Spoon Sports
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| Spoon Sports Co., Ltd. | |
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| Type | Public |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| Key people | Ichishima Tatsuru |
| Industry | Automobile tuning & parts manufacturer |
| Products | Automobile racing products |
| Website | www.spoon.jp |
Spoon Sports Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company formed in 1988. Spoon Sports is an engine tuner and parts manufacturer specializing in cars made by Honda Motor Company. Their concept is to create vehicles that provide "Total technology" and "Real comfort". The company logo of Spoon Sports is a play of words on Ichishima's name. Ichishima's first name is Tatsuru, and the Japanese name for crane is Tsuru, hence the logo of a crane. "The company name Spoon comes from an impregnable fortress of a corner at Suzuka circuit 20 years ago." (from the Spoon Sports catalog)
The company tunes and races Honda vehicles in numerous endurance races, and, additionally sells aftermarket parts to automotive enthusiasts. Spoon Sports provides many aftermarket parts for Honda cars. These include powertrain, suspension, aero-parts, wheels, drivetrain, braking system, cooling system and so on. Notable items that have gained immense popularity would be Spoon caliper kit, Spoon Carbon fiber items (such as hoods, tail-gate spoilers, lips and door mirrors), Spoon SW388 wheels, Spoon N1 Exhaust systems amongst others.
Some of the races Spoon has competed in include:
- Tsukuba 9 Hours Endurance Race
- 24 Hours Nürburgring
- 25 Hours of Thunderhill
- USTCC (United States Touring Car Championship)
[edit] Corporate history
The founder, Ichishima Tatsuru was originally a racer. So just like Honda themselves, racing has always been in Spoon Sport's blood. The first car that Ichishima-san raced was a Honda Civic.
Spoon was founded to specialize in tuning Honda engines in Takaido, Suginami-ward Tokyo along the Kōshū Kaidō Avenue. In 1988, Spoon started house development of a racing computer for use on Honda vehicles. Spoon designs and builds both major and minor components for Honda engines for use on Spoon Sports racing vehicles as well as for sale to the general public.
In 1996, Spoon began selling Honda B engine assemblies which Spoon precision balances and blueprints to ensure optimum performance during endurance racing. Since then, Spoon Sports have moved on to tune other Honda engines like the venerable K20A from the Civic/Integra and the L15A from the Honda fit/Jazz.
In 1997, Spoon moved to a brand new building in Ogikubo, Suginami ward. They also began providing "Engine Lectures" as a part of their customer service program.
In 2001, Spoon opened "Speed Shop Type-One" across the street from the Spoon headquarters. This shop specializes in modifications to Honda's "Type-R" vehicles and other performance oriented Honda's which include the Civic Type-R, Integra Type-R, Accord Euro-R and NSX-R. However, Spoon has also modified non-R vehicles like the Civic SiR, Honda S2000, Honda Legend and the Honda Fit/Jazz.
Type-One is Ichishima's vision of how a Spoon Sports dealer should be. And that vision is the offer of a "complete tuned car, not just individual parts thrown in without consideration of whether they will work in harmony or simply interfere with each other." Also, Ichishima wants to make it known this shop was not created to sell parts, but to provide customers with Type-One's installation skills and know-how of Spoon products.
[edit] External links
- Spoon Sports Official Site
- Spoon Sports Official Distributor of UK Site
- Spoon Sports Official Distributor of Canadian
- Spoon Sports Official Distributor of U.S.A.
- Spoon Sports Official Distributor of Hong Kong ・China・Macau
- TYPE ONE Official Site
- Temple of VTEC ASIA visits Spoon Sports
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