You’re looking at the only Tec-Art’s AE86 to be built outside of Japan.

Like most brilliant ideas that happen in life, the spark for this project came up during some hypothetical conversations between Kamata Yoshinori, the man behind Tec-Art’s, and Wai Hong, one of the main driving forces behind the Hachiroku movement in Malaysia and founder of Hayashi86.

After making multiple trips to Japan to visit Kamata’s Tec-Art’s shop in the heart of Saitama – the same AE86 specialist that looks after Keiichi Tsuchiya’s personal Hachiroku – Wai Hong extended an invitation for him to visit Malaysia and take part in a local AE86 track day event. It was here that the wheels were put in motion for an epic Sprinter Trueno build, which I got to check out in person at the Drive4Paul memorial event last weekend.

With the conversation focusing around the complexity of building a high-output naturally aspirated 20V 4A-GE for Malaysia’s hot climate, Kamata saw a challenge he was happy to be a part of.

It didn’t take long for Wai Hong to find an local AE86 owner willing to provide a donor car for the build, and then everything was handed over to RNR Autosport – a local shop that specializes in 4A-GE engines – to piece the motor together. Kamata-san and his brothers would then step in to fine-tune the package.

What you see here is essentially a Tec-Art’s demo car, as most of the parts to build the AE86 came straight from Kamata’s shop.

Lowered on Aragosta suspension and sitting on Work Equip 03 wheels, this panda Hachiroku has a classic look to go with its newfound performance.

After the majority of the modifications were completed, and Kamata had finished putting in his magic tuning and setup touches, Wai Hong and a few others tested the car out, and instantly felt that it was not only significantly faster, but felt more stable and compliant in the corners, too.

‘What did you do to make it so different?’ they asked. Kamata’s reply: “This is Tec-Art’s!”

Ron Celestine
Instagram: celestinephotography