Although its origin springs forth from the innermost circle of the NASCAR camp, the phrase, "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" rings true in almost every market. The thinking is that victory on the racetrack ensures a reputation legendary enough to inspire massive sales of cars and parts. In the United States, millions of advertising and sponsorship dollars pour into NASCAR because that's where the exposure is. The oval track boys have even managed to convince Toyota to play with them, supposedly enticing millions of would-be Charger owners to jump ship and buy a real racecar--a Camry.
Luckily for the sane people of the world, not everything in life is complete crap. Buddy Club, with offices in Hiroshima, Japan, and Ontario, California, has been producing, testing, and developing aftermarket parts on the racetrack for over 15 years. Forget tube-framed, V8-powered, carbureted Ford Taurus', Buddy Club races on the same stuff that you can pick right out of their catalog. The key to developing hardcore race proven parts for general sale is to take production cars into battle. No formula cars, no silhouette bodies, Buddy Club shows up to touring car races in heavily modified versions of cars that you already know and love, such as this wide-body FIA Super 2000 DC5. The only difference happens to be that this 2005 j-spec Honda Integra Type R is a hell of a lot faster than anything you're used to seeing.
We first heard rumors of the existence of this DC5 through whispered conversations with Kevin Feng, marketing guru for Buddy Club USA. He had given us the rundown--naturally aspirated engine, Michelin slicks, Mugen cage and a Buddy Club suspension. In all truthfulness, we were a little skeptical, it sounded like the same exact car that we had shot in our November 2005 issue ("A Tale of Two Hondas"). Plus, we knew some of our readers might be thinking, "Why race another DC5?"
For the full story, along with more pictures and specs, pick up the July 2006 issue of Import Tuner Magazine, on sale at your local newsstand now!