Touge, or "mountain passes", are just regular roads-often roughly paved, with differing cambers and surfaces. As you can imagine, suspension choice and setup can make all the difference. While quadruple-adjustable Moton dampers and ultra-stiff Sprint springs may be the winning setup for Tsukuba cars, that's exactly what you don't want for stretches of road like Gunsai, where handling control is based heavily on stability over rough terrain. Which is why DG5 was called in: to custom valve and pressurize their adjustable dampers according to Amemiya-san's specifications, and then match them with the proper springs. Amemiya cars have developed a reputation for dominating the corners of Gunsai, catching up even to the most powerful machines. The FD chassis does have its advantages over others here, with its constrained curb weight and excellent distribution, but in the case of Amemiya-san's latest machine, Brembo F50 calipers, two-piece Project Mu slotted discs, and high-friction brake pads make all the difference. His opinion is that allowing drivers to brake into turns later, and power out of turns earlier, sustains higher speeds throughout the course.
Being an RE-Amemiya car, the "Devil King" sports a full Greddy 3 transformation, which drastically alters the car's stock lines. The look may not be to the liking of everyone-especially its much-debated rear end-but there's no denying the car looks mean and remains functional. The front end sports a much rounder contour, thanks to the bumper which also incorporates a built-in lower lip spoiler. The headlight conversion exchanges the factory pop-ups for HID IPF projectors, housed in a custom-built enclosure, for that all-important GT look and aerodynamic. Wider front and rear fenders plump the stance of the car, and the carbon fiber aero hood and rear hatch shave considerable weight. The rear is all custom and replaces the stock trunk line with a whole new swooping bumper and hatch ensemble, which, with the kit's bespoke light clusters, really loses the RX-7's identity when viewed from the rear-we love it, some hate it, so Amemiya-san now offers a slightly less radical rear option. The carbon rear wing, like the front canards, is there solely to develop downforce at speed-there are, after all, fast sections of Gunsai.
If you think the body color is a little over the top, then RE-Amemiya has achieved their goal: shock! This is a demo car, and the color was chosen for its ability to burn into the hippocampus of anyone who gazes upon it. The interior has been made only slightly less obnoxious, with the Bride fixed bucket seats quieting the stage. Red Sabelt harness keep occupants pinned down even through the most challenging twisties, but it's the green carbon-effect panels and steering spokes that may bring some to tears. Remember: Demo car. M7 gauges on the passenger side and a boost controller can also be found here, along with a steering-column-mounted boost gauge joining a 300 km/h combination meter set, both from RE-Amemiya.
With its lightweight Enkei GTC01s clad in ultra-sticky Yokohama Neova AD08 rubber, Taniguchi managed to lap Tsukuba with this beast in 1:02-a very impressive time for an FD running "only" 400 hp from stock turbos. With one Touge Max title to his name, Ken Amemiya is hoping to grab another title this year with Maou. Don't call us devil-worshippers, but after seeing how much heart and soul the Amemiya crew has invested in this machine, we'll be praying they realize their dream!