Top 10 Wildest Custom Cars at Tokyo Auto Salon 2026

As Japan’s largest custom car show, the Tokyo Auto Salon serves as the ultimate gathering for tuners and manufacturers from across the country who are looking to showcase their wildest and most imaginative creations. Revivals of iconic nameplates such as the Honda Prelude seem to have provided some inspiration for Japanese tuners, while more affordable sports cars such as the GR86 offered the perfect base for tuners to create new car parts. I walked through the countless halls occupied by over 840 vehicles to find the 10 craziest builds from the Tokyo Auto Salon 2026.

10

NEO86 By Result Japan

With official pictures posted beforehand on the tuner’s website, this modified NEO86 already caught the automotive world’s attention before Tokyo Auto Salon even began. The NEO86 pays homage to the iconic Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno, which was made famous through the manga and anime series “Initial D.” The NEO86 body kit is made by tuner Result Japan, and uses a 2014 Toyota 86 as a base. The car features a two-tone black and white look just like on the original Trueno, but what truly ties the whole look together are the custom pop-up headlights and the reflectors on the front bumper.

According to Result Japan, the body kit is currently only available for the first gen 86, and isn’t available for the newer GR86. The full kit is priced at ¥860,000 plus tax (approximately $5,500 plus tax), which remains quite affordable.

9

Liberty Walk GT-R Open-Top

Liberty Walk has been keeping busy over the past few years. After launching a modified Ferrari F40, a Lamborghini Countach, a Lamborghini Miura and a collaboration with Lando Norris, Liberty Walk seems to be taking this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon easy. On the Liberty Walk menu this year was a Nissan R35 GT-R turned into an open-top GT-R, but don’t call it a convertible, as there is no retractable soft-top or hard-top on this GT-R. Liberty Walk used the last generation R35 as a base, to which they added their signature widebody look on top of cutting off the roof. Their newest GT-R has presence, but a Liberty Walk GT-R is nothing new and this open-top creation lacks the outrageousness from some of their previous creations. We just hope they have not run out of ideas.

8

Cadillac Escalade “Fang Armor” By Rohan

While you’ll mostly run into JDMs at the Tokyo Auto Salon, there are some exceptions. This Cadillac Escalade was showcased by Japanese tuner Rohan, well known for its unique painting techniques, consisting of applying layers and layers of paint, grinding and polishing each body panel, and hand carving meticulous designs on each part. Though Rohan often works on Japanese cars, this custom Escalade helps them appeal to a more global audience. The body kit on this Escalade is dubbed “Fang Armor” and is finished in Emerald Blue, a signature color previously used on other Rohan creations.

7

VeilSide Toyota GR86 “F86 GT”

VeilSide released a new bodykit for the Toyota GR86 at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon. The F86 GT bodykit clearly shows off its VeilSide DNA, with black accents contrasting on the orange paint. The kit comes with a prominent front bumper, a widebody rear bumper, a VeilSide suspension kit and further modifications inside. VeilSide has often been seen working hand in hand with actor and director Sung Kang, thanks to the success of “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” movie, where Kang’s character notably drove an orange VeilSide RX7. Kang is currently promoting his upcoming movie “Drifter” at the Tokyo Auto Salon VeilSide booth, hence this new modified VeilSide GR86 to echo the orange AE86 featured in the movie.

6

Offroad-Ready Toyota GR86 “Outroad” By Kuhl

The Porsche 911 Dakar is one of those cars that we wish we could own one day, but with used Dakar prices going for well over $350,000, this is more of a distant and unattainable dream. However, there may be an attractive alternative for those looking to get their hands on an off-roader sports car. Meet the Kuhl “Outroad” GR86. Japanese tuner Kuhl took a GR86 and transformed it into a rallye-ready sports car, fitting it with new front and rear bumpers, fender and bumper protectors, and a roof rack among some of the more notable modifications. The full car is available to buy at around ¥4,150,000 (approximately $26,500), but you can also bring in your own GR86 and add the full kit for a little over ¥1,000,000 (approximately $6,500). You can see the GR86 in action drifting through the mud here and honestly, all of this for ¥1,000,000 may be the best deal you’ll ever get.

5

Honda NSX Tribute By Italdesign

Italdesign is the design house responsible for some of the automotive world’s most iconic cars, ranging from the Maserati MC12 to the Lotus Esprit, not forgetting the DMC DeLorean. More recently, Italdesign collaborated with Nissan to create the Nissan GT-R50, an exclusive GT-R model limited to 50 units. This year, Italdesign revealed their take on the Honda NSX at the Tokyo Auto Salon, which they have officially dubbed the “Honda NSX Tribute by Italdesign.”

The concept uses a second generation NSX as a base and takes inspiration from the first generation NSX. Although Italdesign couldn’t bring back the NSX’s signature pop-up headlights, the design house echoed the original design by giving the Tribute a distinctive “eyelid” look. Updates are mostly concentrated on the exterior, while the interior remains largely unchanged. The NSX Tribute has received Honda’s official blessing and will be headed for limited “production,” which in this case means Italdesign will extensively rework existing NSX vehicles.

4

Honda Prelude By Blitz

With Honda Prelude sales having officially started in September last year, new Prelude bodykits were expected to be seen at the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon. Though Prelude kits still remain scarce, Blitz went all out with the “Blitz Prelude Honda-On Edition” body kit. The kit consists of new aero parts, as well as new suspension, brakes, and wheels. Parts shown were mainly conceptual as Blitz is still currently developing those Prelude parts.

3

Nissan Fairlady Z By Crewch

You may remember the name Crewch from last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, as the Japanese tuner revealed one of the most outrageous Nissan R35 GT-R bodykit ever made. Rightfully named the “Delusion GT-R R356C,” the matte black R35 showed off a batmobile inspired look and was estimated to be worth around ¥50,000,000 (approximately $320,000). This year, Crewch came to the Tokyo Auto Salon with an equally flamboyant car, a green widebody Fairlady Z. The full bodywork is made of aluminium and painted in a green shade Crewch calls “Destiny Green.” The roof line extends into a rear spoiler as one single panel, directly connected to the rear fenders. The car also features a massive rear diffuser and an extended front bumper.

2

Vellfire Sedan By Nihon Automobile College (NATS)

Every year at the Tokyo Auto Salon, you can always count on the Nihon Automobile College (NATS) to bring out some of the craziest automotive creations. Working primarily on older vehicles, NATS students transform them into curious models through bold, Frankenstein-like engineering. This year, NATS students unveiled the Vellfire Sedan, a concept inspired by luxury executive saloons. Built on a Lexus LS460 platform, the Vellfire Sedan features a front bumper borrowed from the Toyota Vellfire, a popular Japanese luxury van commonly seen on the streets of Tokyo’s more upscale neighborhoods. The result is a car that could almost pass as a rival to the Toyota Century or even the Mercedes-Benz S-Class

1

Lamborghini Diablo “Beast” By Value Progress

Liberty Walk is known for producing some of the most ostentatious Lamborghini bodykits, but it now seems to face serious competition. One of the most eye-catching cars at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon was the “Beast,” a Lamborghini Diablo bodykit created by Japanese tuner Value Progress. The Diablo is hardly recognizable under this bright red kit and it is also shockingly 22.4 inches longer than the stock Diablo. According to a Value Progress representative, this bodykit was four years in the making.