Guest Blog>> Ten Ae86’s That Influenced A Generation

Rod asked me to make a top ten list of the best and most influential AE86's. I'm no expert on everything Hachi so I decided to ask some of my friends from Australia who run the Hachiroku blog if they could help me out, they happily obliged. So here you have it, the top ten most influencial AE86's through the eyes of Adam Hocker and Garth Ivers.

Takumi Fujiwara's Trueno GT Apex

Influential might be too weak a word to describe just the sheer amount of promotion that this car did to boost the AE86's popularity. The basic story centers around Takumi Fujiwara, who delivers tofu up and down Mt Akina (Mount Haruna) for his father's Tofu shop. It starts out one night when Takumi is in his early teens and his father can't drive the car to deliver the Tofu to hotels on the mountain, thus that responsibility falls to Takumi. At first Takumi is slow but over time he gets faster and faster. Takumi tries to go so fast at one point that he destroys the tofu he is delivering; leading to the famous "cup of water" he always has with him on deliveries.

Each time Takumi drives he passes a number of other characters racing up and down Mt Akina. Unwittingly Takumi beats a number of well know and powerful cars giving him a reputation. This culminates in an epic battle with Keisuke and the Red Suns in his white FC3S RX7. Eventually the engine expires during a battle and Takumi's father Bunta (the original owner of the car in his own youth) knew it was only a matter of time before it happened. Bunta having already anticipated this had a new engine ready to go into the car after the old 16v gives up.

No information is ever officially given about the new engine; all we do know is that it is a heavily worked 20V Group-A engine. After this revelation, Takumi finds he can no longer drive the car as it does not feel the same, and no longer can control the car. After a chance encounter with a fellow AE86 driver and soon to be rival Wataru, Takumi learns the true nature of the beast that lurks under the bonnet of his once humble AE86.

This simple story twist has spawned so much internet chatter about the speculation of the engine that the topic has become the bane of AE86 forum administrators everywhere. This is part of the charm of Initial D – It is pure fantasy but based on a tiny kernel of truth. As a result of the radically unrealistic storyline, everybody wanted to be Takumi with that car and engine so not a day goes by without the question asked "How can I get my car like Takumi's in Initial D?"

The original manga was created by Shigeno Shuichi and first published in weekly publication Young Magazine many years ago. Watching or reading the series has caused people to spend large sums of money on the comic series, TV show, and arcade games and even building their own AE86s; simply because we love the comic and the AE86. The TV series brought the AE86 to fore front of the worldwide tuning community and will continue on for years to come as a new generation discover this world driving exhilaration.

TEC-ART'S All-Purpose Twin Truenos

Everybody who has watched D1 this year or last year or has seen any of the N2 races will know these cars, after all they're bright purple! Sporting white 17" Work Meister wheels and the angry scream of a 4A-GE 20V, this car has only been on the drift scene for the last few years, but has been built to an extremely high standard due to TEC-ART'S racing pedigree.

Originally starting out on the circuit, TEC-ART'S has recently branched out to drifting. Using an in-house built 4A-GTE engine, TEC-ART's has slowly been gaining momentum in the drift world proving their somewhat odd methods of AE86 modification.

TEC-ART'S is a major workshop in its own right, building all sorts of cars, but is more famously known for their AE86 tuning. TEC-ART'S covers all facets of AE86 tuning, from simple parts to full on engine builds.

The car runs 17" wheels, which is uncommon for an AE86, as most cars use a maximum of 15" wheels. Also unconventional is the sequential gearbox it utilises; Shifting while cornering with the throttles wide open certainly has its advantages. This car is extremely effective in the N2 cup and is always near the pointy end of the field.
TEC-ART'S make a myriad of parts for the discerning AE86 owner such the 4 pot brake kit they have just released. They also make their own body kits, no doubt a testament to their in-house design, as massive brake ducts on the widebody arches make use of their own customised braking system.

As well as competing in drift, TEC-ART'S also regularly competes in the AE86 N2 races with another nearly-identical purple Trueno. Although TEC-ART'S is yet to win an N2 race or drift round with the purple monsters, it certainly has the right parts and know-how to win.

Ueo Katsuhiro's SIFT Trueno

Almost everyone has seen YouTube video's of this man madly flinging his Trueno sideways into all sorts of corners and toppling the world's past drifting giants with a modestly powered D1 machine. Just mention the words ‘hachiroku.mpeg' to any old school AE86 fanboy and they will be on the same page: ‘I love the way he kicks that clutch pedal to death!'

Every time Ueo went out to the track it was a always seemed to end up a David vs Goliath battle. The small capacity NA 4A-GE up against much bigger and badder competition such as the HKS S15 driven by Taniguchi, the then newly completed FD3S RX7 of Imamura and of course the lime green S15 of Kazama.
Most of the D1 stars started out on their local touge, and progressed on to bigger and better things, often bigger and more powerful cars. Starting his drift career fairly late in his 20's Ueo soon rose to fame with his balls to the wall all out approach to drifting but at the time wanted to stay with the AE86 to prove its equal stature to the newer and more powerful cars.

Ueo started out at the time when D1 was expanding rapidly and as a result took on all comers. After winning the opening round of the 2002 D1GP season, it seemed to be a steamroller season with Ueo winning the D1 title mostly uncontested.

His fame continued in the first round of 2003 at the first ever American D1 USA round at Irwindale Speedway. Those of you who have seen the Irwindale track layout will know that it is a course that favours the larger much more powerful cars and punishes the smaller underpowered hachiroku the most.

The most memorable moment for the car and Ueo would have to be in 2003 at Irwindale Speedway where the extremely long sweeping corners are banked high and steep. With his secret cams and crazy NA tuning and wild driving style, this humble Trueno took on the best and won.  After this event Ueo came back to Japan only to have mechanical issues throughout the entire 2003 season, eventually dropping out in 2004.

So many videos show this car angled 90 degrees to corners coming hard and fast, putting to shame much bigger and powerful cars with the extreme speeds and angles carried by this little car and mad driver. Ueo also took his Trueno to his home touge to show the world where he learned his craft and to prove how exceptional this little AE86 can be in the right hands.

Carland's AE86

Carland might not be the most recognised name in the AE86 racing world, but their cars will no doubt be remembered long after the big names have gone from the circuit. Located in Kyoto, Japan, Carland has been instrumental in the restoration and maintenance of the entire nations AE86's by way of their insane AE86-exclusive workshop and dedicated mook (a magazine book for those unfamiliar with the Japanese term), "Toyota Levin and Trueno Magazine" published by Tatsumi Publishing.

They have built a 100% replica of the Initial-D Trueno for Shinichirou Miki (the voice actor of Takumi in the Japanese anime), restored a Black Limited Trueno to absolutely mint condition and even built their own racing car.

With all that plus more under their belt, Carland is truly at the forefront of true AE86 enthusiast restoration.
Carland offers services such as the usual new/used parts sales, car sales and body restoration work but as a special feature they offer a tourist hire car to explore the mountain roads around Kyoto. Although it's equipped with only an automatic transmission (how many of you can say you've driven an AT AE86 anyhow?), driving a panda Trueno around Kyoto would certainly give your sightseeing tour of Japan that special hachiroku touch.

With all this to offer '86 enthusiasts plus a lot more, Carland is pretty much THE one-stop '86 shop. They produce their own parts like exhaust systems and suspension kits for example, but also their own 'Original Goods' such as the panda two-tone bag and tool wrap, or a carland towel and amongst lots of other cool goodies, Trueno or Levin 'side moulding' keyrings, written in the original fonts!

The man behind all the AE86 dedication is Tokuchi Masahito, often seen in his trademark silver spray jacket in the Toyota Levin and Trueno Magazine mook. He is the driving force behind keeping our little AE86's looking and driving as good as they did when they rolled off the line in the 80's. Keep ‘em coming Masa!

Hot Version Levin N2 Racer

The living embodiment of what every racing AE86 aspires to be: 1.6 Liter 16 valves, 9500rpm, wide-bodied screaming fury, belting around Tsukuba race track in the 1:00 minute range. The Hot Version N2 Racer has been seen in Hot Version, Best Motoring, and AE86 Club DVD's and countless magazines. The build-up has been documented a number of times but no secrets revealed just yet. In terms of AE86 one make racing, this truly is the best of the best.

The racing and rebuilding started in mid 2001when the original car was lovingly created by the late Sakurai-san of TRD fame and expertly piloted by Keiichi Tsuchiya. This was about the time that Best Motoring started sponsoring the bi-annual N2 races again as previously it was kept alive by a dedicated number of privateers and enthusiasts from as far back as 1997.

The body features the original N2 over fenders and wears incredibly wide 15" RS Watanabe wheels.
The car has won two N2 races for Hot Version and spawned quite a few clones the world over, including HR's very own from forum member AE86N2 (aka Beau Small).

Sakurai-san had put his many years of racing knowledge into this car in the aim of completely dominating the race track and taking on all comers. However, the car did not simply come out of retirement, hit the track and start winning.

It took a long time to completely reset and set up the car for racing again. Almost all the components on the car have been rebuilt or replaced with new, or new old stock items. The only original part that remains on the car is the chassis-subframe assembly itself and the hottest of hot, ultra-rare TRD instrument panel.

Being such a well-versed team in terms of racing pedigree, you would expect them to be the team to beat, but this is not so. The car utilises a vast number of parts from the TRD catalogue, including an AE86-spec 'bigport' 4A-GE engine built to Group-A specifications and a TRD close ratio gearbox fitted to a humble T-series rear differential. The suspension was set-up during early testing at Tsukuba by Tsuchiya himself and again using parts straight off the TRD shelves.

The TRD-powered machine may have won two titles since their debut in 2001 but they were not back-to-back. Their first win was in 2001, with their second coming in 2005. Since the re-invigoration of the N2 series, all other titles have been won, oddly enough, by much smaller and very dedicated teams and privateers.

Koichi Yamashita's Run Free Trueno

How can a simple aero kit manufacturer's car be one of the most influential AE86's around? Koichi Yamashita, a former D1 legend, owns the ever popular Run Free specialist AE86 shop; Purveyors of the finest in Japanese AE86 ­bodykits. Run Free kits are sought after by ‘86 tuners the world over who are looking for the best there is to offer but why? Out of all the Japanese AE86 bodykit manufacturers, wow can Run Free be considered the cream of the crop?

It has to do with this one car. In its inception in early 2000's, the car was widely considered to be the ‘perfect AE86' Although it's not the world's most powerful Trueno, Koichi's AE86 is finely honed and crafted in such a way nothing is left untouched.

As you can imagine it was laden with his own Run Free branded bodykit parts and some of the widest Work Meister wheels you'll ever see on an AE86. But its not only cosmetics that Yoichi had made-over, under the carbon hood lies a AE92 4A-GE that's rocking Mahle pistons, H-Beam rods, 304/288 degree camshafts and Group-A spec valves. Couple with that a TRD intake manifold, K-works exmani, a RunFree stainless exhaust, twin-row radiator and an Earls oil cooler.  Pretty standard affair when you compare it with the others on this list, but therein lies the key.  It was the definition of ‘clean street car' for everyone at the time and as such firmly implanted itself as the benchmark for anyone building a street driven AE86. To this day it still is.

Gabriel Tyler's F20C Corolla GT-S

Not a world first but definitely a well executed engine conversion; this was the car that brought the F20C engine transplant to the masses. Techno Toy Tuning (T3) have be providing parts for Corolla's and 4A-GEs the world over for number of years and every decent tuning company needs a demo or hero car.

Almost everyone has used or seen a T3 part on their Corolla or AE86 for the last 10 years and it's thanks to T3 owner Gabriel Tyler that we see these cheap and readily available parts nearly everywhere. Like most of us, Gabe has grown up to love the classic simplicity of the humble AE86. It's through his love for the AE86 he created this Honda hybrid monster!

Enter the simple white Trueno. Gabe had the not so simple idea of Taking Honda's best engineered NA engine and putting it in a much lighter and balanced chassis and so the F20C conversion was born and delivered to the world.

T3 fitted the engine and 6 speed gearbox to the pristine white body, which in itself is no mean feat as the Honda engine intake and exhaust are on the opposite side to the factory fitted 4A-GE. Along with T3's full suspension catalogue fitted to the car and various other parts this Trueno has competed in drift and circuit racing and even been driven on the Willow Springs Touge by Keiichi Tsuchiya himself.

The Trueno is fitted with a fat set of Work Equip 03's, over fenders, roll cage and stripped interior so it's natural this car oozes so much presence and style. The car has sat dormant for a while now, only coming out occasionally to the track mainly used as a demo car at the T3 factory, it may be some time before we see something as innovative and awe inspiring again from Gabe.

All this popularity has spawned a number of copies. In the US this is a very popular conversion due to the power of the F20C and the fact the steering, pedals and master cylinders being located on the opposite side of the engine bay compared to the rest of the world, making the whole swap a lot easier. This combined with an extremely light weight body it makes for one helluva ride.

Recently, a workshop by the name of JSP fabrications completed the F20C conversion with a GT30 turbo for added good measure. The car is set up for drift, but as yet has not shown the world what it's capable of, yet another envelope pusher in the crazy world of AE86 tuning.

Keiichi Tsuchiya's Trueno GT-V

For me, this is the best car to grace this list. Lovingly restored a number of years ago in the early 90's as over time it had succumbed to the usual AE86 headaches such as rust, chassis damage, and usual wear and tear.

Tsuchiya had his car rebuilt at Garage Motore in Kawagoe City, Saitama starting with removing all rust and giving it a full respray of Toyota Super White II in the now popular ‘Keiichi' style; white topped bumpers with white sideskirts.

Whilst the car was in pieces the body was seam welded and had a number of braces fitted such as front fender brace that sit under the front guards and smaller metal panels to prevent water sitting on certain parts of the metalwork. All the guards were hand flared to fit the 15 x 7-inch SSR Dori2 mesh wheels.  The fitment of a zenki lip to the standard kouki bumper in such a way has come to be known as ‘the Keiichi' method. The interior is also all brand new and a new set of TRD reclinable buckets was fitted.

This car's suspension was set up using Tsuchiya's intimate knowledge of AE86s while using Tsuchiya's own brand of coil over's, the then Kei Office brand. Now branded DG5, the coilovers were coupled with a vast number of Cusco suspension components to build an entirely customised AE86 suspension package.

The engine is a ‘Blacktop' AE111 20 valve. Originally it was only a standard engine using a set of cams and custom extractors with management via an E&E Freedom ECU. However, as part of the total rebuild of this car, Sakurai-san built Tsuchiya a brand new engine from the ground up consisting of hi-comp pistons, larger cams, and a secret Sakurai-Spec cylinder head. Again the E&E Freedom ECU was used and all the mechanical work was completed with the assistance of Yasunobu Ishihara at Motore. The new engine apparently makes about 180hp, but this is a fairly conservative estimate when you consider the amount of work that has gone into this engine.

Previously using a TRD 5 gear (1st-5th) gear set and 5.3 differential ratio, they were swapped out for a TRD 3 gear (1st-3rd) gear set and 4.7 differential ratio. Doing this swap at first seemed to make the car slower, but it actually made it a more drivable car in all situations as Tsuchiya adapted to the new mechanical set up.

This car is said to be the scourge of the Gunsai touge but is not unbeatable. Tsuchiya's Trueno has appeared in many circuit and touge battles for Best Motoring and Hot Version, Taking on all comers. Most notably, Tsuchiya has twice Taken on a R34 skyline GT-R and won both times; Once on the touge and once on the circuit.

Pitted against all sorts of varied machinery on the track including many other AE86's from varying workshops, this Trueno and its driver have both triumphed and bowed out gracefully. When it was beaten on the touge by a JWRC Swift and a B18C equipped EG Civic (SEEKER Honda), it was the distinct lack of power that turned out to be the Trueno's only weakness.

Tsuchiya's philosophy of balance over outright power has many times embarrassed more powerful cars with its cornering balance, nimbleness and neutral handling ability. It may not be the fastest car in a straight line but add a few corners to the mix and watch out!

 

80's Group-A Levins

In the late 80's to the early 90's, Mount Panorama reverberated with banshee howl of twin cams and 16 valves! Having Taken on Japan and won while famously driven by up-and-coming race driver Keiichi Tsuchiya, the venerable AE86 branched out to take on the Group-A world. These few cars are famous in Australia not only for dominating their class for 3 years, but also for being in the Guinness book of world records; The car racked up 28 wins from 28 starts and nearly 80 podium finishes putting it as the most successful race car in history!

Just to rub salt into the wounds, it held the under 2 litre class record for every track in every state. How many other manufacturers can boast that?!

The fleet of racers used Bilstein suspension, TRD close ratio gearboxes and heavily worked ‘Bigport' 4A engines. It was said they made around 160hp at the rear wheels, but that can neither be confirmed nor denied even until this day as Toyota Japan and Europe kept the vehicle details very close to their chests.

As lot of specs of the car are closely guarded and as the car was initially built in Japan then shipped, it's hard to track down exact information pertaining to the Toyota works cars, as the engineers have passed away or it has been lost over time. A number of the European race cars still exist and are still being raced today. Granted they are using more high tech items instead of the crude ECU's available at the time.

The Australian winning car is now located in Bathurst at the Motor Sport Museum on Mount Panorama along with many other Bathurst race cars. The car itself looks like it finished the final race and was washed, polished and taken straight to the museum and there it has sat since. One lucky owner in Ireland still has an untested and unraced privateer car that he is restoring back to its former privateer glory including original livery!

Tetsuya Hibino's 4A-Powered Levin Coupe

Like many of the drivers in the D1GP he is the owner of his own tuning shop called SunRise and as such works on his car himself. Hibino is quite a popular driver as he is one of best drivers of the Toyota AE86 chassis in the D1GP today.

He began competing in the D1 Grand Prix in the sixth round in 2002, though he did not get any recognition until round 3 of 2004 when seemingly out of nowhere, he defeated many well know names such as 2004 season winner Ryuji Miki, Kazama, Imamura and even smoke master Ken Nomura. He is also known for his now infamous Ebisu Jumping Drift, which he first showed at Ebisu Circuit in 2004, where he drift to such a limit the car becomes airborne mid corner jumping the ripple strip.

When Hibino first started out he had no idea about how to drift. In fact, when he bought his first AE86 he didn't even know it didn't come with an LSD! But through his friends and people he hung out with he quickly learned what the strong and weak points of the AE86 chassis are. It was through this knowledge that he transformed his AE86 into the car we see now. Hibino's does all car set up himself by relaying any information and changes that need to be done on the track to his mechanics.

Like Ueo, Hibino had always driven the AE86 since he began drifting and with the combination of its light weight and his aggressive driving style made him a formidable opponent. His Levin coupe is instantly recognisable in its creamy brown colour with its uniquely modified front guards.  Although Hibino is yet to win a round yet he has come a close second on a few occasions, proving he has got what it takes to be number one someday.

Which one is your favorite? Or do you think that none of these cars should be on this list?

Discuss

Thanks to Garth and Adam for their time and effort.

-Jeroen Willemsen

Hachiroku Blog

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1

Thanks for the great article guys....

2

That was an absolutely FANTASTIC article! Thanks guys

3

I see Hibino's coupe in the last picture, is that also his hatch??

4

Like I was saying, is it possible to eventually get a feature on Hibino's Levin(s)? I know the purists here don't like the SR20'd Levin, but you can't fake the funk in saying that Hibino's working his just as much as Yoshioka. Maybe even a Garage SunRise feature?

5

Great stuff guys!



The "Fujiwara Tofu Ten" Hachi was the one that sparked it for me. I first got into Initial D when i watched 3rd Stage (the movie) and i thought it was so awesome i went and watched the previous series and went on to watch the then-ongoing 4th Stage.



I got HEAVILY hooked on Initial D and hachiroku's, and started investigating the car some more.



That's when i found Ueo's and Hibino's AE86 running in the D1GP at the time, and some old videos of Tsuchiya and his own hachi in a touge... I nearly cried when i saw Tsuchiya pull out this amazing feint in a downward chicane passing the rail by like 5cms...



Ever since, i've been trying to get a hachi for myself, but cars in Portugal aren't cheap (even used ones) and my families economy hasn't helped either, so i'm stuck borrowing my mom's Yaris... ^_^'

6

thats a little bit one sided. The BTCC Toyota Corolla was very important. it was one of the first Corollas to have sucess in europe and within a year,the majority of cars in that class in the British and European series were Corollas.

.

its more than just drifting guys.

7

I am really surprised Iida Akira's AE86 didn't make the list.



http://www.club4ag.com/faq_and_tech_pages/IIda%20AE86%20project.htm

8

no hasselgren corolla?

9

We tried to make the article as international as possible so there might be certain cars you guys think should be in there. So don't hate us for leaving out your favorite car :)



As for Akira Iida's '86, Hasselgren, etc they were up there with the others but when there's only 10 to choose from.....



@Shaun: more than just drifting? half the cars on the list are circuit racers/street cars.

11

IMO, this is the best Toyota article that I've ever read! Long live AE86!

12

Very nice article.

13

@ rod - thats a great article on the btcc car, shows why, as a double championship winning car, it should be on rhe list. Good list otherwise, but even as an AE86 owner, I do tire of so much drifting on an otherwise fantastic site

do you know why I can not post a comment on that btcc article?

14

You miss the whole point of the Initial D story, and why the Toyota Trueno was chosen as the hero car for the story.

The Trueno was not a respected performance car. It was mundane, pedestrian, cheap, basic transportation. And Takumi was not a trained driver. Neither the car nor the driver were supposed to have any chance of winning. This is illustrated in the dialog by Yuuichi in the live action movie:



Yuuichi: What’s going on with you?

Takumi: I’m sorry, I wrecked the car. I’ll pay for it.

Yuuichi: I don’t care about the scratch. You know what. That guy last night, he’s a member of the Emperor team. He’s a professional racer, and with this piece of crap, you beat his EVO hands down. How did you do that?

Takumi: It’s exactly the same car as my dad’s.

Yuuichi: It’s a totally different car. He slaved on it. It took him a month to find the right suspension. This is a piece of crap. Tofu man’s car is 20 times better than this. Look at it, only my idiot boy would get conned into buying this.



Takumi has natural talent that has been honed over years of driving on the mountain. He has been put into a well tuned car, and he does not even realize it is a well tuned car until faced with driving a standard Trueno. And even in the unmodified and untuned car, he manages to win.



The story would not work if you put Takumi in a Skyline, Lancer, NSX, or any universally recognized performance car. It only works if you put him in something that is not supposed to have a snowball’s chance in hell. The point of the Trueno in the story is that it isn’t supposed to win. Bunta’s work in converting every single suspension, drivetrain, and engine component to a racing component still isn’t supposed to bring the Trueno up to a level where it would win against the opposition if both were driven by equal drivers. Only the superior skill level of Takumi makes this possible.



The cult like following of the car, and mythical belief among fans that this car could stand a chance against supercars in a race shows that most people miss the point of the story and the reason the Trueno appears in the story.

15

@zamil: thanks mate



@oyaji: we didnt miss the point, we took another angle on it. this is an article about influential ae86's not an article about the accuracies of initial D. im glad you love initial D this much though :)

16

T3 but not taka....

18

we didnt forget guys... we only had 10 to pick from.



keep an eye on the hachiroku.com.au blog for a feature on all the best AE86's you've never seen..

19

Nice work guys, great read!

20

where was the British Touring Car Champion AE86 or the Spa 24 Hour winning Corolla you featured, both VERY influential years before most of these!

21

OMG you guys forgot my cousin's, uncles, dogs ower's brother in laws car.. OMG

22

x2 for the BTCC AE86

23

Great article guys, I think this really sums up why the hachi-roku is the most influential cars in the world. I think the term "Corolla" can't be left out without mentioning the AE86. I think each of us have our own influences of the AE86, and for me the most influential AE86 in Malaysia has got to be Tengku Djan Ley. Like Ueo, Djan is also a very capable drifter in the AE86. The most memorable think hes done was when he was up against JR at the D1 All Stars match back in 2006....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYYXc_ev0sE

24

TOYO's so cool !

25

damn Hibino's hachi is soooo wet!! his build would definitely infuence me if i owned an 86.

26

does anyone know what body kit hibino is running on his car?

27

Ueo's car in some old video options i have got me loving 86s.. Now days hibinos car is prolly the sexiest looking 86 ever. for best 86 engine bay ever.... taka aono's revamped engine.... does it really get any sexier than hasselgren built, itb, turbo, and dry sump? no... no it does not. oh, the fancy metal work all over the bay doesnt hurt things either..

28

I would have liked to see Akira Iida's "Mito Natto Racing" 20V Levin (Option2 vol. 32) make the top 10. but I guess there are easily 100 cars that are eligible for a list like this depending on personal preference ;)

29

Up-Garge Yellow ae has to be here

30

toyota loveeee!

31

Can we please have desktops for images 1 - 4 and 6??

32

u guys should do a influential ae86s in America, like Taka's 86, cipergarage's 86, hmmm andy yen and alex phifers privater ae86s

33

GREAT AE86s ! Some of the most interesting AE86s racing cars here ..... Representing different motosport categories ! I know there are a lot AE86s that soul be mentioned but tihis is a very interesting sample of them

Bravo for the great post and thanks ...

34

You know, it looks like the 86 is so cool that instead of "regular" cars getting a top 10, the 86 needs a top 50 or something. All hale the great 86. why did they stop building FR small 4 cydlinders with a backseat. that's teh best platform evar!!!

35

Ueo's AE86 going against very powerful newer cars was just magic. Unbelievably quick change of direction and throttle to the floor drifts leave me always wondering how does he do it? Screaming n/a 4AG let everyone know he was drifting his heart out...sometimes even to the point of tears. It would be great if you guys did a feature on his shop Garage Sift.

Also, a very influential AE86 in the US would be Motohide Miwa's (Moto-P from club4AG.com) 20v 4AG levin hatch.

36

ICBM



Imamura 86



But T3 / Gabriel Tyler managed to make the list.



I mean...



Seriously!

















37

In my opinion, the Running Free IS the perfect AE86.

38

What about YOSHIOKA!? The Droo-P 86 was just as important to D1 as Ueo's is. Yoshioka also has more wins, correct?

39

this is a great article! i'm surprised HOT STAFF and TechnoProSpirits AE86s aren't amongst the list. 10 is tough to choose from, though. good work. now do a part 2 ;)

40

@shaun

At least quote the Japanese manga or anime, not the chinese made, completely inaccurate live action movie starring Jay Chou a chinese pop star.....Just sayin'.....

41

You forgot Taka Aono's Falken 86, its the only true road warrior of the west...that man and his machine are legendary...Also a noteworthy mention is Moto Miwa's 86, moreover his contribution to the 86 in western culture...

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