One of the great things about working with Japanese companies as their distributor for a decade is that we get treated so nicely when we visit Japan!

I’ve been meaning to blog about various things we did during our last trip to Japan, and our visit to Amuse has been at the top of my list. I’ve been working with Amuse and importing their parts for 9 years now. I must say my love for Amuse Titanium and Dry Carbon has stayed just as strong now as it ever was.

Seriously, how can you look at this picture below and not be in love with Amuse quality:

Having just received a full revamped exhaust system for my personal S2000 I’m on my Amuse high all over again. I also recently ordered up a bunch of Amuse parts for another car I just picked up (more on that another time). Basically I cant imagine modifying a car without at the very least an Amuse exhaust at this point in my evolution as a car freak.

If you click on the picture above, its a perfect angle to appreciate the subtlety of what Amuse calls the “gold ring” option for their titanium tips. The gold ring is subtle but I always tend to order it up whenever I have the chance (my two cars with Amuse exhausts both have gold ring B tail tips). It shows nicely the absolute precision that Amuse has with heating their titanium to create their finishes, I have never seen any other company come close.

Amuse, more than any other company I’ve ever encountered, has a knack for making people want to buy a car that they previously did not consider buying. This happened with me personally back in 2004 when I first saw their exhaust for the E46 M3. I always liked BMWs, but when I saw that exhaust in person back then, I re-evaluated my finances and I seriously started considering buying the car just for the exhaust! I don’t know of any other company who can make that type of impact. And it’s not just me…I’ve talked to at least a dozen people in the past couple of months who have told me that they never liked the 370Z but after seeing the Amuse Vestito aero kit they are considering buying the car just to run the aero kit. Time will tell if the 370Z market will support Amuse and help Amuse recoup their major investment into design/tooling and production of those parts. We have a few kits on order coming in and so far Amuse is a bit at risk of not even breaking even on their major development costs on the 370Z. I sincerely hope that nobody asks for or creates a knockoff of this kit because that’ll probably be the last time Amuse steps out on a limb to make something as impressive as this at their significant expense.

Ah…the E92 M3 Ericsson demo car…one of my all time favorite demo cars. As impeccable as this car is in concept and execution,  this car is mostly misunderstood outside of Japan. Let me explain it quickly to set the record straight. The E92 M3 in Japan costs approx $120,000+. In the US it costs $57,000. Amuse designed this car and the modifications for a $120,000 car. Their target and concept was the Porsche GT3 (similar price point as a competitor) and the idea to increase power but more importantly to decrease weight using exotic materials and smart engineering. Ericsson/Amuse did not think about North American BMW pricing and client demographics or even know that the car overseas is half the price . They designed it to be a GT3 destroyer in Japan. Most $57,000 car owners would laugh at paying top quality level pricing for dry carbon bumpers, doors, hood, trunk, etc. But if you paid $120,000 for the car and wanted the GT3 equivalent that BMW never made, it makes a hell of a lot more sense. Looking back, what most North American M3 owners need are cheaper parts from Ericsson which are made and priced for a $57,000 car. I will say however that it will never happen because Amuse/Ericsson never compromises on quality and would rather simply not put their name on it than to release an average part which is targeted for price competition. There is your answer to everyone who thinks Amuse is insane for making the parts at the prices they have for the BMW lineup.

Lastly the infamous Phantom GT-R…Here is a point even I did not know (and I’m someone who is obsessive about Amuse).

This Phantom GT-R is the exact same specification as it was two years ago. Tanabe-san, the legendary founder, designer, tuner, race car driver and overall industry icon passed away shortly after creating this GT-R. His last two creations were this car and the M3 demo car. I recently learned the reason why Amuse has not continued to evolve this car. This Phantom GT-R is the brilliant gift that Tanabe-san left behind and it was his final contribution to the world of Japanese tuning. Out of respect for his perfect creation, Amuse has never modified this car any further despite the multiple years of knowledge and innovation that they are capable of adding to it. The fact that still nobody has recorded a faster R35 GT-R lap at Tsukuba than Tanabe-san behind the wheel of this car years ago is testament to the quality of his design and tuning. This car represents his last work, and for that reason it remains as it was. Perfect.

PS - Photos shot by our very own Colin Chu during our recent visit to Amuse