The New York Auto Show’s Tuner Dungeon Has Better Supras, Zs, And 911s Than The Automakers Upstairs

Auto shows, when you’re a kid, are places of wonder and magic. You can sit in all the cars, you can climb Jeep Mountain, it’s a true playground for the burgeoning enthusiast. As you age, though, the luster dulls. You recognize the cars as being unaffordable, impractical, or the worst auto show sin of all: Locked. If the cars are all going to be closed off to you anyway, couldn’t they be something more interesting than the usual slew of family crossovers? Why do they have to be so stock?

Well, if you’ve ever wondered, here’s your answer: They don’t. In fact, the best cars at the New York International Auto Show are the furthest from stock — all those modified and personalized machines locked away in the Tuner Dungeon downstairs. If you’re making your way to NYIAS this year, make sure to swing by the basement for the true stars of the show. Supras, RX-7s, Skylines, all the really interesting stuff is tucked away far from manufacturer eyes.

Amber DaSilva / Jalopnik

Take this Supra, for instance, with its sakura motif and accompanying prop. You can also take note of its perfect fitment, its massive wing, its incredibly wide side skirts. Are you going to tell me the Final Edition upstairs is more interesting? With its fingerprinted satin finish? Be for real. 

Amber DaSilva

Or this pair of Truenos, both as perfectly clean as an AE86 can be. Even the engine bays are neat and tidy, without relying on plastic covers to hide the hoses and wiring away. Sure, neither is in as pretty a color as the GR86 on the main show floor, but does that one have yellow headlights?

The GR86 may have that great yellow, but look at the lavender on this Evo. It’s hard to capture on camera, especially under auto show lighting, but it’s truly a sight to behold in person — it’s slightly less blue in the real. If you swing by the auto show, it’s worth making your way to the back corner of the tuner dungeon to see this. 

Amber DaSilva / Jalopnik

And, speaking of purples, you can’t talk about those shades on ’90s JDM legends without talking about Midnight Purple. It’s a great color on its own, but check out how it pairs with these wheels. Satin white with these blue and neochrome accents, they really pop off the warmer, subtler, earlier Midnight Purple. 

Amber DaSilva / Jalopnik

This is the engine bay of an A80 Supra, and I just want you to marvel for a second. Look at those welds. Feast your eyes on that careful engineering, the craftwork required to create this sharp bend straight from the intake. It’s all titanium, because why wouldn’t it be titanium? Why not, right? 

We’re getting into an era of American history that includes the R34 Skyline GT-R, a personal dream car of mine. It’s so interesting to compare it side by side with its successor, with what the GT-R name can mean when it’s divorced from that Skyline base model. Between the two, it might honestly be a tough pick. 

Amber DaSilva / Jalopnik

Mark your calendars, July will be here before you know it. I’ve never gotten to go to a 7s Day celebration — I honestly didn’t even know New York had one — but now I’m itching to right that wrong. I need to see this FB in its natural environment. 

Amber DaSilva

Saving the best for last, this Porsche isn’t yet a build. By the end of the Auto Show, though, it will be — it’ll be a genuine RWB. Nakai-san himself will grace the floor of the Javits Center for two days, April 23 and 24, and by the end of them this wine-red Porsche will have its own name and identity. Will you be there to see it? If you’re in New York, you should swing by.