Black Label Invitational 2023

There are many options to choose from when modifying a car nowadays. You can go all out with the cosmetic enhancements or you can create a beast from a wide range of mechanical upgrades. However, some people go completely over the top with such modifications – to the point where it’s just garish and unsavoury. Luckily at Black Label, the cars that showed up were tastefully modified both inside and out. There was a healthy representation of JDM icons such as the RX-7, GT-R, Integra and Evo, along with a few German cars such as the 911 GT3 RS and BMW M3. They may not be as exotic as some of the other cars I’ve featured on this blog, but it was still a good show with plenty of fantastic additions. Here are the cars that caught my attention.

The first group of cars I came across consisted of some surprisingly nice BMW M3 E36’s – the best of which was this black one sitting on TE37’s. Now I’m not the biggest fan of the E36, but the way this car looks with it’s flared arches and perfect wheel fitment is fantastic. As a lot of these cars have been crashed and damaged by wannabe hoons, seeing a clean one that’s modified properly does satisfy me.

Now if you ever played Midnight Club 3, you’ll probably recognise this car as a Lexus GS300 – however this the Toyota badged variant called the Aristo. Now I don’t know what the differences are besides the badge, but that doesn’t matter because this car was very much a part of my childhood. It’s for this reason that I had to capture it, even if it sits a bit too low for my liking. Please don’t come after me with pitchforks though – I genuinely like this car.

I’d barely been in the place for 10 minutes when I spotted this 911 GT3 RS in a distinct blue with some nice silver wheels. It’s largely unmodified compared to some of the other cars on show, but what else is there to do on a bonafide sports car? This is proof that a nice set of wheels and a distinct colour can really improve the look of your car.

Now this NSX is something a little bit special. It’s the ultra rare R-GT version with a body kit designed to mimic the race car of the time, sans the massive rear wing. It has an airbox on the roof but it’s just for show and doesn’t actually serve a functional purpose. So despite it’s race car looks, the mechanical components are still the same as the “regular” NSX-R; Not that it reduces the cool factor or anything.

Here we have 2 generations of Integra parked next to each other with some quality modifications. The Integra on the left is a DC2 tuned by Mugen with a well-considered body kit, which I believe is genuine. Quite an unexpected surprise but I love it. Now the Integra on the right is a DC5 which also has a special body kit for some proper track-day vibes. The black colouration is contrasted by some gloss white wheels. The kit is aggressive but it doesn’t spoil the lines of the car.

How about this 180SX with a Rocket Bunny kit and a stonking big turbo strapped to an RB26? Putting all that power to the ground in such a small chassis would surely be a tough challenge. This was definitely one of the more extreme modifications on display.

At first glance, I thought this was a regular Renault Clio RS, but when I took a closer look at it, I realised that it had been made to look like the Cup car. This is the kind of vehicle that grabs my attention because it’s soo uncommon at the best of times. It’s not often that you see a modified Renault Clio.

When I approached this Toyota Majesta from behind, I was completely floored by the massive rear diffuser and had to take a photo. Sedans like these aren’t often equipped with such dramatic rear bumper modification, but I’m all for it. When I got round to the front, I saw 2 turbochargers sitting inside the front bumper and knew that this was a serious piece of kit.

Not many people are attracted to the “Bug Eye” Impreza WRX STi, but I think it’s charming. This particular version that you see here has been lightly modified with a different front bumper and sideskirts. I think the car is widened slightly but it’s kinda hard to tell. Any way you cut it though, the car is in the right colour, with the right stance and the right wheels.

This Evo hasn’t been modified much either but the striking orange colour really stands out amongst the darker coloured cars. I do like the way the body kit accentuates the style of the car, as opposed to ruining and screwing it up. This is the kind of thing that I like.