow even more impressive to see parked for a Mart in Tokyo family.
If you prefer your racing cars that are more suitable for somewhere But Smooth Tarmac, Junya Matsushitas S4 Subaru Impreza is the embodiment of the 90s WRC. Built by Prodrive for the 1998 season and imported from the Netherlands in 2010, Junya brought for years closely recovering in his former glory. Expensive, but worth every penny.
And for those without the budget to sink in a legitimate ex-racer, all hope is not lost. Just throw away all the comfort of your car and spend a frightening amount of time on purchasing period-correct parts such as wheels and spoilers, and the result is your own replica of the road. A passion shared by Mashahiko Yamazai and his friends while they tear through the streets of Saitama in their super touring-inspired builds.
Racing cars will always be cool. That is a statement each Speedhunter Can be united, and their attraction to be converted from job to the road, almost always comes back to the same reason: to create the roughest, most unfiltered and visceral driving experience that is conceivable … without first going to the job.
Is this always pleasant? Absolutely not. The reality of owning a sincerely Racing car for the road – unlike a road car that has been adjusted for the race track – can be a lot more painful. And I say that if someone who had a road to a road to Ferrari 360 Challenge for almost five years, who was then actually suitable for use for less than 12 months.
But every now and then something comes so loose that even the most experienced is surprised Speedhunter, Something so dark and ridiculous that it goes beyond how is it on the road and sturdy in why. Because in the game of the road-legal racing car Top Trumps, Syuichi Kinoshita has an almost unbeatable hand …
The Lamborghini Diablo was not exactly a shortage of a special edition. Between 1990 and 2001, a total of 2,907 were produced in Sant’Agata, with 18 different versions available at the time. The majority of this (873) were 2WD Diablos between 1990 and 1996, followed by the VT and VT Roadster (including the later 6.0 in 2000/2001), which were good for nearly two -thirds of Diablos.
The SE30 immersed in the more limited models and is good for only 157 units, followed by the GT with only 81 that is built between 1999 and 2000. Then there are the two racedities-de SV-R and GTR-restricted to 30 units each each and exclusively built for racing. Although, according to Instagram, Most of these now also seem to be road-legal and also live in Japan …
However, all these figures look positively in mass produced compared to what has been tucked away in the garage of Kinoshita-San. It is not only one of the two Reiter Engineering-prepared diablos built for competition in the GT2 racing class, but it is also the only one who is road-legal. And that was not a requirement for the use of competition or Reiter that was particularly spicy; That is all on Kinoshita-san who, after obtaining the car in a pretty bad condition, decided that he might as well throw the extra pieces needed to get it legal for his shaken (Roadworthiness) inspection while it is put together again.
“A friend of mine spent almost three years tracing and obtaining the car, but as soon as it arrived, the required work scale was too much for him to handle,” “ Kinoshita-San explains. “At the time I was already a Gallardo LP560, so I understood the attraction and theater of a Lamborghini. It would take a long time to rebuild and reinstall the Reiter GT2 Diablo – about 10 years in total – and nowadays the parts can be found almost impossible. And for the parts that you can obtain, values have been raised! “
Reiter was founded in 2000 by racing engineer Hans Reiter, and the GT2 Lamborghini Diablo would be the first official Reiter-prepared car that participated in the FIA GT championship. To the already powerful Diablo GT as the basis, Reiter has extensively adjusted both cars to meet the GT2 regulations, whereby the 6.0-liter V12 engine produces nearly 600 hp.
This GT2 Diablo would mark the start of Reiter’s Lamborghini journey because they would be responsible for the development and preparation of all Lamborghini racing editions for the next 14 years, including the Gallardo GT3 and the Brutal Murciélago R-GT.
“I have always kept cars from a young age, and as soon as I could drive, I would like to change everything I had to feel the lake on the street like a racing car,” “ Kinoshita-San remembers. “At first I started with an EP71 starrait, then a JZX90 Mark II and even a GX71 Cresta. I bought my first Lamborghini – the Gallardo LP560 – later because I thought it was great how rough, powerful and attractive it seemed. It had the appearance and the execution of a racing car, but it was still very easy to use on the street. I quickly became obsessed with all things Lamborghini, and when the chance came to buy the Reiter GT2, I couldn’t say no. “
With only two cars that exist, the most important problem tried that Kinoshita-San was confronted to replace missing or damaged components-of which many tailor-made and months were needed to arrive. Fortunately, the 6.0-liter V12 and Holinger-sequential gearbox were still in good condition, and despite the racing history, the exterior of the All-Carbon was complete, including the GT2-specific components such as the diffuser, adjustable rear wing and front splitter. Kinoshita-San knew early on that he wanted to get the GT2-ready, so during this process he took various measures to try to make it a little easier in the future.
“In racing form there are no exhaust limits, so it’s crazy!” He adds. “I have installed different silencers and an outlet valve to keep the diablo still at low speed, which I think my neighbors were very happy. For racing, the fuel tanks are a bag in a kevlar housing, but it expires every few years and are very expensive to replace. So instead we made an aluminum tank and at the same time added a front nose lift system; Otherwise it would be too low to drive to most gas stations. “
“The only thing I would still like to change is the steering rack, because it is trying to bypass the tight roads of Japan many attempts, but it is a small price to pay to be able to get such a crazy car on the road to use.”
Looking at Kinoshita-San-Thread the Diablo by Tokyo is downright breathtaking. Unlike the heat-that Kinoshita-san, tried to fight with a token 12V fan in the footwell is it surprisingly well and unusually quiet. Until the exhaust valve opens …
The smallest amount of gas valve will easily light up the 310 wide Michelins. Don’t be fooled by the grooves; These are not a typical pilot sports or Cup 2S; Instead, they are a full wet weather competition. But with indicators, number plates and the possibility to crawl over speeding, it is suitable for the road … just about. And Kinoshita-San does not hide it either; He will regularly come to Lamborghini owner for days on every occasion. Although the lack of job use may seem like a waste, before he took the project, it was just another ex-racing car in a thousand pieces unsuitable for each usage.
“In addition to the Diablo GT2, I replaced my Gallardo with an Aventador, which is a completely different experience,” Adds Kinoshito-San. “The combination of the Lamborghini look and a naturally extracted V12 is something that I think many of us dream. They are two totally different cars, but they also share a lot of the same DNA, which I think you can find in all Lamborghinis, new and old. But what I would like to do more than whatever in 2025 is to take the GT2 back on the racing process to see how it performs. It may not be as fast as modern racing cars, but I don’t think there are many other cars that will offer the same kind of feeling – and that feeling that I will never be bored. “
You would think that after a Road Legal 926C, a WRC Impreza and a GT2 Diablo, the streets of Tokyo couldn’t get more scorable. But Kinoshito-San is already in mind of the next Reiter project-a Murciélago R-GT. When it comes to Japan, you never reign something out.
Mark Riccioni
Instagram: Mark_Scenemedia
Twitter: Marriccioni
mark@speedhunters.com
