Spocom Anaheim 2014

July 26, 2014
Story By
Justin Pagtalunan

We all remember shouting "We've got team spirit, yes we do! We've got team spirit, how about you!?" at little league games - but it rang in my head walking around Spocom this year. Spocom has always prided themselves on the motto "Auto+Life" by bringing together lifestyle elements to each of their car shows. And what better way to display that than rolling in together with fellow car enthusiasts whom you can call your brothers and sisters? The strength of car teams/clubs was arguably stronger than ever at this years Spocom Supershow in Anaheim, CA.

And no one could out-muscle Team Hybrid, who was flexing with a roster of 55 cars! The majority consisted of pure Team Hybrid members, the only two guest cars were the 2 of the 3 famous Liberty Walk builds, the GTR and M3 Rocket Bunny.

This red Liberty Walk BMW from Las Vegas is an actual team member, representing with his 52 other brothers and sisters of the automotive world.

The team was so large that in order to accommodate them, half of the team was allowed to roll in a day early. A treat usually reserved only to vendors.

Another team who literally rolled out the red carpet was team R-Rydes. It was hard to keep track, but I think they took home at least 14 individual awards on the night.

Along with their crew was celebrity guest, Noel Barnum and his FR-S.

Here's Craig's super-duper clean Supra, who we first got to see back at Toyotafest, representing with Team Ar-kan.

And joining them to the party was Neil (Team Klassified) and his freshly wrapped Evo on Nitto tires.

Hard not to notice this nice FR-S holding it down for Team Revo. There were a lot of other teams and clubs being well represented, it was great to see the unity and quality each one brought to the show.

This is probably one for the most beastly Bimmers I spotted at Spocom.

All of the aerodynamic pieces to go along with a monster engine; when luxury meets performance.

I almost bugged out when I eyed this Subbie. The wood texture design on the hood is a nice touch of class for this little rally-style car.

To be honest, the surf board is what pulled me towards this Bimmer. And then as I was framing up my shot is, I noticed that vintage tricycle! I love it when owners take that extra step to display their cars in such a way. I would definitely drive this wagon proudly to the beach anytime.

Sure there's an unwritten "do not touch" law in the car show community that could be punishable by death (well maybe not, just a deathly glare I guess). But this opportunity was too cute not to pass up. I stopped by the Eibach booth to look for Mr. JDMWong, but couldn't find him. Not surprisingly he was hanging out with one of Spocom's most popular features...

The Models Lounge. #JDMWongInvades in front of the beautiful Jenn Q, but fellow freelance photographer Joey Lee is not impressed. Ok back to the cars! I'll finish off with some of my personal favorites, oddly enough they are all classics. I guess it's just the rarity of them as well as the amazement of them looking brand new despite being decades old.

These are a couple BMW 2002's. Don't let the "2002" fool you, it is just their model name. BMW uses a numerical naming convention for their cars and the reason why these New Lines end with a”02" is because they are part of the "02 series" named after being a 2-door sedan; is that too much information for you? The 1974 (tan) and the 1975 (blue) classics were rebuilt from bare frame to fortune by 2002 Garage Werks who specialize in rebuilding and repairing these little beauties.

Roy's 1972 Skyline 2000GT HT is pure perfection. This model more popular known as the "Hakosuka" is one of the most iconic vehicles in Japan and was never offered outside of their market. This is truly Japan's car.

This dream come reality was so elusive for Roy, that he was actually in Japan searching all over for this specific gem. Luckily, he has recently started documenting his whole experience here. If you thought that last car was rare...

Volkswagen Bus/Van/Kombi/Microbus or whatever you're familiar with comes in many variations, usually distinguished by how many windows it has -the basic trims come with either an 11, 13, or 15-window design, with the 21-window option being much higher.

But this super clean 1961 23-window VW is the rarest of the rare! The owner unfortunately had prior arrangements and couldn't be at the show, but his son Junior was there to roll it in, he said driving it was the most nerve-racking part! When you've spent 3 years meticulously restoring something, you want to keep it in pristine condition! I think Junior and dad will find their hard work pays off well...as at Spocom this car won at least 3 different 1st place awards. And that's how the show goes! Before checking out, why don't you also check out this video too!

Spocom Anaheim 2014

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