Apologies if I slip up here, but my fingers need a second to figure out how to type again!
Wow, it feels like ages since I actually sat down at my laptop and started to craft a post – and it has been. You may have noticed that I’ve been absent from the site over the best part of the last six months, but there’s been a good reason for that: NFS Heat.
There’s always a lot happening behind the scenes at Speedhunters, but every so often our close relationship with Need for Speed requires some full-time dedication. The latest iteration in the game franchise is less than a month away from launch now, and I hope that everyone who plays NFS Heat will appreciate the cars and real-world Japanese brands that have made it in there, as that’s the aspect I’ve personally been involved in. It’s also cool to see Speedhunters playing a bigger part in the actual game itself this time around.
While working behind the scenes on Need for Speed Heat was a ton of fun, I return to my Speedhunting role full of excitement. With Brad now looking after the day-to-day running of the site, Paddy’s also excited to be back on the Speedhunters front line and joining me as an Editor at Large, so you can expect a whole lot more content from both of us moving forward.
Despite taking a break from posting, I certainly haven’t taken a break from shooting. I’ve just returned from a weekend trip to Indonesia where I got to experience Kustomfest for the very first time, and a couple of weeks back I was at R’s Meeting in Fuji where I ended up taking a silly number of pictures while catching up with some legends of the GT-R community.
The day after R’s Meeting was Speedhunters Live with world-renowned magician Dynamo, a unique collaboration and approach to a car show, but one that ended up being a real fun day out. Being on the mic from start to finish I wasn’t able to shoot, but our new friend John Mu came along for the ride and took care of it nicely. We’ll have our event post coming your way soon.
To say there’s a lot I want to share with you from the Dino Garage corner of the SH Garage is a massive understatement. I owe you guys a heap of updates on Project GT-R and Project Quattro, which both continue to get that little bit better with every upgrade. Project Drop Top is still with me but won’t be hanging around for much longer – I just need to figure out what to replace it with. BMW still has no successor for the 4 Series convertible, and the bucktooth concept they recently showed has left me more perplexed than impressed, so I’m still weighing up my options.
Then there’s project #4. I have yet to introduce this one properly, but it’s already caused me problems with some surprise mishaps. I plan to start doing a few posts a month in vlog format, and I think this project’s the perfect one to kick those off – my despair about the whole purchase will maybe come across better on video…
While I wanted to let you all know where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to in recent months, the main reason for this post is to ask you guys a question: What do you want to see more of from Japan? I’ve been covering the Japan scene for a very long time, but there’s still so much to uncover. I’d personally like to do more shop tours, meeting the people behind the brands that we have loved for so long and others that are just becoming established, but I’m also interested to hear what aspects of Japanese car culture you would like me to explore more.
Let’s talk in the comments section below.
Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com
Additional Photos by Mu Huan Sheng
Instagram: john_mu_1991