In one cloudy day, Hiromu Naruse, the Master Test Driver of Toyota, visited the interactive event held for Altezza owners at Fuji Speedway. As soon as he arrived at the paddock, Naruse met the eyes of about 200 mirror-shiny, radiant Altezzas. For Naruse, who was the development driver of Altezza, it were as if a reunion with his own children after he went through growing pain at the time of its development. This is the report of Naruse’s reunion with Altezza and the stories behind its development.
The Owners Club usually means the gatherings of enthusiasts who own the same car or the same brand car. There is a variety of such gatherings in the world. Some share the photographs and customization histories on the Owners Club website, some post the updates on the blog or BBS, and others feel the sense of unity by putting the original sticker. Although there are various ways to enjoy such event, it seems to be the best interest of all participants to show their own car and communicate with other owners about their cars. Since the event was held in the circuit that was a holy ground for all car fans this time, their joy would be easily imagined. The GAZOO Racing, which challenged the full coverage of Altezza’s performance in “the 24 Hours Nürburgring” - the traditional endurance race in Germany - in 2007, visited the event of Altezza owners for the first time, along with Naruse, the Mater Test Driver who had been in charge of development test of Altezza back then.
This year’s “Day of Altezza” hosted by A.O.C. (Altezza Owners Club) was the second event as it was started in the last year, where around 200 Altezzas participated mainly from Kanto, Chubu and Kansai regions and filled the paddock of Fuji Speedway early in the morning. The event was featured with the circuit driving using the participants’ own car, the demonstration driving by a professional racer, the dress-up contest, and communication among the owners, and it lasted until 5:00 PM of its closing time. It was the event creating a great atmosphere where “joy of owning”, “joy of driving” and “joy of communication” were nicely blended.
Hiromu Naruse, the head of all 300 Toyota test drivers, had been involved in the development of the famous sports cars such as Toyota 2000GT, AE86 and Supura. He was saying that he had a special feeling especially for Altezza. For Naruse, his visit to the event was like a reunion with his own children with whom he went through a lot together. After his arrival, looking at the Altezzas lined up in the paddock with deep emotion, he shyly gave the opening speech for the event; “I am surprised and feel very happy at the same time as the development driver of Altezza, to see so many people still drive and take a good care of Altezza. Thank you very much.” When Naruse saw the well-polished Altezzas and the smiling faces of their owners, he started talking about the episode of the development period.
