So we have established that the new Toyota 86 inherits the vital DNAs from the old AE86, maintaining the important bits of a fun-to-drive, rear-wheel drive sports coupe. If anything, It had impressed us at ZTH as well as the respected pro drifter, Tengku Djan. These are contributing assurances that the 86 is here to stay and is on it's way to becoming the next big thing in the motorsports scene real soon.
And to have started off at such a position, it is best to pay the good ol’ Hachiroku a visit as a tribute to the great heritage it had passed on and to have made the Toyota 86 a car that is truly inspiring to drive. Lining them up side-by-side, we could see how the main characteristics of the AE86 were embedded into the spiritual successor.
Yes it is a far cry from the original box-cart AE86 where it suggests as if it was designed using only a pencil and a ruler. The new Toyota 86 however, embodies the external styling cues of today’s sporty coupes.
The 86 was not designed as a hardcore racer, nor a tame automobile for the daily commute. It somehow sits in the middle where it could pass as an urban GT cruiser and yet conquer the wild side with the twists and turns. The same applies for the AE86, only that the predecessor is much more discreet in hiding its potential to the onlookers.
If not for Keiichi Tsuchiya or Initial D, there is no doubt that only the enthusiasts will ever truly know the real potential of this small hatchback.
There is almost no evident clue or hint to tell that once you are up against this panda-themed machine at the curves, what you will mostly see are a set of tail lights disappearing behind the turn.
And like the 86’s 2.0-liter, 200 horsepower Boxer engine, the AE86’s 1.6-liter twin cam is just nice to have some fun in this 1200kg machine. Of course, a tad more power would be more than welcomed for when there's a special need. But for what's worth, the Toyota 86 is still the definitive, compact FR sports coupe for the purists.
Watch both the 86's perform this 22nd of July 2012 at the TIMETOATTACK!
Special thanks to Ah Lun of CraftMotorsport for loaning us his precious AE86!
Like Takumi, Ah Lun's AE86 now features the higher revvin, 4-throttle 20V 4AGE!
Attachments
-
205.4 KB Views: 297