TOVA readers will know by now that my favourite - and only - car review reference is the BEST MOTORing video magazine from Japan, the same place that created my favourite car, the HONDA. The sheer strength of BEST MOTORing lies in their team of professional racing drivers who act as their reviewers, and the format of BEST MOTORing focuses specifically on areas which these professional drivers do best, 0-400m drags and race-track lap battles. BM's sister publication, HOT VERSION focuses specifically on modified cars, and features most of the same reviewers but frequently also inviting other professional racers as guest reviewers. For example, when HOT VERSION looked at modifying Nissan's Skyline GT-Rs to acheive levels of power exceeding 500ps, even up to 700ps, they invited racers who are currently competing in the Japan GT-Championship GT500 class, people who drives 500ps or more racing cars for a living to help do the track battle. Recently BM has also introduced special issues, each one which focuses on a specific car or topic. So japanese fans of the Toyota AE86, a hugely popular lightweight coupe like the Integra, have been enjoying the BM special issue on the AE86. Many other particularly interesting topics were the focus of the BM special issues, including one where they pitted all available japanese light-weight sports coupes together into a massive battle.
When I first talk about BEST MOTORing here in TOVA, my great enthusiasm was concluded with a lament that an assured, regular supply of BM issues were just not available here in Malaysia. Eventually, many friends and readers from Singapore and Hong-Kong wrote to me to let me know that they do get regular supplies there. But those issues were the original japanese languaged and worded issues, with chinese sub-titles. The chinese sub-titles at least allowed me to understand what the reviewers were saying some of the time (they were not always 100% accurate, especially with the technical terms and description). However, one frustrating thing with the chinese sub-titles is that they are placed at the normal position sub-titles are placed, and for BEST MOTORing, rather unfortunately frequently obstructs and hides important additional on-screen information. These information includes listing of lap-times or 0-400m times and also additional technical descriptions of the cars.
The Internet has transformed the modern world into a place without boundaries. It is the medium by which TOVA is brought to our readers and befittingly, it is also the medium by which BEST MOTORing has now expanded into the international market. The vehicle through this is Zig-Zag Asia.com or ZZA. ZZA is an online organization that markets and popularizes many japanese products. Early this year (2001), ZZA obtained the rights to publish and sell, on the internet, official english translated versions of BEST MOTORing issues to the international market. ZZA markets them as BEST MOTORing INTERNATIONAL (BMI). But more importantly, ZZA is not a mere re-marketer, i.e. ZZA does not merely translates and re-labels old BM issues and sell them through the internet. The producers of BEST MOTORing INTERNATIONAL are rightfully the international marketing arm of Kodansha Video who produces the original BEST MOTORing and HOT VERSION videos. Now, there is a difference here, a big one. Being the proper international marketing arm, ZZA's BMI producers have contact and direct access to the BEST MOTORing editors and crew. The high resolution banner photo of the BM reviewers was taken by one of ZZA's BMI producers during the shooting of the lastest (at the time of writing) issue of BEST MOTORing. The picture of the brand new 2001 Integra Type-R in the Tsukuba track is also taken at the same shooting. BM is of course focussing a lot on this new legend from Honda, but more importantly, Type-R fans can now rest assured that when the japanese edition of BM that features the new ITR comes out, ZZA will be able to release the official english edition almost as soon !
At the time of writing, the first issue of BMI is already available on the ZZA BMI web-site. Befitting the legend that Honda's Type-R series has created, volume 1 of BMI's official english BEST MOTORing video is titled "The Type-R Legend" and is translated from a special BM compilation that looks at Honda's Type-R models. The issue starts with a look at the justification that created the first Honda's Type-R, the NSX-R. Viewers will understand how the Honda NSX when it was first introduced in Japan could not displace the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R from the throne of Japan's fastest stock super-car, eventhough it make such a great impact in the international market. To rectify the situation, Honda did a special weight reduction program on the NSX, as well as strengtened and specially tuned various parts of the car for pure performance. They then called it the NSX-R, the R standing for "R"educed-weight. Thus was born the Type-R legend. The NSX-R it was clearly shown went on to take the title of Japan's fastest stock super-car from the Skyline. Even more astonishingly was how it even managed to take on -and defeat- cars like a Porsche 911 and even the 400+ps Dodge Viper on the Tsukuba 5-lap battle. In that particular battle which involved many international top super-cars, the only 2 cars that could take the NSX-R was a race ADAC NSX and a Group-A JACCS EG6 Civic SiR.
Fast forward to 1995 and we see the introduction of the mighty DC2 Honda Integra Type-R. This special hand-tuned 200ps race-machine was instrumental in truly establishing the Type-R legend amongst cars and racing fans today due to its much wider accessibility and affordability. Both the 1996Spec and 1998Spec (as well as the non-official 1999 and 2000Spec) Integra Type-Rs were thoroughly examined including reviews of the many track-battles that the two ITRs were pitted into. With the coverage of the Integra Type-R complete, the final legend to come under the microscope is the EK9 Honda Civic Type-R. With the same level of careful detail, BM went through a full coverage of the EK9, including the many track-battles it was pitted into. Special attention was of course paid to the ever popular question "which is faster, the Integra or the Civic Type-R ?". Battles involving the two cars were reviewed to let viewers enjoy the fight between the two cars.
A particularly interesting and good segment of the issue is the interview with Ichisima-san, president and founder of the famous SPOON SPORTS company, specialist in modifying NA Hondas. Ichisima provided many extremely useful and interesting factual look into what goes into the making of the Type-R engines. He also provided advice on how he would go if modifying a Type-R engine, with the rather expected advice to stroke-up the EK9's B16B which to Ichisima is a smaller 1.6l version of the ITR's B18CR engine. A particular amusing but enlightening segment is where he gave advice on what areas one should take care of when taking a stock Type-R for track-use.
Finally, as a special bonus, ZZA has included as a trailer, a previously unreleased video of BM's Gan-san test-driving the S2000 prototype, the SSM, at the Nurburgring in Germany. This was done at the old, original circuit. Viewers will be guaranteed to watch in awe as Gan-san, with regular street attire and shoes, and without a helmet, take the car on a Sunday drive on the track. You get the familiar commentary delivered with cool calmness as Gan-san takes the SSM to speeds exceed 220kph on some of the straights of the circuit, passing other cars like they were standing still, indeed even passing a couple of super-bikes !
BEST MOTORing itself has been around for over 12 years now. The first BM issue came out sometime in 1989. Fans of Honda's VTEC will recognize the coincidence with 1989 being the same year where Honda introduced the first VTEC engine, the B16A, in the DA6 Integra XSi/RSi in April. Well, BM did a full coverage of that historic occasion, with ample tests and battles involving first the DA6 Integar XSi and then when they become available in late 1989, the EF9 and EF8 Civic/CRX SiRs. And of course there is also the sister magazine, HOT VERSION, as well as the many special issues.
BMI is not planned as a monthly issue but more on a "as and when available" schedule. Thus, unlike BM, there will not be a fixed montly release date. Rather, new issues will be available once the base BM issue is selected and the translation done. In any case, BMI has rather a lot to catch up even if its only to satisfy the wishes of Honda fans. While many likes to watch reviews of the latest and greatest sports cars, I firmly believe there are an equal amount of (if not much more) fans who owns classic Honda models like the DA6 Integra, the EF8 CRX SiR, or the EG6 Civic SiR, for e.g. and have modified it heavily. For many such fans, their cars are their pride and joy, and it would certainly make their day if one of the many BM or HV past issues that reviewed their pride-and-joy would be translated into english and made available for us to own.
With ZZA's marketing of BEST MOTORing INTERNATIONAL, this is now possible by the imaginative use of the ZZA BMI forums. The forum provides a vehicle by which buyers and fans of BM and BMI can interact with each other. More importantly, ZZA's BMI producers makes a special effort to monitor the forums and it is through the forums that BMI buyers can feed-back their wishes to the producers on what they would like to see - and purchase - for future issues. In any case, the contents of up-coming issues of BMI are actually determined by an online voting mechanism accessible on the ZZA BMI web-site. So, the actual contents of the next issue will be determined by which in a list of candidates would be the most popular, based on votings garnered from readers. What makes their way into the list of candidates will of course be determined by feedbacks from the BMI forums.
At the time of writing, Issue 1 of BEST MOTORing INTERNATIONAL has been available and on sale for around two weeks. The are many, many fans of BEST MOTORing in the world, but even if a car fanatic have not seen a japanese versions of BM, I have no doubt he will become a big fan of it the moment he watches his first issue. Now, with english versions but a mere click of the mouse away, BMI looks set and deserves to become the reference car review source in the world. One problem ZZA is encountering though is publicity. Knowledge of BMI is at the moment scarce and to me that is a sad thing. Hopefully this article will make its own small contribution to letting motor-fans the world over know about the existence of this reference car-review source.
Readers who are interested to purchase their own copy of BMI can do so at the ZZA BMI secured web-store at zigzag.com. BMI is currently only available on VHS tape, in the NSTC Stereo Hi-Fi format (attention readers who reside in countries which uses the PAL format). Once ordered, the tapes will be shipped directly to the buyer. For Honda fans especially, issue 1 "The Type-R Legend" is a must-have as far as I am concerned !
The BMI forums are available at the ZZA BMI Forums page. Membership to the forums are free and all BM fans are encouraged to join and to participate in the forum's discussions. The BMI producers monitors the forums closely and it is through here that us BM fans can fully influence which BM issues will become the base for future translations which will make up the BMI issues. The votings page to actually decide which option from a list of candidates to release as the next issue will be accessible as a link from the forums page.
Wong K.N.
July 2001
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