947 Japanese cars of every variety joined Beaulieu’s Simply Japanese on Sunday July 29th, as 2099 rally participants shrugged off rainy weather.
The display in the grounds of the National Motor Museum spanned all manner of Japanese car marques, including Mazda, Subaru, Honda, Mitsubishi, Lexus, Toyota, Nissan and more, ranging from high-performance sports cars and showroom-fresh models, to city runabouts and rare classics.
Throughout the day, show-goers voted for their favourite car of the show in the People’s Choice Award. The winner was Kyle Miller from Hayling Island with his modified 1990 Mazda MX-5. Although he had only owned it for one year, Kyle had worked hard to transform the car into his ideal MX-5. “I’ve done a lot of work to the car, as it was green with a beige interior when I bought it. I love the new grey paintwork and black upholstery, while I also converted it from an automatic to a manual gearbox and fitted air suspension,” said Kyle. He was presented with a trophy and an Autoglym car care pack by Beaulieu’s Financial Director Phil Johnson.
Runners up in the People’s Choice Awards were Kevin Curtis from Holbury and Savontharam Jeganathan from Gosport. Kevin’s 1981 Datsun Bluebird GL was an original example of a rarely-seen saloon. “I got in touch with the car’s first owner listed on the logbook, who sent me all of the car’s original paperwork, including old warranty certificates and tax discs,” said Kevin. Savontharam’s 2008 Nissan GT-R was a recent import from Japan, with its carbon fibre bodywork making it significantly lighter than standard. Both runners up were presented with special Autogylm prizes.
Club stands were at the heart of the show, with the Celica Club showcasing different incarnations of the Toyota Celica coupe, while a selection of Nissan ‘Z’ sports cars could be found on the Z Club of Great Britain stand. The Mazda Bongo Owners’ Club turned out in force with a line-up of these popular campers, while the Herts Scooby Crew parked up in their Subarus.
Other Japanese cars on show ranged from Mitsubishi Evolution sports saloons and Nissan Cubes and Figaros, to classics such as a 1973 Toyota Crown 2600 and a first generation Mazda RX-7 in yellow and red racing colours.
Simply Japanese is part of Beaulieu’s 2018 calendar of Simply rallies, which will conclude with Simply Smart on Sunday November 11th. For more information on the Beaulieu events calendar, click here.
