Every year on the seventh day of the seventh month, RX-7 owners and enthusiasts gather the world over to celebrate Mazda's nontraditional-engined cars. Prime NYC hosted their seventh 7's Day celebration in the heart of New York City in what has become the most anticipated event of the year for the North East; a gathering of cars that don't seem to exist outside the world of Instagram and magazines navigating the city streets. The true magic of this event is not only seeing these incredibly special cars come out of the woodwork, but seeing them contrast against NYC traffic, contextualizing just how special they are. Seeing a Veilside FD amongst busses and taxis as it slips through the night is something you can never forget.
Ted Solano of Regiment Zero is a fixture in New York's import scene with his RE Amemiya FD3S. Something about Ted's build feels intangibly...authentic. It's hard to put a finger on it, but it's aura feels true to RE Amemiya's own demo cars.
I guess a large part of that is owed to it carrying a host of parts from Japan's best tuning houses and parts manufacturers, especially the sheer amount of RE Amemiya goods.
As cool as all the aero options on the market are, the FD RX7 is a beautiful car as is, all it really needs are some light enhancements to be stunning. Additionally, Advan RC III are a slept on wheel, especially in darker colors that show off the machined center.
It wouldn't be right having a Mazda-centric event without Mazdaspeed parts and Mazdaspeed MS-02s are great representation.
Nick Isihos of Auto Real Dream recently sold his AE86 hatch to live a new dream in a JDM FD3S. The car looks like a time capsule from 2005, especially on period Gram Lights 57Cs.
I can attest there's a case to be made that there's more interesting off the shelf aero for the FD RX7, but it's hard to beat just how perfect the masters at RE Amemiya are at styling these cars.
The real star of the show for me was this Veilside Fortune FD3S. Tokyo Drift blah blah blah whatever, that's beside the point. Something about those insane body conversions from Veilside still hold up today. The big single turbo 20b powering it made this thing as exotic as it looks. Rather than being some kind of track weapon like most people lean towards with FDs, this one leans harder into it's GT car side with big power, comfortable and rare Mazdaspeed reclinable seats, and a full interior. Sort of like a Japanese Aston Martin DBS.
7's Day may be for RX7s, but it's not exclusively RX7s. That would be like not inviting anyone to your birthday party because it's about you, and the Hondas are always incredible guests. Andres brought his genuine EK4 SiR and it's a perfect rendition of a crisply styled EK4 retaining the factory look with subtle aesthetic enhancements like the EC Works mirrors and EK9 wing.
FB6s are a cool chassis to build off of. I don't understand why they're not more popular outside of stance builds. They handle well, make decent torque, and look awesome with a wide wheel/tire setup and a lip kit.
I'm genuinely obsessed with this Acty. It's always exciting to see roll through events. I've babble about my thoughts on kei trucks in the US being lame ad nauseam but even the cool ones stateside have a more raw style to it. This one is far more refined! It was stripped down to a bare shell and spayed this deep orange and the interior was trimmed in black leather and Bride gradient fabric.
Air suspension brings it lower to the ground while keeping it usable as a truck and bringing the relationship to the Enkei Apache V Mesh closer. A Competition Werkes motorcycle exhaust pokes out from the side as well and it honestly sounds pretty good for a kei truck. Something like this looks like it belongs in some sort of show coverage from Stance Nation Japan rather than New York.
A matching Grom rides around in the bed too!
I've posted pictures of Icons Garage's old Mitsubishi Cyborg before at Prime's Street Icons event. That car was replaced with this earlier model Cyborg RS; a hot hatch slotted against cars like the EG and Renault Clio making about 175hp from a 1.6 4G92.
This year, however, they brought along another Cyborg, this one being a later ZR. Such cool alternatives to the more popular Japanese hatches of the era.
This kouki DC5 was incredible! Full J's Racing street aero, Regamaster Evo IIs, and a K-series fed by a huge turbo sitting in a pristine shaved bay.
Ed, one half of Prime NYC and co-organizer of this event, represented in his cruiser-spec S14 with Vertex aero, a Car Modify Wonder hood, and what I believe is Laguna Seca Blue paint.
Jason Yung came down from Boston in his refreshed BRZ. It is in fact a Subaru despite the TRD side skirts and kouki GT86 front bumper. The new front end with C West lip and color matched hood are all recent additions and pull the car together incredibly.
LSs have been haunting my thoughts lately.
Trucks were a big thing this year, most running Volks and overland gear.
The perfect execution of "import guy gets a big truck" is Brian of Eat Sleep Race's Wrangler. First of all, it's right hand drive. Not a Japanese import though! Jeep actually sells a single trim level in North America in a RHD configuration. It's intended for things like postal delivery in rural areas but can obviously be a rad way to give your Jeep that extra JDM feel. Ignoring the obvious coolness of the concept of having carbon fiber and TE37 Ultras on a Jeep, the combination actually looks incredible.
This little Jimny was like the Wrangler's little brother. It's wild how different each country's idea of a utilitarian off-roader is.
The super mild styling on this JZX81 Chaser gives no illusion to the crazy single turbo 1JZ in a pristine engine bay lurking beneath the hood.
OEM aero and CR Kais are all you need for an S15...
TE37s can also work as a substitute...
People from NY/NJ love obscure imports. I wish more people brought FF Corollas over from Japan like this AE101 Levin.
America did get at least one cool FF Corolla; the 4AGE powered AE82. This one is a favorite of mine sat well over SSR Dori Doris.
JZX90s seem to be picking up steam stateside since JZX100s are quickly becoming out of reach.
Remember 2011 when every WRX was World Rally Blue on Work XD9s? This BRZ on D9Rs felt like a modern homage to those days.
Not every Z33 is a straight piped drift car or a stance car. They make phenomenal grip cars as well!
BBS E88s on a 996 GT3 is guaranteed to be a winning match.
This IS300 wagon was sweet with an HKS front bumper and rear made specifically for the Altezza Gita.
Takumi Fujiwara if his dad was responsible and reasonable...
The tough street style suits the kouki GT86 the best!
This R32 coupe radiated a cool street car aura.
Advan RGs on a DC2 is a classic look that's hard to beat.
Volks on BMWs always work!
Work Goocars and PS Duce aero make for a cool NA drift car.
Oem aero and Top1 splitters pair with CE28s on this kouki EK. The plate leads me to assume it has a B18C.
A TVR came through and that was weird.
Miguel's old Varis Evo was in attendance. It's been well preserved since he parted ways with it. It's always good to see a car of this caliber being well loved by it's next owner.
Ray Delgado's AP2 S2000 is tough! Spoon Sports Version 2 bumper and aero mirrors, an ASM hood, and Top1 skirt extensions and diffuser make for a perfect aero package while a CR style wing blade on taller stands that have been molded to the trunk is an even more standout addition. The rare Work Meister S1 Monoblocks really set it off.
After leaving the first meet up spot we drove around the city and I didn't have enough time to take pictures between transit. I did manage a few snaps at the last meetup point before the police intervened and kicked us out.
Walter Bryant is a madman for driving his insanely low Celica all over NYC's urban hellscape they call roads.
Daniel from Tough Club's BNR32 is a masterclass in GTR building.
The only constant across all seven years of Prime's 7's Day celebration is uncertainty, and not long after getting comfortable, the police came and broke us up. Unfortunate, but not something we can really complain about. It is the very nature of the event; a raw, unsanctioned, rally through the heart of New York City.
Thank you to Prime NYC for their annual efforts to bring street car culture together to grow each year!
Cutting Room Floor
