I’ll admit the Phiaro name meant nothing to me until Greg Park’s widebody Bugatti EB110 showed up at SEMA 2026 with Phiaro’s fabrication behind it and made our favorites list. Looking into who built it turned up a company that has been doing this kind of work, mostly behind the scenes, for a very long time.
Phiaro started in Tokyo in 1939 as a wooden pattern-making business, established its U.S. operation in Torrance in 1988, and moved to Irvine in 2001. Today, the company develops concept cars and prototypes for automakers, with projects including the Infiniti Prototype 10 and Acura Precision Concept. In other words, fabricating a widebody for a 1990s supercar is not exactly outside its wheelhouse.
Phiaro hosts Perfect Sunday at its Irvine facility on Research Drive, and Volume 3 ran Sunday morning, November 8, 2026, from 9 AM to 11:30 AM. The event started in 2025 as Perfect Sunday: Designers’ Cars & Coffee, bringing together automotive and motorcycle designers, industry people, and enthusiasts. It has since grown into a mix of concept cars, art, fashion, and whatever interesting cars attendees bring with them, with Sidecar Doughnuts and coffee thrown in.
This was my first Perfect Sunday, so I can’t compare it with the first two, but the mix in the lot made the case for the format on its own.
On the manufacturer side, the Acura NEXERA Vision Concept was parked alongside the Nissan Z Kaze Concept. Acura’s butterfly-door coupe made its global debut at The Quail during Monterey Car Week in August, while the T-top Z debuted at ZCON in September before making its way to SEMA. Phiaro supported the exterior and interior development of the Z Kaze, including its distinctive T-top roof.
Near them was a run of rare Skylines, including a NISMO Omori Factory R34 GT-R CRS and a 1996 NISMO 400R, along with a few RWB Porsches and more exotics than a cars and coffee in an Irvine office park has any business drawing.
The rest of the lot was where I spent most of my time: VSpec Detailing Co.’s Hakosuka, @photo_md’s GC8 Impreza, and @iwillflytomorrow’s bosozoku-style Camry, among many others.
Volume 3 wrapped by late morning, which left enough time to make the drive south for AF Festival that afternoon. Unfortunately, that meant missing out on Super Street Cars & Coffee at ADRO. Perfect Sunday is a very different kind of event, smaller, quieter, and centered more around design than parts. After one visit, it’s on the calendar for whenever Volume 4 comes around.
GalleryPhotos by Jason Siu
