Tag Archives: Japan

Hybrid Hachiroku?

hybrid

A somewhat odd piece of news today, but Dino @ Speedhunters blog has caught some images of a very interesting Levin that was present at the recent Tuning Powers show in Tokyo last week.

I present to you the hachiroku of the future. There is no 4AG powering this Levin…it has been replaced with an electric motor by the guys at the Chiba Automobile University CATS. Not sure how it would drive, but there is a good chance it will have more torque than those asthmatic 4AG’s! Hehe

While Dino shares no love for the venerable 4A, it’s still worth a look so head over to Speedhunters for the other pics as well as a sexy shot of the Prime Garage 5AG… yummeh!


Mixed Bag Battle!

What happens when you pit a handful of AE86s against a Civic Type-R, CRX, Celica, Cappuccino and an MX-5? Find out with parts 2, 3 & 4 here!


Take A Trip Back In Time

oldschool

From the Osaka Auto Messe in fairly recent 2005 to the Suzuka Motorsports Festival way back in 1992, this Japanese page has some real killer galleries of the cars of yesteryear (not to mention the fairly shocking umbrella girls too…) so spend a good few hours reminicing, or if you’re too young just stare in awe!


HACHiRoCK! 2009

hacxhirock fes

HACHiRoCK! festa is upon us again for 2009 and in typical Japanese fashion, 250 ‘hachiroku mania’ got their entries in super-early to secure all the available spots for this years event. Last years event was massive with an awesome display of AE86’s and hachiroku related fun being had for pretty much anyone who dared enter the frenzy that was the Sagamiko Resort parking area.

As the trend went in 2008, this years event will see KMS, RunFree, Speed1166, TEC-ART’S, Impulse and CBY and a huge list of other powerhouse AE86 garages bringing along exhibition parts and their killer demo cars for everyone to check out and enjoy (and if your global financial crisis budget allows, maybe buy some too!)

Check out their site (Japanese Only) for the full list of info and companies attending the event and we will keep you updated on photos as they come!


DTCC One Make Race

dtcc

The DTCC is an AE86 one-make series from Japan which has a very strict set of rules to ensure what they call ‘close battle’ racing.  The only engine allowed is an NA 4A-GE with bore modifications permitted but the stroke must remain the same. The block MUST be a 4A block, both 16v and 20v are allowed for entry and all other mods are open.

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Idlers Games AE86 Race Final

We are riding along with HR favorite Tsutomu Suzuki again driving his Cashiew Trueno #121 in the Idlers Games AE86 One Make Race at Tsukuba.


Hibino Takes Podium @ D1GP Okayama…

hibinoround3

…on the top step alongside Daigo Saito for equal first place?! It was an interesting final for Saturday’s D1GP 2009 Round 3 event at Okayama International Circuit with both drivers punishing their cars in their battle for victory, destroying them in the process.

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DEATH-PROOF: Goto-san’s AE86

gotosan

Goto-san is somewhat an enigma in Fuji Speedway’s drifting fraternity. With his distinct body styling and 10/10th’s driving style it’s no wonder a car like this can be so well regarded whilst being so damn rough. Alexi from Noriyaro was recently at Fuji and managed to capture this unique hachiroku in all its gritty realism. He writes:

The only reason this car exists is for the sole purpose of practicing as much as possible, It shows. “The minimum amount of work for the maximum result” is the philosophy behind this car.

Check out Noriyaro for the rest.


Idlers Circuit Meet @ Tsukuba

idlers

Idlers meets at Tsukuba Circuit.  Mike from SPEEDHUNTERS says “is where you’ll find the very best in Japanese automotive culture”. After seeing images such as these, I don’t doubt a single minute that he’s wrong! Here are some quotes from the article:

There have been a few changes to the event format since the last time I’ve been to one of these. There’s now an all-AE86 trophy race that’s been added to the festivities. It was a bit like an N2 race except that the cars were slightly more street-oriented.

and this one I’m still laughing over…

Although Idlers is strictly a grip event, it’s nearly impossible to get a bunch of tuned AE86 drivers together without at least a bit of tail-out antics.

Haha! It looks like we AE86 drivers have a bit of a reputation huh? I like that! Even though the event was dominated by Porsches, more than just a few AE86s turned up to race (and apparently get a little sideways too!), so jump over to SPEEDHUNTERS blog here and here to get all the pics!


AE86’s Of Nikko MSC

noriyaro_msc

Alexi has a few pictures of AE86’s up on his site that attended the recent MSC day at Nikko Circuit (in which he placed roughly fifth, congrats Alexi!). So get over there and check ’em out.