Tag Archives: toyopet

How Toyota recreated its long-lost first race car from scratch after 70 years

At long last Toyota has revealed the full story of how they recreated their first race car, the 1951 Toyopet Racer. News of the car’s existence was only made public last year, and after 71 years lost to history no … Continue reading

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This 1960 Toyopet Crown Custom Sports is the only known survivor from Japan’s first coachbuilder

The Toyota Automobile Museum has shared some images of one of the rarest and most seldom seen cars from its collection, the 1960 Toyopet Crown Custom Sports. The hand-built car was the first attempt at a coach-built car from Japan. … Continue reading

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Toyota’s first race car, the Toyopet Racer, was nearly lost to history

For decades in the western world, the origins of Toyota’s motorsports history lay at the foot of the 1957 Toyopet Crown, which competed in that year’s 10,563-mile running of the Mobilgas Around-Australia rally. Many of Toyota’s own materials have reinforced … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Akita Prefecture, circa 1965

Akita Prefecture, where Japan’s bear-hunting dogs get their namesake, once boasted the northernmost tram on Honshu, Japan’s main island. In this cool shot, all the greats of the early Sixties are seen. A Toyopet Crown waits for pedestrians in the … Continue reading

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Tokyo Auto Salon: A rallying cry for WRC’s return to Japan

At the Tokyo Auto Salon this year the carmakers of Japan joined forces for a display of their iconic rally cars. Toyota, Nissan, Subaru and Mitsubishi each brought turbocharged monsters to the halls of Makuhari Messe. For rally fans, it … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? The oldest known Japanese car officially imported to America needs a new home – UPDATE

About ten and a half years ago, we told you about the oldest known Japanese car officially imported to the US. That car was a 1958 Toyopet Crown, which was then auctioned on eBay and purchased in part by the … Continue reading

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NEWS: Kiichiro Toyoda inducted into Automotive Hall of Fame

Toyota Motor Corporation founder Kiichiro Toyoda has been inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. When he was born in 1894, his father Sakichi was already on his way to becoming one of Japan’s most famous inventors, by devising an … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Old Car Heaven, Part 01

Recently I was invited to accompany the Prince Driver’s Club to Kyuusha Tengoku, or Old Car Heaven, on the outskirts of downtown Tokyo. With many cars expected, we were asked to assemble on site at 06:00 in the morning. The early … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? 425,708-mile 1962 Toyopet Crown Wagon

The S30 Toyota Crown Station Wagon is so rare, Toyota USA doesn’t even have one in their museum. They have two Toyopet Crown sedans, which are already exceedingly rare in the States. Wagons? They make 2000GTs seem as common as Camrys. … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 1st Touge California, 2015

This past Saturday a group of select cars and their drivers gathered in Thousand Oaks, California for the inaugural running of JNC‘s Touge California. Named for the hallowed Japanese roads where racing heroes honed their skills and where drifting was born, the event was … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2015 All-Toyotafest, Part 02

Registration for over 400 Toyotafest spaces sold out in under 24 hours this year, a new record. Perhaps it was the fact that it was the show’s 20th anniversary, or that in Japan it was already May 3, Akio Toyoda‘s birthday, or … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 20th All-Toyotafest, Part 01

Twenty years. That’s how long the annual Toyotafest has been taking place, making it one of the longest running import-only car shows in SoCal. It’s easy to see why. Toyota is the world’s largest automaker and has accrued many loyal fans along … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2015 New Year Meeting, Part 06 — Trucks, Vans and Wagons

There’s nothing like a good, honest work truck. In fact, many of the earliest forms of four-wheeled transport in Japan were commercial vehicles, but precious few, like this row of forlorn-looking Mazda Porter Cabs, have survived till retirement without major wear … Continue reading

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JNC RADIO: Sing along to the The Auto Show Song

Originally released in 1964, “The Auto Show Song” was composed by famed Japanese songwriter Tetsuro Hoshino and performed by action movie star/singer Akira Kobayashi (there are a lot of crossover entertainers in Japan). It was an old standard of the Showa Era, and sounded … Continue reading

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LOST CARS: 1962 Toyopet Stout world honeymoon truck

Ivan Shkirev knew that the 1962 Toyopet Stout he had purchased was unique, but not how unique. Upon receiving delivery to his home in New Mexico, Shkirev found the faded declaration “Tokyo, Japan to Chicago, Illinois” painted across the Stout’s tailgate, along with the names of … Continue reading

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FAUX-STALGICS: 2000 Toyota Origin

On the heels of another Toyotafest, let us return to the series where we check out some examples of modern retro-inspired cars along with the JNCs they mimic. In this post, we turn to a quintessential classic Toyota, the Crown, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 Nostalgic2Days, Part 02

Welcome to Part 02 of our Nostalgic2Days coverage, as we make our way across the Pacifico Convention Center on Yokohama’s historic waterfront. In this installment we’ll see the displays kyuusha tuning houses, some of the famous cars that have graced Nostalgic … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival & Parade, Part 02

When Toyota holds a car show in the middle of Tokyo’s equivalent of Central Park, people notice. In Part 01 of our Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival coverage we had the rare opportunity to see the best of Japan’s historic … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Tokyo and Nagoya Street Scenes

We saw plenty of nostalgics on our recent trip to Japan, and we’ll have more coverage of those as soon as we go through the photos. In the meantime, please enjoy these omiyage, or souvenirs. You’ll be glad to know that … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2013 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 06 —Gladiators and Flagships

For the final installment of our 2013 JCCS tour, we present a rarefied selection of automobiles. Some have been sent into battle for their respective marques. Others were made to be proud standard bearers.

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