Category Archives: Feature Cars

HR Feature Cars. The Best AE86’s we can source and snap! In depth interviews with the owners and drivers of these machines.

Simply The Best. Better Then All The Rest.

September 3, 2008 in Feature Cars by

Could this be the best Hachi Roku to ever be built outside of Japan? Or could this even be the best the world has ever seen?

This car hails from the never sunny UK, where a crazy English man known as Ian G has spent over 3 years & thousands of Pounds to create his ideal F20C-powered Hachi Roku. (more…)

Group A Endurance Racer AE86

September 2, 2008 in Feature Cars by

Another AE86 squirreled away in an abbey (of all places) has been ‘found’ for us internetziens all to gaze upon. This time the boys from SPEEDHUNTERS have stumbled upon this little European gem from the days of 24Hours Spa race when ‘tin top’ touring cars roamed the track instead of the GT-spec monsters we see there now.  Apparently it was steered to victory several times and was one of a few AE86’s which competed in the endurance race! Antonio writes:

So we entered the old abbey, and Patrick led us downstairs, into what he said was the crypt – where they used to store dead people! Kinda creepy… but when we got to the bottom of the stairs and turned the corner, I was completely floored. Actually, Rod and Patrick were walking in front of me, because I stopped to take a photo of the stairway… and then I heard Rod say, “Wow. Antonio’s going to completely freak out.”

Check out the full article (with lotsa photos) over @ SPEEDHUNTERS.

It’s Turbo Time!

August 26, 2008 in Feature Cars by

You may remember a few months back we posted up that Hasselgren was building Taka Aono a turbo powered 16v 4A-GE for his Formula D AE86? Well it’s finally finished! Check out the the next two videos for the first runs on the dyno and it in full flight at practice at Formula D Seattle.

Toshiki Yoshioka Interview

August 22, 2008 in Feature Cars, Videos by

By none other than Antonio Alvendia, man that guy gets around!

More Ebisu Madness…

August 19, 2008 in Feature Cars by

Antonio from Speedhunters really can’t resist his deeply-rooted ’86 urges and continues to deliver the goods with another blog of awesome hachiroku’s from Ebisu Summer Drift Festival last weekend.  Check out these three tasty morsels of Toyota engineering complete with engine pics and the lot over at Speedhunters blog. Love your work Antonio!

Tec-Arts D1 AE86

August 6, 2008 in Feature Cars by

When it comes to building awesome AE86’s for both the street and the track, there a few shops more skilled than Tec-Arts which is located just outside of Tokyo in Saitama Prefecture.

Besides building numerous top level street cars, Tec-Arts AE86 racing experience also includes their famous N2 race car which has achieved great success at the N2 races held at Tsukuba Circuit. Tec-Arts also has an active D1GP project which has been in competition for a few years now. T

he driver of the Tec-Arts D1 Trueno is Kensaku Komoro and is currently competing in the D1GP. It helps set the standard for competition AE86 drift cars around the world and shows that the 25-year old chassis has plenty of life of left in it.

Check out the entire writeup @ SPEEDHUNTERS.

350hp Turbo F22C Formula D AE86

July 22, 2008 in Feature Cars, Parts & Accessories by

First there was high powered NA 4A-GEs, then turbo were thrown in the mix for when you began to feel you needed that little bit more. But when the 4A-G no longer cuts it, people go in search off other manufactures to power the heart and soul of their own little hachi roku. Some decide a dirty Nissan engine would be perfect, but the new craze is the “VTEC yo!” F20/22C powerplant from the Honda S2000. Combining a 800kg ’86 with a 250hp powerplant that revs to 9000rpm and you have a reciepe for something really amazing.

However, this was not the case for John Russakoff, Formula D competitor and owner of JSP, who after competing in a Standard F22C found that it just didn’t cut the mustard. This saw him implement some changes to boost (pun intended) the output up to 350hp by bolting a Garrett GT28RS turbo. However this was no simple “bolt on” procedure. For the details I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

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Yoshioka Wins Vegas Formula D

July 16, 2008 in Events, Feature Cars by

Last Sunday, D1 driver and ace AE86 pilot Toshiki Yoshioka from Team Droo-P, steered his AE86 with its NA 4A-GE  blacktop 20 valve to Formula D victory – smashing everyone else with a definitive win for the AE86.  Only the second time he has competed in a Formula D event, the ‘Toshiking’ reminded everyone else of the true power and meaning of the car that that started it all – the mighty AE86!

His skill was so perfect at times that some of the Formula D drivers who tried matching Yoshioka’s speed through the course reportedly ended up slamming into the wall!

The final battle was against Daijiro Yoshihara, driving Rhys Millen’s former championship car, the infamous Pontiac GTO. After a battle of epic proportions, Yoshioka and his AE86 had made the statement and victory was undoubtedly his. Good job Toshiki – you make us AE86 drivers proud!

Check out the pics after the jump.

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Flashback: T3’s Drift ’86

July 9, 2008 in Feature Cars, HR Originals by

Here’s a blast from the past!. Back in ’04, one of the first in depth track oriented Hachiroku build-ups from the USA was that of the TechnoToyTuning (T3) Trueno on the Club4AG Forums. It consisted of the development of an already running car, then a full ground up re-shell when previous car experienced the wraith of the notorious Irwindale banks at a Formula D drift event.

The car was also driven by Tsuchiya himself at Willow Springs Raceway for the filming of “Best Motoring: American Touge 2″ . The build up was lost when Club4ag was refreshed but has now been reposted on the Al Lagura’s (the driver of this beast) personal website for the world to see once again.

Click HERE for the thread.

Source: www.phuckdrifting.com, Club4ag, TechnoToyTuning

In Search of Perfection

July 4, 2008 in Feature Cars by

This car is amazing! The fit and finish is simply breathtaking! If there was such thing as a perfect bodied AE86, this might just be it!

Miguel Newera, a Japan-Based UK import & parts specialist (and owner of an equally hot AE86 himself) gives us the rundown of his customer Atsushi’s brand new car as well as a selection of Photos from none other than Dino Dalle Carbonare.

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