If you have played the Gran Turismo franchise, are into Mazda, Rotaries or even into cars, you would have come across the name RE Amemiya. Tuning power house from Japan offering a multitude of options for Mazda. Some of the wildest RX7 variations and RX8 variations have come from RE Amemiya. With deep culture and history in the automotive sector in Japan, it is incredible to see one outside of Japan. Thankfully, I have stumbled across one from a local car event here in Melbourne. After staring at it and looking around it for some time, I had to find the owner to ask for more information. Cue Matthew, the owner of this genuine, RE Amemiya built FD3S in Japan.

 

 

History

Located in the Chiba Prefecture in Japan, lies the home of RE Amemiya. Re Amemiya also has a shop in Tokyo, where most of the racing cars are created. Founded by Isami Amemiya in 1974 after making a name for himself tuning and modifying rotary engines (RE). Amemiya-San would first enter a 20B triple rotor RX7 in the JGTC GT300 during the 1995 season, becoming the sole rotary in the entire JGTC field. Campaigning under the RE Super G livery in blue and pink, the car performed well with around 300hp. Taking the first season out with a total of 57 points for team RE, making them 3rd overall in the GT300 category. This was a fantastic outcome from the first season. 1996 season shared similar success, 5th place in the team leader boards out of 15 teams competing in GT300. Top 10 team finishes continued to occur through 97 – 04. Consistent team positioning from 3rd-8th in the team championships further cemented them being a tuning powerhouse. In 2005, JGTC was renamed and rebranded to Super GT. RE Amemiya remained in the GT300 category, taking out 9th overall position in the team rankings for the premier GT300 Super GT season. 2006 saw the first of the championships for RE Amemiya, running a strong series with podiums in rounds 1 at Suzuka, 4 at Sepang, 6 returned to Suzuka and 8 held at Autopolis. 2009 campaign yielded 2nd place in the team championships, narrowly beaten by the Lexus team of Racing Project Bandoh. In 2010, Team RE Amemiya withdrew from the season, the first time in 15 years that a Mazda is not present in the GT300 field and ending their racing campaign.

 

Image: Sourced

 

Re Amemiya also delved into other racing cultures in Japan, one of the more infamous series being D1GP. Not only did the fans of car racing get to know the name RE Amemiya, the drifting community also got to learn and respect the name. Kicking off the campaign in 2004, Masao Suenaga was the chosen driver to pilot the FD3S. Suenaga-San made the switch from driving the Nissan Silvia into the Mazda RX7, a learning curve was in process. Placing equal 16th overall out of 26 drivers, it was a start of a long run in D1GP. 2005 season retained Suenaga-San, taking out a victory during round 6 at Fuji Speedway, this put Suenaga-San and the team Re Amemiya in 2nd position in the final standings for the 2005 season. 2006 saw an 8th overall finish for the team whilst the 2007 and 2008 seasons saw a finish of 3rd position in both seasons. Re Amemiya are still competing in the D1GP series today, with Yukio Matsui driving for team RE Amemiya K&N.

 

Image: Sourced

 

Street Cars

After having such success in the JGTC, Super GT and in the D1GP series, it was natural for parts to end up in development for road use and modifications. Including a lot of body styling too, anything from aggressive GT look to futuristic creations, RE Amemiya wasn’t afraid to push the envelope with many things. Many time attack cars I came across in japan had something RE Amemiya fitted, some had multiple parts and some featured exterior only. There is no shortage of combinations to suit your induvial needs. RE Amemiya are committed to creating and develop the rotary engine even to this day, Tokyo Auto Salon being the primary candidate to show all the new and upcoming items. Taking more of an approach to balance over raw power characteristics, RE Amemiya does have an incredible history from circuits to the street. If you think RE is focusing just on the FD3S chassis, you are incorrect there. RE has developed many parts for the Mazda line-up, notably the RX8 and FC3S RX7. Exterior styling is extended to models like Mazda 3, CX5 and the CX7. One of the more interesting non Mazda cars RE has helped develop is the GReddy Autozam AZ1 back in 1996. Originally Red, the AZ1 featured a 400hp NA 20B rotary, Ferrari F40 brakes (later upgraded to the F50 brakes in early 00’s due to widening of the rear end). Having being built with the partnership from GReddy, the designation name for the car was GReddy VI-AZ1.

Image: Sourced

 

After looking through the catalogue of race cars and seeing some examples up close, there is a clear distinction between fake and genuine. Matthew RX7 is without a doubt the best example you will see. Period. some would say it is far too nice to be driven like Matthew does, through the hills with the sweet rotary symphony fulfilling the senses. We have also feature one of Matthew’ previous vehicles here on Street Cover before. Matthew owned the Mines R34 GTR, at the time of shooting the photos for Street Cover belonging to Enson. After having a very good eye for cars (A few R34 GTR, BNCR33, NA2 NSX), Matthew was keen to make this the absolute best example he could.

 

 

Matthew’s RE雨宮

Ill start by saying there is no expense spared with this build. Featuring a host of rare, unique and discontinued parts just to set off the already crazy build. When speaking with Matthew, I asked how the car makes him feel when driving, if you have the real connection when your behind the wheel. Matthew replied with “This car makes you feel alive. The unique rotary sound, the exhaust note from the dolphin tailed outlet and the fluttering of the blow off valve gives aural intoxication. You really do feel one with the car when you sit low and are hugged by the Recaro race seats.”

 

 

Having the seating position low and snug, you get a fantastic look at the well thought-out and well placed dashboard arrangement of the FD chassis. Looking directly into the Mazdaspeed cluster topping at 300km/h, grabbing a gear with the RE Amemiya quick shift gear knob, the very 90’s look  DEFI gauges fitted in the RE carbon passenger gauge pod and the APEXI Power FC controller, the feel and look of the interior is one of the best I have seen. The seats fitted are a real gem, Kevlar Recaro buckets, something you don’t exactly see the rear of or the details in as your looking ahead out the screen. Ganador blue tint mirrors help with the rear vision day or night, sleek, slim and finished in Carbon, this really does complete the interior look to and feel of a hardcore road race car.

 

 

The engine bay is no shortage of road race car feel and look either. Containing a lot of the racing heritage for the road. The RE Amemiya 3 layer V mount intercooler and RE Amemiya 3 core radiator setup looks insanely neat and tidy, whilst preventing any plaguing overheating issues common with the FD. Having been remapped with 98Ron here in Australia, the single turbo setup of the Trust GReddy TD06-25G is not as laggy as you would think. With a power output of 236 RWKW, The response from the setup, tuning and adjustments is absolutely fantastic. Coming in at a light weight in todays market at 1250kg wet, the balance of power to weight is perfect. With a modified gearbox to match, Matthew has had a RE Amemiya D1 spec short shifter kit installed, keeping the power in the right band to work the TD06 to its maximum efficiency.

 

 

Wheels, coilovers and brakes are also no shortage of quality. Featuring now discontinued Quantum RS2 coilovers, Re Amemiya Power plant frame, Mazdaspeed strut brace in the engine bar and AutoExe rear tower brace, the chassis is setup and dialled by the legends at Re Amemiya with their custom geometry set up and alignment. This RX7 is ready to turn some laps, attack the hills or drive every day without any second guessing. Working in unison with the drivetrain and suspension, the RE Amemiya Super Racing LSD helps build the confidence through corners keeping the wheels planted. One of the most unique and mesmerizing features on Matthews car is without a doubt the RE Amemiya billet custom big brake kit. One of an extremely small run, taking more of their track and race knowledge to the street. Two piece slotted rotors with Project Mu pads front and rear, this helps the car massively with huge braking confidence. You also need a decent tyre to help as well, with Advan RS-D rims and Bridgestone RE-71 RS tyres, I have been told that this balance is unbeatable when it comes to feel and performance.

 

 

By now you would have noticed the body kit. The body kit is the signature Re Amemiya look. RE Amemiya AD GT-2 widebody featuring the AS Facer N1 2005 front bar, rear LED Tail light kit, AD9 carbon bonnet with rain catch, front and rear traction tow hook, Pro carbon canard kit, Rear Pro carbon diffuser, carbon front fender extensions, carbon look door handles, GT2 Carbon rear GT wing, RE Amemiya sleek style headlights, Rear diffuser carbon vortex generators, bonnet aero catch and latches, rear diffuser centre carbon fins. You can not get a more aggressive street look that isn’t going over the top. It is just perfect for the FD shape and lines. Fitted by Re Amemiya in Japan, the quality and attention to fit is second to none.

 

 

Moving forward, Matthew would perhaps one day like to update the turbo setup to extract more power from the engine, Change the rear canards to something from the RE Amemiya catalogue too.  That is it, keeping the car true and original to being one of, if not the only, RE Amemiya factory built car in Australia.

 

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