Tokyo Auto Salon Strategy Lap 🏁
To my fellow car lovers,
Tokyo Auto Salon week always feels like the first warm-up lap, the moment you realize the builds are about to get louder, sharper, and more intentional.
This edition starts on the show floor with the “why now” OEM booths that are setting the tone early, then jumps to Kissimmee 2026, where the money talks and the headlines get written. After that, we rewind to a 1954 300 SL Gullwing that helped define the supercar rulebook, and finish with a quick-hit exotic shortlist that is guaranteed to spark a few late-night searches.
Buckle up. This one is part show-floor strategy, part auction-room reality, part pure icon.
Feature Story
WALKING THE GRID
Behind every legendary car lies a story.
This week’s grid walk starts with the “why now” booths: Honda is bringing HRC-flavored concepts to Tokyo Auto Salon (Prelude HRC, Civic Type R HRC, and a sportier Civic Hybrid RS prototype). Subaru is teasing a January 9 reveal with pure STI energy, and Nissan is dangling a mysterious Nismo concept that is definitely not a Z.
YOUR SUPERCAR SHORTLIST
🏎️ Kissimmee 2026’s Headliner Is Pure “Big-Money” Energy
A reminder that January auctions can set the tone for the whole year.
A one-off, factory-white 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO is the expected centerpiece, with chatter in the $50M-plus range.
Classic Car Auctions
Three different Ford GT40 variants are on the docket, plus a no-reserve wave of low-mileage modern Ferraris from the Bachman collection.
Collector lesson: headline lots grab the cameras, but no-reserve collections tell you what the room will really pay.
🏎️ A 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Headed to Paris that Basically Invented “Supercar.”
If you want to understand why “supercar” became a category, the 300 SL is the origin story.
One of just 167 examples recognized as built in 1954, the first year of production, which is exactly why collectors chase the earliest cars.
The “birdcage” chassis is why the doors had to go up, and that engineering-first swagger is still the whole point.
Collector lesson: early-production rarity is great, but it’s the documented history and correctness that tends to command the real premium.
EXOTIC CARS OF THE WEEK
A few standouts to add to your “I need to Google this later” list:
Ferrari Daytona SP3
A modern V12 poster car that leans on drama, sound, and the kind of design that looks fast standing still.
🔗 Official model page
Koenigsegg Jesko
A hypercar built around airflow, active aero, and the idea that engineering can be the whole personality.
🔗 Official model page
McLaren Solus GT
A hypercar built around airflow, active aero, and the idea that engineering can be the whole personality.
🔗 Official model page
Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992)
Not a “hypercar,” but it punches above its weight with aero that works and feedback that feels alive.
🔗 Official model page
QUICK POLL
Which “Exotic Car of the Week” would you chase first?
NOTES FROM THE GRID
If you plan your lap before you arrive, the whole weekend feels different.
You stop wandering and start spotting patterns: which booths are pointing at what’s next, which auctions are setting the market temperature, and which legends still make everything else look like a footnote. Pair the hype with the data, and you get the clearest read on what matters right now.
Until next time,
P.S. Interested in sponsoring a future issue? Just reply to this email and I’ll send packages!