Tag Archives: toyota
NEWS: Tokyo Motor Show may be a reunion of Japanese sports car icons
If the multitude of rumors are true, this fall’s Tokyo Motor Show could be one for the history books. Nissan, Toyota, and Honda are all said to be reviving sports car icons. A modern Z, Supra and S2000 could be in the … Continue reading
Happy Year of the Rooster from JNC
Okay, so the logo of the Toyota Century is technically a fushichou, or phoenix derived from Chinese mythology. But, if you trace it back far enough, the fenghuang is also called the August Rooster and according to Wikipedia, sometimes replaces the rooster on … Continue reading
VIDEO: Toyota puts the Drift King behind the wheel of his first true love, a 4AG-powered AE86
Keiichi Tsuchiya’s love for the Toyota AE86 is well documented. Though he got his start with the Hachiroku, he’s since driven everything under the sun as co-host of Best Motoring and even scored a class win with an NSX at the 24 … Continue reading
VIDEO: The world’s first race cars to broadcast live from the cockpit were Toyota Celicas
Toyota Australia has just released an interview with Aussie racing great Peter Williamson. As you may recall, Williamson passed away in 2016, but his legacy as the world’s first in-car camera broadcaster lives on. The interview was conducted at the 2016 Toyota … Continue reading
VIDEO: The ultimate AE86 track battle
In 2005, to commemorate volume number 86, Hot Version invited Japan’s top AE86 to Tsukuba Circuit to lay down some lap times. This era was the peak of innovation for AE86 tuning with the TRD N2 Corolla Levin, driven by Keiichi Tsuchiya, as perhaps … Continue reading
MINICARS: All the Japanese cars in the 2017 Hot Wheels mainline
Mattel has released the complete 2017 Hot Wheels mainline list, and it includes plenty of things for collectors of Japanese cars to get excited about. Old castings make a return, while new ones continue the trend. Here’s a complete rundown on … Continue reading
VIDEO: A street-legal, AWD, 1100hp Celica
At this point Lexus 1UZ swaps into lightweight classic J-coupes that weigh almost nothing are not a new thing. However, squeezing 1,100 horsepower out of the 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo turned up to 27 psi necessitated a GT-R’s AWD drivetrain for Jamie … Continue reading
Updates to the JNC Shop
We have made a major update to the JNC shop, stocking inventory of items that we introduced at car shows throughout the year. Some are in very limited quantities, and if you order before 11:59pm on Sunday, December 18, your will arrive before … Continue reading
TUNE UP: Two sexy classics in Justice’s “Fire” video
French band Justice’s latest video stars a pair of classics that are beautiful and seemingly ageless: an A60 Celica convertible and actor Susan Sarandon, who is according to Wikipedia apparently 70 years old (!). It’s no secret that 80s Toyotas have become … Continue reading
Behold, the new JNC wagon
Behold, the new JNC Wagon. You’re looking at a 1987 Toyota Van in all its two-tone glory, complete with dual sunroof, ice maker, and a big ol’ pock mark smack dab in the middle of its prodigious face. Now for the drive … Continue reading
A new JNC Wagon is on the horizon
We are headed to San Francisco today to pick up what could be the next JNC Wagon. After nine years of service, our current one, a Cressida, is being taken off the road for some proper care. It has taken us all … Continue reading
VIDEO: AE86 with historic plates confounds Roadkill host
In a recent episode of Roadkill Extras, host David Freiburger is at Westech Performance in Mira Loma, California when he’s rendered utterly dumbfounded at the presence of an AE86 wearing California Historic Vehicle license plates. Turns out, it’s a car we featured back … Continue reading
VIDEO: Toyota Australia shows some love to Celica fans
Continuing on the theme of how Toyota has much better advertising everywhere else in the world, Toyota Australia recently put together a video of A20 Celica owners down under. Selected from the Toymods forum, the owners show their admiration for not … Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? 9,000-mile Toyota Cressida
This could be he most well-preserved Toyota Cressida in the United States. A first year for the beloved X70 chassis, this 1985 example for sale now in New York is said to have one owner, was always kept in a … Continue reading
Hiroyuki Hasegawa, 1945 — 2016
Hiroyuki Hasegawa, co-founder and the “H” of renowned Japanese tuning house HKS, has passed away at the age of 71. A former Yamaha engineer, Hasegawa founded HKS in October, 1973 in a small shed at the base of Mt Fuji in … Continue reading