There is something incredibly exciting about attending the Tokyo Auto Salon to kick start the new year. Just as festivities start to die down, TAS comes just in time to lift our spirits up, with manufacturers and tuners gathering to show us their latest cars and bodykits for JDM and import cars. And this year’s edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon was a successful one, with attendance numbers up by 41% in comparison to 2022. With the pandemic seemingly out of the way, tuners stole the show once again with their stanced, chopped-up, repainted or wrapped up creations. Manufacturers were also here to show everything thrilling that they may have. Nissan revealed their –not so new– 2024 GT-R and Toyota altogether skipped the Prius to focus on their exciting endeavours at Gazoo Racing.

On the tuners' side, there was a lot of variety and lots to see, from the much awaited unveiling at the Liberty Walk booth to countless modified 400Z and GR86. Out of the 789 cars on display over the TAS weekend, here were, according to us, the 7 “must-not-miss” cars for the 2023 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon.

Liberty Walk’s Most Controversial Ferrari At Tokyo Auto Salon

Profile shot, Liberty Walk Ferrari F40
via Claire and Ayesh

The Japanese body kit manufacturer from Nagoya is notoriously known for its extremely widened and lowered silhouettes with pop rivets and bold fender flares. Led by the ever enthusiastic Kato-san, Liberty Walk has often stirred up controversy with their cars, as each modification is – most of the time – irreversible, meaning that once you chop it up, there is no going back. Kato-san and his team have worked on both Japanese and foreign sports cars, but none have attracted more attention than his large catalog of modified Ferraris. That catalog includes the 458, the 488, the 308, the Testarossa, the F360, the F430 and the F355.

For this Auto Salon, Liberty Walk revealed their take on one of the most iconic Ferrari hypercars; the F40. With such a rich line-up of prancing horses with no hypercar in sight, the F40 was an important step for the Japanese tuner. During the reveal, Kato-san highlighted the significance of showing the freedom of being able to do your own thing. And to prove it to the world, Painted white, lowered, widened and with a big red Japanese flag on each door, the Liberty Walk F40 was just the right amount of bold to make the Italians cry “blasphemy!” from the other side of the globe.

Liberty Walk founder, Mr. Kato
via Claire and Ayesh

Related: This Liberty Walk Ferrari F40 Widebody Is A Purist’s Nightmare

VeilSide’s Nissan 400Z, A Possible Fast & Furious Comeback?

Front 3/4 shot, VeilSide Nissan 400Z
via Claire and Ayesh

VeilSide’s 400Z bodykit was a much awaited reveal for Fast and Furious enthusiasts. So much so that the car received the first prize for “Best Dress Up Car,” for the 2023 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon. With the 400Z, VeilSide took a more conservative, less transformative approach as the car remains recognizable and faithful to its original looks in comparison to VeilSide’s heavily altered, Hollywood-famous RX-7 featured in The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift. The latter remained a major source of inspiration for this 400Z, with the iconic black and orange livery also applied to the Fairlady.

The 400Z shows off a wide and elongated front bumper, with black accents on vents and air intakes, an extended ducktail at the back and VeilSide also made sure to keep the katana blade inspired roof line. Both the bonnet and the spoiler have a gradient motif of the VeilSide logo. Named the FFZ400, the Fairlady might allude to a possible Fast and Furious comeback with its “FF” abbreviation and its many appearances on Sung Kang’s Instagram page.

Related: These Are The 10 Sickest Cars Built By Veilside

Ravage: The Only Modified Alpine A110 Of The 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon Show

Front shot, modified Alpine A110
via Claire and Ayesh

The Alpine A110 Ravage almost did not make it to the Tokyo Auto Salon and its presence there is nothing short of a miracle. Ravage, represented by Hatano Cars in Japan, was set to have their very first Japan commission revealed at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon. However, the first Japanese Ravage sustained consequent damages after a fire incident took place in the garage where the car was. “9 months, 500 hours of work gone,” said Hatano Car’s Instagram post.

Chatting with Ravage CEO Mr. Benoit Tallec, we learned that bringing this Alpine back to life was a race against time and the Hatano Cars team was still working on some final details two days before the event.

The Alpine A110 Ravage takes its inspiration from Groupe 4 cars. Carbon fiber panels replace the A110’s original bodywork at the front and rear of the car. There is lots to see, from the completely remodeled, made in Japan, copper exhaust, to the Gruppe M air intake system which you can see through the rear glass, next to the engine. The A110 Ravage also showcased their latest wheels created in collaboration with OZ Wheels. The red interior with blue stripes is reminiscent of the Renault 5 Turbo. The Ravage brought some uniqueness to an Auto Salon that displayed many familiar bodykits. This was well rewarded as the French tuner won the 2nd prize for the Best Modified Import Car.

ARTA Mechanics’ Modified Honda NSX And Toyota GR86

Front shot, black modified Honda NSX
via Claire and Ayesh

If the Tokyo Auto Salon had an award for the most spectacular booth, it would surely go to ARTA Mechanics’ futuristic space. If the name sounds new to you, that’s because it is. ARTA (pronounced A.R.T.A) is a new name in the Japanese tuning world making a big entrance using the Tokyo Auto Salon to spread the word.

The ARTA booth was grandiose: a spacious black stage, a gigantic screen and minimal techno music playing sophisticated beats in the background. This display had exactly the effect you’d want to create for an opening; make people ask: “who is this?”

ARTA had two cars on display: a black NSX and a silver GR86. The NSX, named Legavelo, is completely remodeled with dry carbon fiber panels, giving it its matte black look. The Legavelo is wider, lower and also sharper looking with its large bonnet air duct. At the rear, the framing around the taillights reinforce the silhouette, and ARTA also added a large diffuser and a signature stacked central quad exhaust. The NSX exhibits a tougher and even sportier look thanks to the ARTA design, reminiscent of supercars like the Lamborghini Huracan.

ARTA’s silver GR86, named Vigale, has a muscle car-like silhouette, with strong lines and marked hips. The curvy rear wheel arch line extends into a spoiler, and the new tail lights bring out an early 2000s Italian supercar style. The GR86’s nose is much sharper, with wider air intakes underneath and the car is, like the NSX, widened and lowered. With the Vigale, ARTA infused its design with the image of a sharp Japanese sword, which also turns out to be the name for this silver paint.

Created and owned by Japan’s major auto parts retailer Autobacs, ARTA has plenty of support, with the backing of a serious budget and team, with more exciting things to come in the near future.

The First Of Many: Modified Toyota Prius By Modellista

Front 3/4 matte white modified Toyota Prius
via Claire and Ayesh

Even though new, a stock Prius isn’t exactly the most exciting thing to showcase at TAS and Toyota knew it very well. But it wasn’t a Prius no-show either. Instead, Toyota kept the exclusivity of showcasing the world’s very first Prius bodykit, with 3 modified 2023 Priuses at the Modellista booth – a Toyota owned bodykit brand. The 3 Prius versions – Neo Advance, Elegant Ice and Garnish – were therefore the only modified Priuses at the Tokyo Auto Salon.

You do have to look closely in order to understand what is actually different from the stock model, as the new front spoiler, side skirts and lower rear bumper remain rather discreet. Modellista did make a “signature illumination” light available on either side of the front grille to reinforce the Prius’ new futuristic look.

Despite the modified Prius’ conservative approach, Toyota is fully in control of their narrative, with a brand name that sounds nothing like Toyota. Behind the name Modellista, Toyota can immerse itself in Japan’s tuning culture and start a conversation around their new Prius and the many bodykits that are about to follow.

Related: The 2023 Toyota Prius Is A Cool Car We Actually Want To Own

Modified Suzuki “Little G-imny”

Front 3/4 shot modified Suzuki Jimny
via Claire and Ayesh

With all things SUVs and off-roaders currently trending, and a fair share of modified kei-cars at the Auto Salon, it was only natural for the two worlds to collide and generate a selection of Little Gs. The demand for the Suzuki Jimny is on the rise, according to Toyo Keizai and as per the Japan Automotive Importers Association’s (JAIA) records, the Mercedes G-Class was also in demand throughout the pandemic, as the only luxury vehicle consistently appearing in the top 20 of Japan’s most registered new import vehicles over the past few years.

These are all perfect market conditions to welcome Jimny “G-Class” bodykits with open arms. Amongst the many models available, Aero Over’s Jimny G62 and Aim Gain’s Jimny Mudron GT-X particularly caught our attention.

Related: Check Out This Adorable Suzuki Jimny That Thinks It Is A Baby Brabus G-Wagen

Rowen’s Flaming Toyota C-HR Bodykit

Front 3/4 shot Toyota C-HR by Rowen
via Claire and Ayesh

It would not be the Tokyo Auto Salon without a car defying all sense of aesthetics. Not a single part remains untouched on Rowen’s flaming C-HR. The lowered and stanced car has aggressive and unrecognizable front and rear bumpers. The doors are now scissor doors and even the bonnet joints are now switched to the front right side. There are new grilles and air intakes everywhere, the engine bay is now fully red and the same treatment goes for the wild-looking interior. To tie the whole look together, the car is completely repainted by the artist under the pseudonym “Bush-Art.”

Funnily, a brand new hybrid Toyota C-HR will cost you ¥3,055,000 here in Japan (approx. $23,500) and the full bodykit will cost you the equivalent of a second C-HR plus a bit, with its ¥3,790,000 (approx. $29,200) price tag. And that obviously excludes the full artwork fee.