2013 is a momentous year for the compact, lively and influential car we know as the hachiroku. With Initial D perhaps getting its final curtain, along with the fact that the first AE86 rolled off the production line in Aichi exactly three decades ago, we at JNC would like to wish you a happy 86 Day!
In celebration of this August 6th, let’s rewind the clock back 30 years. Below is a Toyota exhibition video that features a duo of early GT-APEX Levins flown in from Japan (notice they are not Corolla GTs) and driven to their limits by rally drivers Per Eklund and Klaus Fritzinger.
The pair terrorize the Nürburgring Nordschleife with plentiful sideways action before advancing to Spa Francorchamps and Zandvoort!
Interestingly, Toyota made a similar video for the Sprinter Trueno. Here’s that version of the action, complete with the period “Sexy Sprinter” tune at 6:58! The song is super catchy. Hum it all day!
Happy 86 day everybody !!
Oh, to have that bone stock Levin today!
They might be out there. These things sold like hotcakes in Japan, and people there have the resources to restore one to stock. I’m more worried about the US market GT-S with its unique bumpers and color schemes.
Here we go! A 1-owner, 100% stock (with exception of the radio) Levin Hatch. Can be yours for just 14 grand!
http://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/goo/14/700115724320130709007.html
Or for 13 grand a 100% stock Levin coupe!
http://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/goo/13/700050040120130606029.html
Of course, if it were me, I’d go for this slightly tired AE85 Levin and drop in a 20 valve.
http://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/goo/13/700056104120130523003.html
Awsome video..
Happy 86 day!
Amazing car. A beautiful soul enclosed in such an ordinary package (at first glance!).
One correction: they’re on the Nurburgring Nordschleife which opened in the ’20s, and not the “then-new” F1 track of 1984.
Thanks, noted!
my favorite holiday! 8/6!
Sexy Sprinter = my new ring tone.
For anyone that wants those gloves, the military currently issues them as “flyer gloves”. You could probably pick some up at your local surplus store.