There’s no question that the Japanese tuning world has been re-ignited with a wave of newfound popularity.
We’ve been at TAS 2026 for two days now, and I can’t remember the last time I saw so many people walking through the halls. It’s gotten to the point that we can barely take pictures during the day!
Amidst the overwhelming success (and sheer number of crazy builds) of this year’s show, we wanted to put together a quick intro post and share a selection of initial images – to set the tone for the rest of the content that will follow.
The big news for this year is, of course, the official public unveiling of the Toyota GR GT alongside the GT3 racer, which is a big reason so many visitors made it to the show for 2026.
We’ll try to bring you a spotlight of the car to try and break down all of the details, but for now I’ll just say it’s got heaps of presence, looks like nothing else on the road, and you can bet Toyota is giving it the performance to keep up with the current crop of super sports cars.
It was also amazing to see the global unveil of the Italdesign NSX Tribute, a car we’ve seen teased over the last few months and now officially unveiled. I loved that Italdesign chose Tokyo Auto Salon to showcase their latest project – mainly because it will only be offered as a right-hand drive model.
The coolest thing about it? Turnpike will be following and showcasing the development process of the car, from the first test render all the way to the completed car, due next year. Keep an eye on our pages, because this is insight you won’t want to miss.
It’s hard to summarise or identify a main ‘theme’ for this year, mainly because there is so much happening across the entirety of the aftermarket industry here right now. From the wave of four-door Suzuki Jimnys that are flooding Japan’s stress (now that it’s finally available) to the continuous push on the good old cars from back in the day from the likes of RE-Amemiya, Top Secret and HKS, to name but a few.
I hope this first selection of images will whet your appetite, and prepare you for the more in-depth posts we have coming.
I think TAS 2026 has to be the craziest ever like we have the GR GT and Italdesign NSX with more modified cars than ever it just keeps getting better and better
Only thing I see missing here is the Prelude HRC concept sure I get that not a lot of people are into the new Prelude but still it would’ve been cool to see the hotted up Prelude HRC concept since it was revealed at TAS 2026
My prayers for a massive gallery have been answered! Silliness aside, this is so awesome. TAS 2026 looks like a banner year for amazing builds that come from all sorts of influences. From the usual madness of Liberty Walk, to the flawless work of the NATS students. Khyzyl, and ADRO, and so many more builders really went to the moon and back!
My favourites so far? The Suzuki Twin based Chibi Skyline is definitely #1; I need that thing in my life! Another would be the FD3S that runs Khyzyl’s body kit. So gorgeous and menacing. And the Racing Service NEO86? Gatdamn!
I eagerly await the rest of the posts from TAS2026!
YAY photo dump!!!!
Wonderful set of stills you got there, guys. Thanks for the gallery, we missed this !
So, so much good stuff in there. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the NEO86 does it for it. Not sure it would work well on a GR86, but on a ZN, it does ! The back is a bit more tricky, but it’s not too bad.
Can’t wait to see what else you find.