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Japanese automotive magazine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Option (オプション, Opushon in katakana and subtitled Exciting Car Magazine) is an automotive magazine founded by Daijiro Inada in 1981, to meet the demand for enthusiasts of modified Japanese cars in Japan.
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (January 2019) |
A typical Option cover | |
| Categories | Automobile |
|---|---|
| Frequency | monthly |
| Publisher | San-Ei Shobo Publishing |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Country | Japan |
| Based in | Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo |
| Language | Japanese |
| Website | Official Site |
The magazine is published by the Japanese media giant San-Ei Shobo Publishing, the parent company of Sunpros, a company owned by Inada, who is behind both the D1 Grand Prix series and Tokyo Auto Salon.
During the earlier days, the magazines used to cover illegal street races held in expressways before it became illegal to do so. Also, it covers the exploits of Inada attempts at driving speed records, whether it was at Bonneville, at the German Autobahn or at the Silver State Classic, even by members of the magazine editorial team. Nowadays the series features Wangan competitions on closed roads and where it is legalised to do so.
Beside speed tests and modified car features, other regular features includes, a rate-my-car feature where readers send a photo of their car to be judged by Manabu Suzuki, with a comedic result; a monthly features, where Keiichi Tsuchiya solves readers' problems that concern with drifting, a monthly column called Sugoiyo Osaru-san (すごいよ！ オサルさん) by Ken Nomura. Also it has a D1GP mini-magazine. Other contributors includes Eiji Yamada and Manabu Orido. The magazine also covered the buildup to his Silver State exploits that he has become known for. Other magazines in the Option line are Option 2, a similar magazine but less emphasises on feature cars but more on technical bits and DIY modifications; Option Wagon for modified MPV, Drift Tengoku, a magazine and video series dedicated to drifting and Video Option. The Option magazine is known to be very popular amongst JDM enthusiasts and people who work in the Import industry who use it to gain knowledge on new parts.
Option also sponsors the HKS Premium Day's Option Fuji Super Lap, a major time attack competition for tuned cars held at Fuji Speedway.
Both the magazine's project cars have made appearances in video games, its earlier project car, Option Speed Wagon have appeared in the 1998 Konami arcade game Racing Jam as a hidden car and the infamous Option Stream Z have appeared in both installments of the D1 Grand Prix game by Yuke's and the ver.2 in Gran Turismo 4 all as bonus cars.
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