Tag Archives: ae86

Bridgestone Super R.A.P., an aluminum wheel that looks like a steelie, revived

Bridgestone is reviving its Super R.A.P. wheel, once famous for being incredibly light weight. A mainstay of the Showa Era, it was originally released in 1987. Though it looks like a simple steelie coated in white, the Super R.A.P. was … Continue reading

Posted in wheels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Toyota AE86 Hydrogen and Electric Concepts: build video and driving impressions

Toyota’s twin AE86 concepts, one powered by hydrogen fuel and one powered by electrons, were unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon earlier this year. Toyota has released some additional materials about the cars, including the images you see here, as … Continue reading

Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon, Video | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

This Toyota AE86 gets 40 mpg with its original gasoline engine

There has been a lot of buzz about the pair of alternative energy AE86s that Toyota unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon. However, even before Akio Toyoda‘s big reveal there’s been other efforts at making an environmentally friendly AE86. Specifically, … Continue reading

Posted in tuning shop | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Akio Toyoda steps down as president and CEO: His legacy at Toyota and his successor

It is often said that Akio Toyoda likes surprises. The Toyota president and CEO is fond of racing, and is one of the few corporate leaders who will eagerly don a helmet and climb behind the wheel of his company’s … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Toyota AE86 Hydrogen and EV conversions will let enthusiasts enjoy older cars for decades to come, says CEO

The rumors we reported on were true. At the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon Toyota did indeed unveil two AE86s converted to run on alternative energy. A flip-up headlight Sprinter Trueno was converted to hydrogen power, and a fixed-headlight Corolla Levin … Continue reading

Posted in News, tokyo auto salon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Toyota Land Cruiser 70 and 80 added to Heritage Parts program, taking requests for FJ60

From the Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota has announced that the Land Cruiser J70 and J80 have been added to their Heritage Parts Program. Additionally, Toyota is taking requests for the FJ60 and has added a slew of new items to … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Toyota may reveal electric or hydrogen-powered AE86

As the industry shifts to alternative fuels and some cities consider the ban of gasoline cars altogether, how will enthusiasts enjoy their classic cars? Some automakers, like Mini and Aston Martin, are working on electric motor conversion kits for their … Continue reading

Posted in News, Tokyo Auto Salon | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Art exhibition celebrating Initial D creator Shuichi Shigeno opens in Japan

An art exhibition in Japan has opened to honor 40 years of art by Shuichi Shigeno, the author of Initial D. Long before the tale of a tofu delivery boy street racing his beloved Toyota AE86 hit the newsstands, Shigeno’s … Continue reading

Posted in manga | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Initial D Toyota AE86 gets schooled by GR86 again, with a different master behind the wheel

In January a series of commercials for the 2022 Toyota GR86 reunited it with the famous Initial D AE86. In those commercials tofu delivery boy Takumi is defeated by none other than the Drift King himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya (or at … Continue reading

Posted in cm | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

An Initial D and MF Ghost Casio watch is here to keep time on your touge runs

Expensive motorsports-themed watches are nothing new, but typically they involve a Formula 1 team or some kind of luxury brand tie-in. Now there’s a watch — ahem, timepiece — for the lone wolf mountain racer in a humble Toyota. The … Continue reading

Posted in Watches | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Toyota GR Corolla joins the family — Rate This Ad

The Toyota GR Corolla is hitting the showrooms soon, so it’s time for some new ads. For Americans, the 300-horsepower AWD hot hatch is probably the most anticipated Toyota in decades, especially if you count only the cars fully developed … Continue reading

Posted in cm | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

In its 26th year, Toyotafest is still going strong — a brief history of TORC, the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club

We’ve been attending Toyotafest every year since JNC started in 2006, and it’s consistently one of our favorite events. Last year was the 25th Toyotafest, which means the show itself is now old enough to wear historic plates, buy collector … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Rate This Ad: Multi-generational Toyota family

Normally “national sales events” ads are pretty boring. You have the latest models zipping along a city street while APR financing options are recited at Micro Machine Man speed. For this summer’s Toyotathon, however, Toyota is pulling out the classics … Continue reading

Posted in cm | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Initial D taxis are here to take you around Takumi’s hometown

The city of Shibukawa, Gunma is promoting itself as the home town of Initial D protagonist Takumi Fujiwara. The real-life town is where all the action of the series began, and even now, 27 years after its debut, fans of … Continue reading

Posted in Nihon Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This huge Toyota AE86 model will cost $1,600 and take two years to complete

The Toyota AE86 is finally getting immortalized in a highly detailed 1:8-scale model kit. Specifically, it’s a weekly subscription kit by DeAgostini in which parts will be mailed to the subscriber every seven days for over two years. At the … Continue reading

Posted in minicars | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Alive Hoon, the first movie about pro drifting, has a trailer and behind-the-scenes video

It’s been over 20 years since the D1GP, the first professional drifting league, was born. So it’s a bit surprising that, in all this time, there hasn’t been a feature film about the sport (no, Tokyo Drift doesn’t count). But, … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

VIDEO: Drifting in America has come a long way since 1998

Drifting was still a little-known underground activity in the United States back in 1998. However, that didn’t stop some of Japan’s most famous drift racers and judges from visiting southern California to see what the nascent scene was all about. … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Toyota rolls out FJ40 Land Cruiser heritage parts, expands Supra, AE86, and 2000GT selection in major update

Toyota has just announced a significant expansion of new items for its Gazoo Racing Heritage Parts program. Most cover the FJ40 Land Cruiser and, surprisingly, the A70 Supra. However, the AE86, A80 Supra, and 2000GT also get some love. The … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Toyota AE86 meets 2022 GR86 in stunning Initial D-inspired commercials

We promise we are not turning into an Initial D blog, but this was too cool not to share. We’ve not been shy about crapping on Toyota’s terrible ads before. So consider us flabbergasted that the same company, just before … Continue reading

Posted in cm | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Japanese Classic Car Show 2021, Part 01

To close out 2021, a year where things were finally opening up again, we’re going back to the Japanese Classic Car Show. After a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic, JCCS was back in full form. Perhaps trying to … Continue reading

Posted in events, jccs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments