On my recent visit to Japan I decided to visit the city of Nagoya. Known as the Detriot of Japan, Nagoya is the fourth largest city and is home to a number of large Japanese auto manufactures.
What brought me here was the Japanese game of pachinko and specifically the owner of one of the largest pachinko chains in Japan. It seems that this particular owner has a passion for fast cars and has made his multi-million dollar collection available to the public.
What is pachinko and how does it relate to million dollar cars? Imagine a game that is a cross between a slot machine and a pinball game. The object is to place the balls in the center hole and the more balls you get through the hole the more prizes you win. What is most interesting about pachinko is that it is a $200 Billion industry, larger even than the Japanese auto industry! So you can imagine owning a few pachinko parlors can be very profitable.
Walking into the Zent Motorsports showroom it is hard not to be overwhelmed by the cars on display. Many of these cars I had only ever seen in the pages of EVO magazine and now here they were right in front of me.
The McLaren F1 GTs were built from standard McLaren F1 road car chassis. The prototype GT is still kept by McLaren, however demand from customers drove McLaren to build two production versions that were sold. The McLaren F1 GT featured the same extended rear bodywork as the McLaren GTRs for increased downforce, yet lacked the rear wing that had been seen on the McLaren F1 LM. The downforce generated by the longer tail was found to be sufficient to not require the wing.
McLaren F1 GT
The awesome McLaren F1 LM in papaya orange paint. Only five McLaren F1 LM were built in honor of the five McLaren F1 GTR’s which won the 1995 24 Heures du Mans. The McLaren F1 LM is regarded to be the fastest incarnation of the McLaren F1 roadcars through the gears and in overall track performance. It has a 0-60 mph time of 2.9 seconds, 0-100 mph in 5.9 seconds and was once the holder of many world records, including the 0-100-0 mph record which it completed in 8.5 seconds.
McLaren F1 LM
McLaren F1 LM
The Ferrari 288 GTO was built to compete in the new Group B Race series and a minimum of 200 cars were required for homologation. The GTO was the first in a series of Ferrari high end sports cars, continued with its much-modified version, the 1987 F40. Also, the later V12-engined F50 and Enzo would not have been produced if not for the 288 GTO.
Ferrari 288 GTO
The legendary Ferrari F40. Built at the special request of Enzo Ferrari to be his lasting legacy to the company he founded 40 years earlier and still considered to be the ultimate Ferrari. The Ferrari F40 was was an entirely new design by Pininfarina featuring panels made of kevlar, carbon fiber, and aluminum for strength and low weight. This light weight construction gave it an amazing 0-60 mp/h time of just 3.2 seconds.
Ferrari F40
Ferrari F40 LM
The Ferrari F50 was introduced in 1995 to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary. Only 349 cars were made, one fewer than Ferrari estimated they could sell. This was, in the words of Ferrari spokesman Antonio Ghini, because “Ferraris are something cultural, a monument. They must be hard to find, so we will produce one less car than the market demands”.
Ferrari F50
The €1.5 million Ferrari FXX. It’s as close to driving a F1 car as the public can get. Customers are only allowed to drive the car on special track days approved by Ferrari and after they drive the car they have to brief Ferrari on the car’s performance.
Ferrari Enxo FXX
The Ferrari Super Car Collection…The F40…The F50…The FXX
Ferrari F40 F50 FXX
The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa was a race car built by Ferrari in the 1950’s and 1960’s. These cars dominated their arenas, with variations winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1958, 1960, and 1961. After the 250 GTO, the 250 Testa Rossa is the second most valuable Ferrari model, often valued at more than US$8,000,000.
Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa
The 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 (or 4-cam) was a substantially updated car; built by Scaglietti, it featured new bodywork and was the first Ferrari to not be offered with wire wheels. In 2004, Sports Car International named the 275 GTB/4 number seven on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s.
Ferrari 275 GTB
The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 , better known by the unofficial name Ferrari Daytona, is a Gran Turismo automobile produced from 1968 to 1973. It is reported that Enzo Ferrari was so furious at the use of a Corvette based replica Daytona on the TV show Miami Vice that he offered two brand new Ferrari Testarossas if the replicas were destroyed.
Ferrari Daytona
The Jaguar XJR15. One of only 50 ever made and designed by Gordon Murray.
Jaguar XJR15
During its production run the Porsche 959 was hailed as being the most technologically advanced road-going sports car ever built. The lessons learned from the 959 project about engine management, aerodynamics, suspension tuning, and four wheel drive were what enabled the production life of the 911, once thought to be nearing obsolescence due to the extreme rearward placement of the engine, to be extended to the present day.
Porsche 959
Double Forumula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen’s old Formula 1 car!
Mika Hakkinen F1 Car
What is surprising is that this multi-million dollar car collection is open to the public. Most collections of this size and worth are hidden away in climate controlled underground bunkers, only to be shown at private parties. Yet here in Nagoya, Japan in a non-descript buidling tucked away behind a pachinko parlour, this amazing collection is open to the public.
web: Zent Motorsports
Hours: 12:00 – 16:00
Admission: ¥300
2. September 2009 at 10:00 pm
Hi motoyen,
I wasn’t sure if you had a website so I clicked your name of your site in my dashboard and sure enough you have a blog. I appreciate that you are commenting on my blog and I will do the same for you. Are we following each other in Twitter? I’m going to check that out. I think we are. Where are you from? I read this article on your blog about the museum in Japan. Japan has the highest concentration of Ferraris in the world from my understanding. I got to get my daily dose of supercars because I’m really interested in them and like talking to other people who are passionate about them also. I’m going to ask you more questions about your blog to find out more because I started FerrariDreams last October on Wordpress.org and had another earlier one on Blogger.com called Ferrari Enthusiasts that I started in June 2008. If you have any questions or comments let me know, I’m all ears.
Cheers,
Rick Resch
3. September 2009 at 5:41 pm
Yes I certainly saw a lot of cool cars in Japan. I’m going to the Tokyo Auto Show in October so I’ll hope to have to super car photos for the site.