Tag: levin ae86 (Page 2 of 8)

Casual drive through Otsuka and Koishikawa in 1988 and 2023

A drive through Otsuka and Koishikawa – Friday Video

November 3, 2023 / banpei / 0 Comments

This week Kamepo posted a new video of a side-by-side drive through the Otsuka and Koishikawa districts in Tokyo. I had no clue where exactly this is, but according to the map, this is part of Bunkyo and nearby the Shuto Expressway C1. That means it can’t be too far away from the centre, right?

According to the various sources I read, the Otsuka neighbourhood is transforming itself into an area with a mix of traditional Japanese culture and modern foreign influence. It’s also the last place in Tokyo where you can find tram lines. This tram line, the Toden Arakawa Line, is unfortunately not on the route driven by Kamepo.

The Koishikawa area is known for the Koishikawa Korakuen garden which hosts beautiful plum and cherry blossoms in springtime. It’s also hosting various University buildings including the University of Tokyo, which also takes care of a large botanical garden. The drive will pass the University at 3:30 in the video and the botanical garden at 4:35.

Altezza RS200 with Levin AE86 front - a better picture

When an Altezza RS200 decides to marry a Corolla Levin AE86 – AE86 Wall of Shame

October 31, 2023 / banpei / 0 Comments

About three years ago Lavender posted a weird car he encountered in traffic: a Toyota Altezza RS200 with the nose of a Corolla Levin AE86 crafted on it! The job looks a bit rough, but the idea is excellent!

Altezza RS200 with Levin AE86 front - as seen by Lavender — *Altezza RS200 with Levin AE86 front – as seen by Lavender*

This caused a bit of a stir in the AE86 community, but ultimately we actually like it very much! The Carina AA63 GT-R is named the four door hachi-roku, but this could be a modern interpretation of that! Let’s see some other photos and angles of this modern interpretation!

Testing drag-coefficient on a Levin AE86

AE86 Trivia: the amazing Levin & Trueno AE86 drag-coefficient

October 3, 2023 / banpei / 0 Comments

With the arrival of the fifth Corolla and Sprinter, the Levin and Trueno AE86 featured two distinct body styles: a sporty looking two-door and a slippery looking three-door. This was different compared to the previous generations. In the fourth generation the Levin and Trueno were only a (top of the line) trim level on the three-door. The new Levin and Trueno had a very different appearance where the Levin retained fixed headlights and the Trueno gained popup headlights. I wondered how this would influence the drag-coefficient of both models and both body types. Time for another AE86 Trivia post!

Fixed or popup headlights

Friday Video: two hours non-stop 90s drifting

June 26, 2015 / banpei / 2 Comments

Mr Yumio at Youtube just uploaded his private drift videos from 1990 till 1993. Half of the content takes place at local drift events but the other half is shot on various touges. You really can see how things evolved since this early 90s drifting!

It is interesting to observe in this video that most cars at the touge are old “disposable” cars. For instance the Nissan Skyline R30 and Toyota Corolla Levin/Sprinter Trueno AE86 are popular cars. At the circuit a lot of new cars can be seen: Mazda RX7 FC, Nissan Silvia S13, Nissan 180SX, Eunos Roadster and a Toyota Soarer Z30. Still the AE86 is ubiquitous at the circuit as well.

Other extraordinary cars seen at the touge are: Nissan Skyline GT-R PGC10, Isuzu Piazza, Isuzu Gemini PF60 and a hot Nissan Sunny B310. At the circuit the most odd thing is a second generation Honda CRX SiR drifting in reverse!

I bet you can’t wait to spend the remainder of your Friday afternoon watching this video: Continue reading

Picture of the Week: Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 at Paris-Dakar 1984

Picture of the Week: Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 at Paris-Dakar in 1984

May 10, 2015 / banpei / 0 Comments

In 1982 and 1983 Masahiro Uchida and Masaru Kubota joined the Paris-Dakar rally in a Toyota Carina ST A60. The year after they chose a different beast: a Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 coupe. And they stuck to that formula the next two years as well.

I have no idea who is posing next to the AE86, but surely that is neither Masahiro Uchida nor Masaru Kubota.
This is a zenki Levin, so it is not the same as the kouki the team used in their famous 1986 video.

Now there are a couple of things odd in this photo: first of all the exhaust is modified in a way that became fashionable in the mid 90s on Opel Calibras and Volkswagen Golfs. Probably they tilted the exhaust tip upwards to prevent it hitting rocks and bumps.
Second of all the rear axle appears if it is IRS and leaning on the stack of tires. Could it be they converted the live axle to IRS to increase ride height? I watched the 1986 video two times in a row but could not see a similar modification on the kouki Levin AE86 they used in 1986…

Via: Forum-Auto

Brilliant: collection of Showa scale model cars

February 4, 2015 / banpei / 0 Comments

Now this was a big jaw-dropper: two videos of a Toyota Mark II Grande GX71 literally covered in Showa scale model cars. This must be the largest personal collection of scale model cars I’ve seen!

Now if you look carefully enough you can see that each and every scale model car has its own special paint job (mostly kaido racer, race car livery or kyusha kai) and set of (rare) JDM rims! If you count the number of hours it took to make them look this way alone it already is an amazing job!

Now the list of cars, mainly from the late Showa-era, is going to be a lengthy one, but I’ll try to sum up the most important ones:

Toyota Mark II Grande GX71 (duh)
Toyota Soarer GZ10/MZ11/MZ12 (including the Shakotan Boogie Soarer twice)
Numerous Toyota Celica XX GA61
Toyota Celica GT RA45
Toyota Corolla Levin TE27
Toyota Corolla Levin TE71 four door sedan
Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 hatchback
Toyota Corsa AL11
Numerous Nissan Skylines C10, C110, C210, R30
Numerous Nissan Cedric/Gloria 230, 330, 430
Numerous Nissan Fairlady S30
Nissan EXA
Hasemi Skyline KDR30 Super Silhouette kaido racer replica
Nissan Silvia S110 Super Silhouette kaido racer replica
Isuzu Bellet GT-R
Mazda RX-3

And the list could go on for another 20 or 30 models that I overlooked…

Watch video number one: Continue reading