STYLE IS EVERYTHING // TOSHIKI OMURA’S W211 MERCEDES BENZ

In today’s culture, style is everything. It influences the way we dress, the things we buy, the places we live, the music we listen to, and even the food we eat. Everything has a style and everyone is influenced in one way or another. There are those that innovate and those that set the trends. On the flip-side, there are those that will blindly follow whatever the trendsetters deem cool without any reason or understanding. People want to be stylish, whether it’s by doing their own thing, or following the herd and the masses, style is a huge influence for modern society.

It should come as no surprise then that when it comes to car customization, style is indeed everything. If your car doesn’t look good, well… But, is there a clear definition of what looks good and what doesn’t? The simple answer is yes AND no. Yeah, not really a good answer, but it’s the simple one. To elaborate, there are indeed trends, and they come and go. What’s deemed cool today will most likely not be cool 5-years from now, and that’s what determines what is in style and what isn’t. Styles though, can exist even if it’s not trendy, and some styles, as they say, never go out of style.

What’s on the up-and-up right now is modifying big-body sedans, which is something this writer has been a fan of for a long time. I’ve always liked sedans, no matter the generation, and own my fair share of 4-door, custom cars. To me, a big sedan laid out with some big wheels will never go out of style, and it is quite the sight to see today how people are going about styling these cars. Of course, there is one style that has come under some heat from the purists that has raised some controversy. Where would we be without a little controversy?

A fellow publication posed the question; is race car a style, and this is what divided the internet. Well, we’re here again with another car that is sure to have people splitting hairs on the same question, and I’m sure it’ll be interesting to see the different opinions on this one. Toshiki Omura hails from Osaka, Japan, and his W211 E-class Benz is no stranger to the internet. The obviously GT-Styled Benz has been shared here before, but we finally caught up with Omura-san to get a little more personal with one of our favorites.

When it comes to styling sedans, it’s hard to top Japan, and Omura-san’s 4-door Mercedes is another reason why I keep saying that. It’s also a perfect example of that race-car style that has had some people up in arms. For the purists, a car can’t look like a race-car without being used to race. Thing is, some race-cars actually look pretty damn good. It really shouldn’t come as such a shock that some people want to incorporate some of those looks into their street or show cars. However, we then get into acronyms such as; Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancements, aka RICE. Well, serve me up a big-ass, warm bowl of it, because if they want to call this rice, I’m all about it then!

Omura-san’s Benz looks amazing, and when it comes down to it, style is all about what looks good. It’s hard not to look at this Mercedes, and it’s refreshing to see some Japanese influence on the German sedan. I’ve been growing a bit tired of that traditional, OEM-plus look that is usually associated with euro cars. Don’t be afraid to go against the grain from time to time!

Of course, Omura-san being in Japan with a German car, there were some challenges he had to overcome in order to turn out this race-inspired example. The first big one was the aero, there was none available that suited Omura-san’s fancy. So what did he do? He used a mash-up of Ridox and K-Break aero for the JZS160 Aristo like you do!

The front bumper is a Ridox item for the JZS160 Aristo that was mashed-up with the the OE Mercedes bumper, and looks right at home on the car. Custom front canards and a diffuser add to the race-car appeal. The side-skirts are K-Break items, again for an Aristo, that were custom fitted to the Benz, and finished to look like they were made for the car.

With the aero sorted, it was time for Omura-san to address his second, big challenge with the car; widening the hips. Wide will never go out of style, especially when it comes to sedans. So, what was the big challenge that our friend had to face? Well, the front fenders on his Mercedes are aluminum, and you can’t really weld steel to aluminum, so Omura-san had to find a way to create his over-fenders without welding it and keeping the strength high. A tall order, and one that our friend isn’t quite giving up how he accomplished it! What I can report is that the front has been widened 7cm, and the rear 10cm with a 3cm radius all the way around. It’s certainly one of the defining points of this Benz.