Honda Today by RE-Amemiya x Bomex

A key reason for the rotary engine’s stubborn success slash refusal to die has been down to a handful of diehard fans, tuners, and even some engineers from within Mazda who’ve been operating with a singular guiding star: modify the rotary to be better.

If Isami Amemiya isn’t at the top of that list, who would be? 

Two decades as a successful street racer and, later, a rotary engine maestro before this highly modified Honda Today subcompact car was a glimmer in his eye, Amemiya-san is partly why everyone reading this knows what a piercing rotary ‘brappp’ sounds like.

First 3-rotor? Yep. The one who put actual, authentic Mid Night stickers on the bumpers of his demo cars as a badge of honour while street racing was being cracked down on by the authorities? Mhmm.

Like, Japan was making movies about street racers such as the Mid Night Club that became sensational for making cars look really freakin’ cool…that the movie was banned in Japan. True story, and fun sequels.

Anyway, if you were unlucky enough to see an RE-Amemiya -equipped Mazda in your rearview, consider this: to get a Mid Night sticker, the car needed to reach speeds of around 270 km/h (167 mph)…on one of the expressways around Tokyo. 

Banned or not, street racers or wannabes, speed (and a rapidly-growing economy) sold sports cars and modifications to make them faster. By the late-’80s, RE-Amemiya was a well-established name, and equipped with a rolling dynamometer and access to the (now-defunct) Yatabe test track. 

Aerodynamics and bodykits were beginning to enter the aftermarket, with RE-Amemiya’s preferred supplier being Bomex.

If I have to explain the history and reach of Bomex, we’ll be here all day. Fast and Furious, the first one? Bomex kits. Record-setting rotary-powered Mazdas? Bomex.

A bright blue, fully smoothed hatchback with gullwing doors and very authentic-looking Mid Night stickers? Bomex.

Unmistakeable in the exact shade of blue used on several other RE-Amemiya demo cars, either as the main paint colour or as part of the company’s signature stripe, this Today got the super serum, the gamma rays, the protein smoothie and Holy Water. 

Inside? Blue, da ba dee with a fully-custom interior that showed just how capable tuning houses were in the ’80s, melding design, execution, and modifications.

Underhood, a 12A rotary, with a turbocharger, for a total of 265 horsepower at 7,000 rpm. Top speed? I’m not sure Amemiya-san would have shown the car if it didn’t achieve at least 200 km/h. In an old clip I’d watched, he was gutted when a test driver could muster just 274 km/h. 

Where is this Honda Today? I haven’t the faintest idea. If you know, please drop me a line and I’ll update this story with new information. 

WATCH NEXT: @japanifornia on Instagram has uploaded a clip of the car from Video Option here. RE-Amemiya (Wikipedia)

Video Option (Japanese)