One of life's greatest achievements is leaving a legacy behind, that little something that helps you make your mark on the world. When Tanabe-san of Power House Amuse passed away last fall, it was a shock to the whole Japanese tuning world. He was a great man, an innovator, an individual who over the last decade made a name for himself and his company. Tanabe-san had a true passion for perfecting cars, a vision that helped him create some of the most well-known cars the JDM scene has ever seen. The 380RS Superleggera is his last creation, one of many cars that he worked hard to get ready before his departure from this world. We saw the car at this year's Tokyo Auto Salon, a Z33 wearing the distinctive Amuse style, and one we had to focus on in detail to do justice to it's underlining concept, as well as the great man behind it.
Entering into the Power House Amuse shop is quite an experience. The first time I set foot in the top-of-the-line workshop around five years ago, I was greeted by Tanabe-san who eagerly showed me all the projects he was working on, including the turbocharged and stroked F20 that would be fitted to the then brand-new S2000 GT1. His presence is very much felt in the cars and the products that Amuse is still creating and building. His wife is keeping the name alive, and business is proceeding with constant support from a customer base that spans the globe. The Superleggera is quite a sight when seeing it out on the street. The aggressive body conversion gives it a very imposing stance, especially rolling on those massive 20-inch BBS LM-R wheels.
In Italian, superleggera means "superlight" and it's a term that Tanabe chose to emphasize as the main idea behind this project. The base is an already limited-edition car-the Japan-only Nismo 380RS-and the idea was to make it even more special with some Amuse-style modifications. The first thing was to shed weight, not an easy thing to do because the car needed to stay street-legal, so stripping the interior was totally out of the question. The body was the main area that Tanabe-san planned to address in the quest for lightness, so it was also the perfect opportunity to design a completely new, more aerodynamic, bodykit.
At the front, the 380RS nose was altered with a new style bumper featuring a 20 percent larger opening at the center, which thanks to a special air guide, supplies a lot more air to the radiator. The front diffuser and spoiler works on the already great aerodynamics of the 380RS, which offered zero lift at the front. Now, thanks to the finely tuned Amuse design, the front end develops downforce, helping push the front of the Z down onto the asphalt for more cornering bite and stability. The front fenders sport a wider stance as well as a small sliver of an air outlet, which blends into the Super GT inspired carbon vanes. These are there to help flow air from under the car and from the wheelwells out and around the sides of the car to keep drag low. The skirts continue to aid airflow along the side of the Z, while at the rear a set of FRP overfenders have been applied to the arches. These are mainly aesthetic as the small curved outlet they create is not functional.
The already aggressively styled rear bumper of the Nismo 380RS was left untouched because there are plenty of Super GT cues there already to differentiate the car from more run-of-the-mill Z33s. However, in the quest for more rear end stability, the rear diffuser has been redesigned and extended by 70mm, joining the large rear spoiler, which increased downforce considerably.
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