2015 Touge California. Photos by Ben Hsu, courtesy Japanese Nostalgic Car.
North America has its share of rally events for classic cars, including the Hemmings-sponsored Great Race, the Colorado Grand and the California Mille. While some events allow owners of vintage Japanese cars to enter, missing was an event dedicated exclusively to classic cars from Japan, at least until May of 2015. Now in its second year, Touge California, created by Japanese Nostalgic Car editor-in-chief Ben Hsu and rally master Patrick Strong, bills itself as the only road rally in North America dedicated exclusively to vintage Japanese vehicles.
A Datsun 510 in the hills.
The Japanese word "touge" roughly translates as "mountain pass" in English, but there's more to it than that. The term also refers to underground races, held on remote roads, designed to test both the limits of a car's performance and the bravery of the driver behind the wheel. Touge races were said to spawn the sport of drifting, which has become a recognized form of motorsport the world over.
Toyota Corollas? Actually, Japanese market Toyota Sprinter Truenos.
With corporate sponsors like Yokohama Tire, Hagerty Insurance, and in 2016, Mazda, there's nothing illegal or clandestine about the Touge California. The inaugural event covered 120 miles of coastal and mountain roads stretching from Thousand Oaks to Dockweiler State Beach, concluding with a run down the 405 and a hosted dinner and tour of the by-appointment-only Toyota USA Automobile Museum in Torrance. This year's event , scheduled for Saturday, April 2, will up the distance to 200 miles, starting in San Diego and ending at Mazda North America's headquarters in Irvine, where participants will enjoy a catered dinner and tour of Mazda's own Heritage Collection, which includes everything from racing cars to concepts to rarely seen production vehicles.
This Mazda Luce 130 is thought to be the only running example in North America.
Mazda believes in exercising the cars in its museum, so Heritage Collection vehicles participating in the 2016 Touge California include a 1975 rotary-engine pickup; a 1978 GLC hatchback; and a 1985 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE. Last year's selection of private entrants included a wide variety of Japanese cars, ranging from the familiar (Datsun 510s, Datsun Zs, Honda Accords, Toyota Celica GTs) to the obscure (Hakosuka Skyline, Toyota Century sedan, Nissan Bluebird coupe) to the pure-unobtanium, a rotary-powered, front-drive Mazda Luce R130 (one of two known in North America and one of just 976 built). Expect to see a similar range of vehicles for this year's event.
2016 Touge California poster, featuring a blue RX-4 in honor of Mazda's sponsorship.
As the Touge name implies, the rally is meant to be challenging. In 2015, drivers received a magnetic roundel (to identify cars participating in the tour), a route book and a sealed envelope with diversion instructions, in case a checkpoint couldn't be completed. Though some of the vehicles participating topped four decades in age, none suffered any significant mechanical issues and all envelopes remained unopened.
For those with a passion for Japanese classic cars, the rally offers an over-the-road alternative to the weekend show-and-shine, and if the success of last year's debut event is any indication, Touge California will continue to grow in the coming years. For more information, visit JapaneseNostalgicCar.com.
from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/2313QbK
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