Tag: AE86

Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Encounter: Kenji Mori’s CBY AE86

I can always appreciate a dedicated race car build that maintains the character of a street car.  More than just a collection of parts thrown together, these cars carry with them a certain presence – an appearance that brings with it an almost tangible-like feeling.  Arguably, in Japan, the AE86 chassis has the ability to achieve this more than any car out there.  Be it due to its history in racing both on track and street, or perhaps its timeless design that attracts shops to continually develop parts for it.  Whatever the case, there are some very indismissable examples, and Kenji’s CBY supported build is a perfect representation of this idea.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Feature: The 86 Progression – Keiichi Tsuchiya

One of the more anticipated cars of this year’s WTAC among fans and builders alike, had to be Beau Yates’ revamped AE86.  With Mark Bissett leading the team, the car was built at Hypertune in Sydney, and has been entirely stripped of it’s former drift specification and rebuilt as a time attack car fit for a king; and by king, I mean none other than Keiichi Tsuchiya.  Keiichi was slated to drive the car in Open Class this year at Sydney Motorsports Park.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Encounter: Autumn’s Resolve – Kemritte’s AE86

It was at the end of last year I shot these photos of Kemritte’s Corolla with the intentions of writing a full article on the car.  Having just finished the build a few months earlier, I was keen on sharing it with our audience.  It was mid-December, right before the holiday rush, and I remember preparing for a few trips to Japan as well as some work trips I had on my calendar.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Encounter: Techno Pro Spirit N2 AE86

Since I’ve been back from Japan, I’ve become so absorbed in a new project that I haven’t really set time aside to sort through the images I took while I was there.  I was browsing Facebook this evening when I decided to reach out to Asano-san from Techno Pro Spirit to see how the testing went at Fuji Speedway.  He and Kumakura were out there testing a few changes to get ready for the upcoming N2 race Hot Version is hosting next month.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Encounter: Kishimoto Racing Division – CBY AE86

Among the top N/A competitors in the Japanese time attack scene, exist a niche group of AE86 drivers.  Serving as the FR rival of the Honda Civic’s in the paddock, the competition provided by the Toyota pack always manages to provide a subset of antagonism at any given event.  Sato Shinetsu and his CBY equipped Trueno did just that at this year’s 10th anniversary Attack Championship at Tsukuba.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight
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Close-Up: Carbon Junkie – Takumi Hayashi’s AE86

To say that Takumi Hayashi has an affinity for the Toyota AE86 would be a rather dramatic understatement.  The peppy, 130ps 4A-GE motor combined with the car’s FR drivetrain became an instant hit with not only himself, but many other tuners in the mid-80’s for that matter.  It didn’t take long for the Corolla to be a favorite worldwide, and Japan was no doubt leading the pack in motor sport development of the chassis.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Close-Up: TRD Tuned FT-86

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I wrote an initial draft up about 3 weeks ago for this close-up, but for some reason never got around to publishing it.  For that, I apologize, because this is one hell of a car.  One great day, at Tsukuba Circuit, an amazing event was held.  At this event, Toyota decided to show it’s variant of the FT-86.  Ever since the FT-86, BRZ, or FR-S has made it’s debut in it’s geographically appropriate location, the tuning world has been abuzz with excitement.  Now, with the Super GT BRZ, and the D1 FT-86, we’re all dying to see what’s next.  Well, it seems that TRD has our answer.  With the FT-86 being officially on sale in Japan for about half a month now, it’s unlikely we’ll see any personally owned ones tuned any time soon.  Toyota has done an excellent job in marketing their newest offering, and the TRD tuned FT-86 is the icing on the cake.  Click past the break to see more.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Hot Version Live Shooting at Tsukuba v.2

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Continuing on with the coverage of Hot Version’s filming at Tsukuba Circuit, we’ll take a look at more of what the garages held, and also get a preview of some of the on-track action.  For video of the event, be sure to check out the JDM Clips channel.  So far we’ve seen a ton of RX-7’s, the majority of which were competing in Advan’s Amateur Tournament.  However, the main attraction over the weekend was without a doubt Hot Version’s N2 Race.  AE86 tuners from all over the country travel to compete in this annual event.  Check this one out getting a little sideways on track.  Click past the break to see more!

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Close-Up: Tec-Art’s AE86 N2 Project

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If you’re a fan of the Toyota AE86, then I’m sure that you will be extremely familiar with Tec-Art’s and what they do.  The fairly small, family run operation out of Yashio City, has grown into one of the more famous 86 tuners in Japan.  By far their most famous build is their AE86 N2 Project; seen here in it’s 2012 configuration.  The project, now over a decade in it’s life, has evolved greatly, I think even greater than Yoshinori Kamata had intended.  It’s no stranger to the track, and it definitely made it’s mark at Tsukuba Circuit last weekend during the live Hot Version shoot.  Click past the break to see this machine in detail.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: It’s JDM Yo! 1st Anniversary Meet v.3

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The stragglers.  Leftover pictures that didn’t make it into an event post.  This is what you’ll get with the final It’s JDM Yo! event post.  Seriously, these events are getting so big that it’s near impossible to methodically post every car that was in attendance.  It’s too bad too because some really good builds go unnoticed sometimes.  Anyway, I’ve been working mad 12 hour shifts at work and haven’t had anytime to dedicate to the site in awhile.  I wanted to finish up with the final pictures before I go out of town once again.  With that said, on with the pics.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: It’s JDM Yo! 1st Anniversary Meet v.2

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Welcome back to the second part of the It’s JDM Yo! meet coverage.  The sites traffic has been way up recently, I’d like to thank everyone who checks the site regularly.  I’ll be getting some merchandise together soon too, so everyone that’s been interested in it, hold on just a little longer!  Anyway, after we checked out what was in the outside lot, we ventured into the main warehouse building.  They put up a DJ in almost every room in the warehouse, playing different music.  I thought that was pretty sweet.  Check out the pics past the break.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: It’s JDM Yo! 1st Anniversary Meet v.1

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Alright, let me just start out by saying that this meet turned out to be way bigger than I had expected.  I had originally planned to stop by real quick, say hello to a few people, snap some shots and jam to Aliso Viejo to the Tamiya RC track.  Despite my attempts to hurry, we ended up staying for about 2 hours.  The layout of the meet was really cool, with multiple doors leading to new warehouses; all packed full of self-built cars.  Some were track inspired, many were heavily VIP influenced, all were cool in their own right.  I didn’t have my 28mm with me, so the majority of these were taken with my 50mm – forgive the lack of full car shots, but at a meet like this, and the lenses I had, it was all but impossible to snatch a frame without anyone getting in the way.  Click past the break to see the first of the coverage.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: 6th Annual JCCS, Long Beach V.1


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The warm sun, the cool ocean breeze blowing through the trees;  Downtown Long Beach makes the perfect venue for just about any get together – and the 6th annual holding of the Japanese Classic Car Show is no exception.  Without a doubt JCCS is the show to go to to see the best in classic Japanese cars.  Datsuns, Toyotas, and Mazdas from the 70’s and 80’s are littered throughout the grounds and parking lot.  Some are daily driven, and some have been restored to show quality; there is definitely something for everyone.  Take this Corolla for example; old school parts, executed with modern drift styling.  It took me about 2 hours to walk through the show, and I tried to get a little of everything.  Some photos will have a more retro look (i.e. warm temperatures, desaturated);  I did this as a throw back to the era of the cars.  Hope you enjoy!

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