Nitto Auto Enthusiast Day 2017: Hot Hondas and Drift Action
Hot Hondas get hotter under the California sun at Nitto Auto Enthusiast Day.
This past weekend, Angel’s Stadium played hosted to the fourth annual Auto Enthusiast Day, put on by Nitto Tire. Auto Enthusiast Day is a conglomeration of all things automotive, from show cars, to race cars, “lifestyle branding” and everything in between. While, admittedly, some of that sounds a bit corny, don’t worry, the action more than makes up for it.
Let’s talk Honda: being in SoCal, they were, of course, well-represented at Auto Enthusiast Day. Here are some of the highlights, in case you missed it.
NSXs were big in attendance this year: some good, some not so good.
This first car was getting a lot of attention, mainly for the color. The pink glittery “hot boy” paint job seems like a popular motif this year at car shows. I actually dig the color choice, but the shoddy panel gaps killed it for me. You could stick a finger between between the bumper and the passenger fender.
Moving on to this absolute show-stopper. Seriously, I’m jaded after being a car fanatic for all these years, but even I could feel my pulse after checking out this particular NSX. Then I remembered that NSX prices are at an all-time high and sulked away like a miserable wretch. Oh well.
The widebody trend shows no sign of slowing down. Though, the NSX wears the look well. Like this all-black err’thang NA2. To be fair, the stickers were gold, and the front splitter is carbon fiber.
By the time I reached it, this time attack prepped NA2 was reaching critical mass, with people covering its every corner, so enjoy the up close detail shots.
Of course, it wasn’t just NSXs representing for Team Honda/Acura.
How about a TSX Sport Wagon?
It’s a shame these never came with a manual transmission. A TSX Sport Wagon with a stick would make for a sweet daily hauler. Sitting outside the Studio RS-R booth, this Sport Wagon was slammed on some nice Volk wheels. Though, again, for perfect daily status, I’d rather see it sitting on some nice 17″ wheels. Embrace the fat sidewall, it’s comfy!
However, most of the Honda representation lay with the Civic.
Surprise, surprise, when it comes to modified Hondas, the Civic still reins supreme. Who could have guessed? Jokes aside, I am totally okay with this, because some of these builds are absolutely nuts.
How about this K-swapped EF with a crazy, 3-stage paint job, and an engine bay cleaner than most of our kitchen tables. The “want” levels are topping the charts right now. This is the cleanest EF I have ever seen, and with the K-swap, it has to be an absolute animal to drive.
The EF love continues, too. While the red car is clearly a show car, this next one is a driver. Despite that, it is also supremely clean, and looks better than most EFs did leaving the showroom floor. The period correct color is just too good.
Moving on a few years down the Civic timeline is the spiritual successor to the EF hatch, this super minty EG hatch. Also painted period correct color, this “SiR” was so perfect it actually hurt to look at it for too long. Notice the projector retrofit in the OEM headlight housings, perfect paint, kicked up rear spoiler and perfect stance. Even the black plastic trims were perfect. GAHH, I WANT IT.
Making a big leap forward, we have now reached the era where Civics came with K-power from the factory. Though, this EP3 is clearly working with a lot more juice than the stock K20A3. Next to it was a 9th gen Si with an all-motor K24.
There were more than just Hondas at Auto Enthusiast Day, and there was a lot more going on than just a car show. On the West side of Angel’s Stadium is where the going got good.
Drifting, and tire smoking antics were the name of the game.
Naturally, with Nitto Tire sponsoring the event, it was only natural that the drifters would be there to slay rubber. Fortunately, that is exactly what happened. Samuel Hubinette busted out his modified Lamborghini Huracan to warm the crowd up.
Following the former U.S. Formula Drift champion were three current FD big shots: Vaughn Gittin Jr, Matt Powers and Alex Heilbrunn. Time to go three-wide and let the big boys play. Isn’t it funny when a Lamborghini is the quietest and least-powerful thing out there? Yeah, good day at Angel Stadium.
