To complete the sneak preview a few weeks back, from William Bevington:
"The early vintage Fuji Newest, from 1972 until 1976, possesses such a stunning livery of silver, orange, and superb quality chrome. I was fortunate to have acquired one of the first "second generation" versions of this icon of early Fuji export exemplars. These came with the Gran Compe brakes, the special alloy freewheels, and the updated Suntour masterpiece, the V-Lux rear derailleur. In fact,mine was the very bicycle used for Fuji's Rolls Royce ad (which ran in multiple lifestyle magazines, but not, I believe, the bicycle press.
Sadly, I sold that fine machine during the dollar-desperate college years. At the Fuji Cycle Center in New Jersey we sometimes dreamed of the ideal bicycle, as did every mechanic and amateur racer; it was, of course the Newest with Suntour derailleurs, cogs, and the wonderful PDL-M shifter. However, the Fujita seatpost and even the Gran Compes, though nice, could not stand up to Campagnolo's seatpost and sundry other components. Suntour blew-away the Nuovo Record derailleurs, but there was a bit of catching up on the part of the other manufacturers. Eventually. This is a special version of the Fuji Newest that took 30 years to realize; Fuji did not use any Campagnolo until the Professional Super Record of the early 1980's. This is built to accentuate the masterful livery and spirit of the then top-of-the-line offering, I found a NOS grey suede Fujita Professional Seamless saddle on eBay; and the wonderful Fujita blue suede tape was sourced from the ever-selfless Fuji enthusiasts, friends, and aesthetically-minded co-cyclists. I know I should have ditched the derailleurs for the Suntours, but, its hard to break up a gruppo, no? The racket ball blue pushes the livery one step further; another touch is the Weinmann concave alloy rims from the early 70's and the deep blue Toshi straps for the toe-clips — oh, yes, the milled pearl stem, Fuji's special treatment for the Newest; it's fun to dodge the yellow taxi cabs with this one."
William has carried the flame a bit further on his Newest, he went with "real" film, the aptly named Fuji Pro 160, his trusty Leica mounted with either a 60mm macro or the the standard 90mm. Processed in E-6, than scanned to digital.
