{"id":7380,"date":"2024-05-29T11:53:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T11:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tegiwaimports.com\/blog\/?p=7380"},"modified":"2024-06-14T13:29:10","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T13:29:10","slug":"tegiwa-in-japan-day-4-mugen-gruppem-racing-spoon-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/japan-2024\/tegiwa-in-japan-day-4-mugen-gruppem-racing-spoon-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Tegiwa in Japan – Day 4: – Mugen, GruppeM Racing & Spoon Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tegiwa in Japan – Day 4: Mugen, GruppeM Racing & Spoon Sports<\/h3>\n

Day 4 of our Japanese adventure was a whirlwind tour of legendary tuning houses, starting with the hallowed halls of Mugen<\/strong><\/a>. Mugen<\/strong><\/a>, a name synonymous with Honda performance, needs no introduction to any true JDM enthusiast.<\/p>\n

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While we waited for their doors to open, we stumbled upon an arcade \u2013 and what better way to pass the time than a virtual tear-up on the Tokyo expressway in an NSX (naturally, Luke emerged victorious).<\/p>\n

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10 am struck, and the Mugen<\/strong><\/a> showroom doors swung open. The coolest detail? Their entrance door handles \u2013 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<\/strong><\/a> MD, General Manager, and Deputy Assistant Manager, followed by a fascinating presentation about the company’s history and vision.<\/p>\n

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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 \u2013 a testament to the relentless pace of Japanese motorsport, considering it had just battled for 3 hours a day and a half prior!<\/p>\n

Back outside, a couple of Mugen<\/strong><\/a> demo cars awaited our attention. The Civic FK8, sporting a full Mugen<\/strong><\/a> catalogue \u2013 carbon fibre galore, a full titanium exhaust<\/strong><\/a> and an awesome rear wing<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 was a true embodiment of unadulterated performance. The tiny S660 kei car, meanwhile, packed a surprising punch with its Mugen<\/strong><\/a> makeover. Recaro<\/strong><\/a> seats cradled us in comfort, and the guys even fired up the engine for an experience for our ears.<\/p>\n

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Next stop: Mugen’s<\/strong><\/a> behemoth autoclave, a house-sized marvel responsible for crafting their exquisite carbon fibre parts, including those adorning their race cars.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 121kg of pure power, screaming to a 16,500 rpm redline and churning out over 700 horsepower. To top it all off, the Mugen<\/strong><\/a> crew offered us the chance to climb into the cockpit \u2013 an experience most can only dream of!<\/p>\n