Tag Archives: ae86

KIDNEY, ANYONE? 15k-mile Unmolested AE86 Toyota Corolla Levin GT Apex Coupe

A one-owner, unmolested 1984 Toyota Corolla Levin GT Apex Coupe has turned up for sale in Essex, UK. Hunted nearly to extinction due to the popularity of the chassis in drifting, this surviving example only has 15,000 miles. It also … Continue reading

Posted in for sale | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

TUNE UP: J Cole’s “Fire Squad” video features the sweet sound of AE86s revving and drifting

Rapper J Cole’s triple-platinum album 2014 Forest Hills Drive came out six years ago, but a previously unseen music video for the track “Fire Squad” was just released. It prominently features a pair of drifting Toyota AE86 coupes sending up … Continue reading

Posted in Tune Up | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The legendary Toyota plant that built the AE86, Mark II, and Century is now closed

On December 7 Toyota held a closing ceremony for its Higashi Fuji plant. Today, all production lines will be shut down and the factory closed for good. The 53-year-old facility has produced some of Toyota’s most iconic models, including the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

PIXELATED: Art of Rally looks like a ripping good time

A new driving game, Art of Rally, has been at the top of the upcoming games chart on Steam for a while now and it looks like loads of fun. Described as a stylized game that lets you progress through … Continue reading

Posted in Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Happy 86 Day from JNC

Since the announcement of the Toyota 86’s production end will likely come any day now, let’s celebrate this year’s 86 Day with a flashback to 2010. Remember those heady days, when Toyota showed off the FT-86 Concept along with an … Continue reading

Posted in Holidays | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Official Initial D 25th anniversary store opens in Japan

On July 23, a pop-up store celebrating the 25th anniversary of Initial D opened in Tokyo. It will be open for just over two weeks in the capital city before moving onto Osaka. The shop features a small gallery of … Continue reading

Posted in Nihon Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

VIDEO: Keiichi Tsuchiya drifts a collector’s stock $37,000 AE86

The AE86 is a hot commodity now, with very nice examples selling in the mid-$20,000 range in the US. In Japan, however, cherry low-mileage examples have been commanding top prices for years. In 2017, Hot Version gathered a dream gathering … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

ART CORNER: Look at these amazing cars made out of cardboard

Are you having trouble figuring out what to do with all your used Amazon boxes? Perhaps these incredible cardboard cars can spark an idea or two. YouTuber Papa Ken has several videos showing off his amazing skills in building corrugated … Continue reading

Posted in Art Corner | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

MOTORSPORT: How Ikaten bridged illegal and professional drifting, with silver cephalopods

Drifting went pro in 2000 when the D1 Grand Prix series was founded. But long before D1GP, there was the Ikasu Hashiriya Team Tengoku (roughly translated to Ikasu Racer Team Heaven), an amateur drift series that bridged the era between … Continue reading

Posted in motorsport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

VIDEO: This is why there’s a drift tax

RIP to the fallen. If the video doesn’t work, click here.

Posted in motorsports | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Behold, Japan’s suddenly famous Drift Dog

Earlier this month, a video of a Japanese dog went viral when the owner filmed it running down the side of an irrigation canal. Its cuteness, plus the fact that it had kind of an angled gait, quickly garnered it … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

MINICARS: Lego should license this unlicensed Initial D AE86

In the old days unlicensed toys used to be somewhat janky, but in recent years in China, where manufacturing prowess and the wild west of intelletctual property law intersect, a lot of it has gotten quite good. Case in point: … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

VIDEO: In post-Maria Puerto Rico, cars still shine

Even though it’s about the size of Connecticut, and despite a devastating hurricane just two years ago, Puerto Rico has a thriving car scene. It’s downright amazing what enthusiasts on the small island territory are able to accomplish, considering the … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Toyota revives the Black Limited 86

At the Tokyo Auto Salon in January, Toyota unveiled a close-to-production concept of a special edition 86 called the Black Limited. A throwback to one of the most desirable AE86 special editions of all time, it seemed to signal an … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Toyota brought out stock and rally Celica GT-Fours to the GR Yaris debut

The Toyota GR Yaris seems like it will be an insanely awesome hot hatch, even if its connection to the Celica GT-Four is dubious. We said it smelled like a retcon, but we have to admit, when Toyota put all … Continue reading

Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Toyota 86 Black Limited Concept could mark the model’s final edition

At the Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota had a pretty killer display that included a trio of Hachiroku. The purpose of the display was to show off a new prototype version of the Toyobaru 86 called the Black Limited Concept. For … Continue reading

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

Japanese Classic Car Show 2019: Upping the Game and Best in Show

We are 60 percent of the way to the point where the JCCS itself, if it were a car, would be eligible for classic status. In its 15 years in existence, the Japanese Classic Car Show has grown from a … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

SEMA 2019, Part 02 – The coolest cars at the Toyo Treadpass

Toyo Tires consistently has one of the best displays at SEMA. It offers the most diverse lineup of cars of any company, from classics to supercars to scratch-your-head stuff like a slammed Mercedes G-Wagen. It also offers a convenient pass-through … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

SEMA 2019, Part 01 — Japanese Hot Rods

When there are 2,400 companies and 2.2 million square feet of exhibits, limits are constantly pushed in order to garner attention. It can result in show cars that are insanely expensive but absent of taste. Still, there can be gems … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 06 — Awesome 80s

The 80s were a pivotal time in Japan’s automotive history, and the JCCS did not disappoint with a of turbocharged, retractable-headlight, angular-bodied machines.

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments