It’s not Friday yet but in honor of known motorfan Akio Toyoda’s ascension to the top spot at Toyota, here’s a two-part video about the company’s motorsports history. Based on the intro with WRC ST185 and Ironman Stewart pickups, it looks like this video was made in the early 90s. But soon it delves into a brief history of the automobile itself, starting with the Benz trike and the 1907 Takuri.

From there goes on to talk about motorsports with early footage from Indianapolis, Daytona Beach and a 1936 Japanese auto race that even gives a shout out to then-18-year-old Soichiro Honda and his first race car.

From there, we get to see the Toyota AA racing a steam engine, a 1956 Toyopet Crown on a London-to-Tokyo 50,000km drive, and some fantastic footage of a 1957 Crown on the Mobilgas Rally around the Australian continent.

Part 2 after the jump. (more…)

This backyard stash of J-tin was just sitting about on a quiet suburban side street. The owner of this trove may not want to be revealed so I won’t mention any names, but he did say that the majority of these cars will, one day, be restored. A few are too far gone, like the black S30 Crown and the blue Sports 800, but the rest should keep him busy for a while. Amazingly, he said that the neighbors don’t complain at all. Instead, they think it’s cool to see the old cars. Nobody tell them about HOAs.

More pics after the jump. (more…)

Last month, Toyota launched the iQ city car, to much fanfare amongst the green-machine crowd. Within days, speculation began on a sporty two-seater roadster based on the same small platform. Naturally, the first thing we noticed was its resemblance to the 1965 Toyota Sports 800, itself based on a lesser commuter car, the Publica. If built, the yet-unnamed iQ-based convertible could be powered by a 1.0 or 1.3-liter gasoline or diesel engine. Sadly, unlike its predecessors, both this roadster and the iQ are front wheel drive. Expect to see a prototype at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show.

[Auto Motor und Sport via TheMotorReport]

There’s some sad news from Japan today, as we bring you news of the passing of Tatsuo Hasegawa. Hasegawa was first an aeronautical engineer, developing aircraft for the Tachikawa Aircraft Corporation. The prototype plane he worked on was scheduled to take flight on August 15 1945, precisely the day WWII ended, and thus never saw the skies. Hasegawa then took his expertise in aerodynamics to Toyota, where he headed teams responsible for many of the company’s iconic post-war automobiles, including the Publica, Sports 800, Corolla, Celica and Carina. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on in the cars that we know and love. He is survived by his wife Miyoko, 86, and his son Akio. You can read more about Hasegawa-san’s life at Akio’s site.

Thanks to RStreet for the tip.

Although hybrids may still seem like new-fangled technology, they’ve been around the block. And we’re not just talking about how the Prius, which debuted in 1997, is already over a decade old. No, let’s go back 31 years to when roller discos and Star Wars were still cool and Toyota debuted its first hybrid.

Based on the Toyota Sports 800, the GT Hybrid concept did away with a conventional internal combustion engine and was powered by a gas turbine instead. But rather than scooting down the highway like a taxiing airliner, the GT Hybrid used the jet engine as part of a series hybrid configuration. That means the turbine powered an electric generator, which in turn charged the hybrid’s batteries and powered an electric motor that turned the driveshaft. When bursts of power were needed, the energy stored in the batteries provided an extra jolt. Unlike the far more common parallel hybrids of today, the turbine never drove the wheels at all. This pre-Prius was shown at the 1977 Tokyo Motor Show as a concept but never produced. Still, the knowledge gained proved invaluable when development of the Prius began in 1994.

Who knows what Toyotas lurk in the hearts of barns? The Toyotageek knows!

The world is big. Cars are small. You just never know what’s out there, waiting for a Nostalgia Jones to unearth it, and with a length of less than 12 feet and a width under 5, the Toyota Sports 800 occupies, well, a very small portion of the Earth’s 52 million square miles of land. And according to Toyotageek.com’s estimates, only about half of the 3,100 cars built remain, adding even more hay to the stack.

Based on the Toyota Publica platform, the Sports 800 matches an air-cooled 45hp two-cylinder to a helium-esque 1278 pounds, giving the two-seater a top speed of 90mph. Produced from 1965 to 1969, and initially called the Publica Sports, these tiny targa terrors were Toyota’s first sports car and were frequently raced in Japan.

Friends of Toyotageek discovered the proverbial barn find in California (where else?) a while back, but (spoiler alert) sadly, the contact was fleeting.

Source: [toyotageek]

One of the best things about car musuems in Japan, other than the fact that they’re museums, situated in Japan, and chock full of classic Japanese cars, is that they aren’t afraid to showcase vehicles made by their competitors.

Case in point: in 2003 the Honda Collection Hall had a special exhibit devoted to the early post-war vehicles that put the nation on wheels. Smack dab in the middle of the gallery were a pair of – gasp – Toyotas, a gray Publica followed by a silver Sports 800 to be precise. Other non-Honda (Nonda?) marques at the exhibit included Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki, and Yamaha. Respeck!