Germany vs Japan: If you’ve watched Qatar 2022 recently, you know who comes out on top in this particular battle. But when it comes to building sports cars, who does it best – Nippon or Deutschland?
At the Tokyo Underground meeting last weekend, I set myself the task of finding answers.
The usual fight is Europe vs Japan, but that seems a bit unfair to me. Because comparing a Ferrari to a Mitsubishi is like comparing a lion to a lion — they both have beautiful hair, but one ends up eating the other for breakfast. So comparing Japanese cars to German cars – which in the tuner world are arguably more comfortable than McLarens – seems more like a fair fight.
Germany
In the black, red and yellow corners are Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Porsche. All four brands have some incredible machines in their old catalogs, but Mercedes was the best-performing German manufacturer at the session, with BMW not far behind.
Speaking of which, the greatness of taking a station wagon internationally get off Yes the trunk has plenty of room for cleaning supplies, a spare tire, and a Little Trees air freshener box. Ron showed off this E34 BMW 540i back in 2016, but it’s evolved further since then, so I’ll be looking at it again soon.
But back to Mercedes-Benz, which is named after Karl Benz and Mercedes Jelinek. Of course, Benz was one of the creators of the first internal combustion engine. Mercedes is a rich man’s daughter.
If you want to start keeping score, I think we can score the Germans for their ingenuity and enthusiasm, because if it weren’t for the invention of Karl Benz and his team, we wouldn’t be hanging out in the parking lot, longing for beautiful lumps of iron and exhaust asphyxia.
Therefore, the Germans have a heavy history behind them, and with this heavy comes a sense of power.
There is an air of old money around German cars. The plush leather interior, sombre color pallet and power-hungry, gas-guzzling engine all exude opulence, prestige and luxury.
The ultimate goal of a German car is to get from A to B as luxuriously as possible, and as fast as possible.Even if it means being stuck on a hard shoulder highway Every once in a while.
You see, the problem with the high power, high speed, and high cheekbones of automotive monarchies is that they tend to be high maintenance compared to the bulletproof qualities of their Eastern counterparts. They may be precision engineered, but these tanks need a little help.
However, what the Germans are good at – despite frequent pit stops – is driving fast over long distances. The Porsche 911 GT1 proves that German cars have the courage to challenge the best of European engineering. And of course the touring car race, where BMW and Mercedes-Benz are the hallmark cars of the touring car race. integral.
Bonus points for the cool factor of seeing these cars in Japan too. After living here for three years, the Nissan Skyline GT-R spotted in the wild has definitely lost its wow factor.I’m still excited about the JDM halo car but when I see a 190 E 2.5-16 Evo on the street it’s more like a Take pictures across the dual carriageway Excitement level.
RWB – neutral territory
I’ve now forgotten how many points the German team got, but it doesn’t matter because I’m about to award all available points to RWB Porsche. They are the perfect mix of German engineering and refinement, punctuated with Japanese madness and fun.
RWB cars sit comfortably between two cultures without being quite one or the other. It’s a very good thing that Nakai-san has had such an impact on the tuning world with his creations that the lines between East and West are blurring.
Many people love to hate the new Supra because it has a German heart, but quickly realize that the A90 as all More important than who designed what.
I think we can all agree that the childlike joy and sense of humor that the Japanese have shown with these brutal German cars is something to celebrate RWB cars.The world wouldn’t be the same without it roughfor which we have two countries to thank.
Japan
In the corner of white and red we have Japan, which is the host of this special gathering. The Japanese may have been relatively late to the car-making game, but their influence on the industry was enormous. Compared to the Germans, the Japanese auto industry had a slightly more modest start. Still, the Japanese have cars like the Supra, NSX, and Skyline GT-R in their corner, and it’s stiff competition even for the almighty Porsche.
They began building American and European cars for domestic use, but soon developed their own versions based on what they had learned.This seems to be characteristic of the Japanese; they never really invented wheels, but when they reinterpret Wheels, they tend to outperform the originals.
Besides cars, there are many other examples of how Japan’s development of foreign ideas changed the world we live in. Here are three, but there are many more: Quartz watches.High speed train (Shinkansen). Sony Walkman.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R is arguably Japan’s greatest transformation to the wheel. This is a car that can easily adapt to almost any track and looks good on the road. Its AWD system, all-wheel steering, insane performance, and razor-sharp looks instantly propelled it to Alien God status.
While the Audi Quattro may have been the first proper all-wheel-drive performance car, it was cars like the Subaru Impreza WRX, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and the aforementioned GT-R that took the platform into the stratosphere.
Let’s also not overlook the rotary engine, another gem invented by the Germans, presumably as a very bad joke, and later developed by the Japanese into a mass-produced, totally serious engine. On a spinning note, stay tuned for the RX-7’s features above…
Aside from the otherworldly performance of Japanese sports cars, Japanese design perhaps deserves a lot of praise. “Futuristic,” “out there,” and “fun” are all terms I use to describe the JDM icons we know and love.
Then there’s Japanese car culture. The world thinks he’s eclectic, relaxed and crazy, polite, thoughtful, and cool. Proud and humble Japanese fans complement each other’s strengths and create a car culture unlike anywhere else in the world. That must be worth a few cents.
It’s a car culture that accepts and embraces all brands, brands, and hospitable people, even though English is a relatively foreign language here.
So at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which country makes the best cars, because there’s nothing better than car culture itself. That’s the real winner.
I’ll leave you here with the final chapter of the gallery below, because it’s about enjoying all the different flavors for their own unique quirks. Car culture is Sunday’s dog park; every beast is as stunning as every other, so let’s embrace their brilliance without prejudice or judgment.
Tobyer
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