Kawasaki cafe racer by AC Sanctuary

The economics of the custom business in Japan are very different to what we usually see in the west. Most of the top builders have a loose formula that they’ve constantly refined over the years, using a small number of high-quality parts suppliers. It means they’re not reinventing the wheel with every build; they know what works and what doesn’t. AC Sanctuary is one of the best-known examples of this approach. The company has built dozens of Kawasaki café racers—“resto-mods,” if you like—and now has several stores scattered around the country. It’s verging on small-scale production, like a boutique supercar...