The Return of The Hachiroku (86)

I last posted about Toyota and Subaru teaming up to co-develop an affordable sports-coupe.

Now, the official photos of the car (codemamed FT-86) is out. The FT-86 will make its world debut at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. The production version of this 2+2 seater sports coupe, whose conceptual name harks back to the popular RWD Corolla AE86 or better known as Hachiroku, is due to go on sale towards the end of 2011.

“The FT-86 Concept is neither an electric vehicle nor a hybrid vehicle, but is a sports model with a gasoline engine developed to convey the essential appeal of automobiles in a new era. It is a must-see concept car that expresses TMC’s desire to once again create a Toyota sports car,” the Japanese automaker said in a release published on its official site.

The FT-86 is powered by a front-mounted, 2-liter four-cylinder boxer engine sourced from Subaru that drives the rear wheels. Official details are still scarce but our source says that Toyota opted to equip the concept model with a naturally-aspirated version of Subaru’s 2-liter flat four that produces 150hp in the Impreza. But it is very likely that Toyota has tweaked the engine to crank out a few more horses to boost output closer to the 200 mark.

It’s worth noting that in Japan, Subaru also offers a 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer with 250HP that powers the Impreza S-GT that we all know as the WRX in most markets.

Considering details are scarce, we can only guess at which powertrains will be available on the production version of the FT-86. Two logical choices will be either Subaru’s 2-liter and 2.5-liter four-cylinder boxer engines (depending on the market) in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms.

As for the looks of the car, our source suggests that the design of the car won’t change much when it reaches production in 2011. But the same can’t be said of the interior though as it still is too conceptual for production.

As mentioned before, the FT-86 will also spawn a Subaru version that will share the same underpinnings and mechanical hardware but according to the two Japanese automakers, the duo will feautre its own distinct styling.

The Real McCoy

Hands up for those who recognize the Veilside Fortune RX7 in F&F3. I see everyone's hands are waving wildly in the air.



Hands up all for those who love the looks of the car? Most hands are still firmly up.



Now hands up for those who have driven the real one? You got Lucas Black and Allen Lorenzo's hands still up, with shit-eating grins plastered on their faces.



Now Lucas is the male lead of F&F3, who's Allen Lorenzo? Just a regular Joe, if you call working for Tomei USA, being involved in Tarzan's record breaking Time Attack Impreza AND owning the original Veilside RX7 normal!



He's selling it off after two years and I would say the tribute photoshoot sums up the car very nicely. But I can't quite decide which smokin' hot orange Oriental I like more!

Nah, just kidding, my vote goes to the car.

P.S. The car is sold through Newera Imports. Check out their awesome site here. Their write ups about their cars in stock put many so-called car mags to shame.

Radical Smash Nurburgring Lap Record

As posted a few days ago, the Gumpert Apollo Sport set a new lap record for a road-legal production car at the Nürburgring at 7m11.57s.



Yesterday (20/08/09), Radical not only set a faster time, it smashed the record with a 6 minutes 48 second laptime.

The car was driven both to and on the 'Ring with Dunlop track tyres mounted to the wheels. Radical did not change the tyres before the run, to emphasize yet another point. "We've proved that the SR8LM is not only the world's best trackday car, but it's also practical enough to drive to and from the circuit," said Radical co-founder Mick Hyde. "It is a genuine production sportscar, with genuine performance credentials, as we've shown today."

Job well done guys:

Gumpert Apollo Sport sets Nurburgring lap record

The Gumpert Apollo Sport has set a new lap record for a road-legal production car at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife track as timed and reported by German magazine Sport-Auto.

The Audi-powered Apollo Sport was piloted by 26 year-old driver Florian Gruber on August 13th as the record time of exactly 7m11.57s was set. According to Sport-Auto the record was previously held by Michael Düchting clocking in 7m14.89s on a Donkervoort D8 RS06 in November 2005. However, if our memory serves correctly, wasn't it the Radical SR8 in road legal trim that clocked 6m55s?

The 700 hp of the car is provided by a 4.2 liter, bi-turbo V8 engine supplied by Audi. It propels the Gumpert Apollo from 0 to 200 km/h in 8.9 seconds and gives the car a top speed of 360 km/h.

Roland Gumpert, a former VW executive, started Gumpert back in 2004 in order to create track-ready and track-worthy supercars that were also street legal.

Road tests for the Apollo Sport are scheduled for mid-September. A release date has not yet been announced.





Source: Worldcarfans

Everyone can afford an Aston now !

Fancy being James Bond? Now you can! For a mere £20,000 you can now buy an Aston Martin.



In a shocking move, Aston Martin revealed that they are partnering with Toyota to produce an Aston version of the iQ micro car, to be known as the Aston Martin Cygnet. The "baby" Aston should be on sale before the end of next year.

Aston's chief executive Ulrich Bez says car manufacturers have to be prepared to diversify."We have to move on from the preconceived ideas regarding what an Aston Martin is about." .The Cygnet is designed to be a "luxury commuter" car which is a nod to the trend that "small is beautiful these days".



Before you go to your dealer to book this "baby", there is just one small catch - you can order a Cygnet only if you are an existing Aston owner.

Got to start saving up for that DB9 first after all...

Toyoru or Subarta ???

Toyota is getting back into the affordable sports-coupe game with an all new model by partnering with Subaru. Powering this future coupe will be Subaru’s 2.0-liter flat-4 equipped with a new direct-injection system, tuned to produce an impressive 200 bhp and 145 lb.-ft. of torque. The car will weigh about 1200kg., so expect fairly quick acceleration times, probably around 6.0 seconds to 100kmh. The suspension will consist of MacPherson struts up front and a multilink setup at the rear, with the chassis based on that of the Subaru Impreza and Legacy.

Toyota will mainly be in charge of the car’s styling. Although both Toyota and Subaru versions will be offered, the two models won’t look much different, apart from badging.

This front-engine/rear-wheel-drive coupe will reincarnate the spirit of the 1983-1987 Corolla Levin/Trueno (AE86), a car that is still popular today, especially among drift enthusiasts. According to our sources, Toyota’s code name for this future sports car is 086A. That it’s so similar to AE86 is no coincidence.

The car is scheduled to appear sometime in 2011 or 2012.



Source: Road and Track Magazine

Time Attack Nissan 200 SX 3D Rendered

Here the time attack/street Nissan 200 SX that Bo Zolland of Virtualtech had designed for a Swedish client.

The car will use a 600 horsepower turbo engine and will use a Venturi Tunnel to hold the car firmly down while helping to increase speed. Using a racing chassis and a body built entirely from carbon fiber, the 200 SX is inspired by the GT 500 Super GT racing series vehicles.





Source: SeriousWheels.com

MJ's Dream Garage

Charcoalx posted his dream garage.

This is mine:



On the right is the Nissan R390 GT1 powered by Nissan Twin Turbo 3.5L V8 engine.

Power: 410.1 kw / 549.9 bhp @ 6800 rpm
Torque: 637.2 nm / 470.0 ft lbs @ 4400 rpm
0-100km/h: 3.3 seconds
Top Speed: 350 km/h

I will be happy just having this car in my garage.

There is just one small problem. Nissan only produce 2 R390 that is road legal and they kept one in their own warehouse in Zama (And I do not know where is the other one. If you know where is it, please let me know).

HPI Cover Evo For Sale

HPI always impress me with their coverage of mouthwatering Japanese car porn, and the same goes for issue 95's cover car, an Evo 7 GT-A christened as EFO by Jeff Ash who runs renowned Australia tuning house C-Red.

When asked on the almost outrageous claim on the cover, he replied "Yes it beat a Gallardo and a 575M when I won the Bullrun in it."

Amazingly, EFO is an automatic but redeeming features are top-of-the-line JDM parts incorporated into a reliable and good-looking street car. I guess there are demand for performance vehicles that won't break your left leg when you are stuck in traffic yet has the ability to whip supercars on the odd track day here and there.


The power parts list goes as follow: TP 3071R External Gat Turbo Kit - Wastegate plumbed in, HPI Manifold, Silicon Radiator Hose, Air Filter and Intercooler, Trust PE2 Exhaust, Metal Cat 4" Cat, Perrin Fuel Rail, Sard 700cc Injectors, Trust Cam Gears and belt, HKS Kansai Carbon Plug Cover and Strut Brace, Evo 9 RS Coilpacks. Recently installed 15k old Auto Box

Results? Made 303hp at all four wheels on All Star's Dynapacks up, more than doubling (!) from 150hp stock on Top Racing's 4wd Dyno Dynamics. Yes, Jeff and C-Red like their ponies.

EFO ran a a quarter mile in 14.4 seconds with a 96 miles terminal speed when it was totally stock, while the current guise will run a respectable 12 seconds.

As mentioned, this is meant to be a comfy daily driver and the interior reflects this inclination with a pair of comfortable Recaro SR-6 KK100 seats mounted on Recaro Low Mount Rails, Momo Evolution Steering Wheel, JDM-style Karo mats and custom door trims.

If you still can't get over the fact that its an auto, how about a pimpin' Works Bell Paddle Shift Conversion to make you happy? Spot the flappies behind the steering wheel.

Taking centre stage in the interior is a Pioneer deck with Bluetooth capabilities for your mobile phone, Greddy turbo timer and Tanabe Electric Active Suspension Controller for you to adjust suspenion dampening at the touch of a button.

Yep, Jeff loves his tunes as well. A pair of Eclipse 12" subwoofer in a custom enclosure to clear the HKS K rear strut brace. A Pioneer 6 disc CD changer completes the ICE set-up.

C-Red being a SSR dealer, EFO runs shiny Super Black Coat SSR MS1 19x9 rims with +28 offset to flush out the guards, which you can see from the picture below. Further attention to details are evident from the repainted Brembos and slash anodised hub covers.

Parting shot of this unique creation. Check out the rare Mines carbon rear lip and JDM rear Visor which is a dealer option in Japan only.

A well-executed build with top notch JDM parts and you can be assured extra attention is paid to achieve perfection because well... it's the boss' car.

So the price? A mere AUD 35,000. Do a rough calculation on the cost of parts alone and you will realize this C-Red demo car is a performance bargain.

Contact Jeff at jash@c-red.com.au before EFO is sold!

Form Follows Function (S2K)

GT mirrors (Craft Square?), mismatched front & rear rims imbue this S2000 with a track-oriented vibe, which is contrasted nicely with how clean the rest of the car looks.

These should be RE30 rims custom painted Takata green. As proclaimed by some track junkies, "Brake dust adds character to a car..."

More goodies behind - a 3D GT wing and J's Racing exhaust round up the rest of the package.

Goes to show that small, tastefully applied mods are sufficient to transform the S2000 from subdued-looking roadster to a purposeful street/track machine. Nice!

Photo Credits: Eugene Seow

Rolls Royce's new V12

Rolls Royce is known for their reluctance to talk performance numbers like the usual car manufacturers. I think their rationale is that when you can afford a Rolls, you have transcended way WAY beyond comparing with Mr Jones' ride.

Being Carbon Clad though, we HAVE to tell you the numbers for the gorgeous example above which we seen recently - a twin-turbo V-12 engine displacing 6.6L and making over 500-hp. Torque figures have not been officially revealed but is speculated to be in the vicinity of a garguantuan 533lb-ft.

Oh, the 200ex experimental car housing this new engine is not too shabby as well.

Eight Lives

I have always like the performance of Evolutions, but not necessarily their looks.

The first to fifth iteration look a bit too much like Protons for me. Number 6 is obviously legendary, but again the 7th attempt looks a bit half-baked as the front grille is too similar to the base Lancer.

The Evolution 8 is the first Evo whose looks I really like, with its square-jawed, gaping front and stretched fenders conveying a sense of muscularity and menance. So when you take the range topping MR version and bolt on a tonne of quality JDM parts, you get this magnificent example.

LOOKS - INGS body kit, with a carbonfibre bonnet up front and boot out back topped off with a Voltex GT spoiler. The cumbersome stock side view mirrors are also replaced with aerodynamic Ganadors

GO - Basic bolt-ons like HKS Super flow intake and HKS Hi Silent power exhaust, combined with higher boost (HKS EVC5) and aftermarket engine management duties courtesy of a APEXI Power FC, equates easily to approximately 350 bhp.

STOP - With a proven race heritage in F1, WRC, NASCAR, Indy Car and the likes, the Alcon 6 pot mono block calipers are combined with 343mm rotors produce mammoth and fade-free stopping force. The 17" Buddy Club P1 rims allow the huge calipers to be proudly displayed through the thin 6 spokes.

TURN: The MR's centre of gravity has been lowered by the use of aluminium for the roof panel and weight reductions to the upper half of the body. Other handling improvements are to the electronic 4WD system - to the ACD (Active Centre Differential) + Super AYC (Active Yaw Control) handling systems. To this already potent mix, an set of Tein Monoflex coilies are paired with EDFC to allow for fast, in-cabin damper adjustment.

A practical, good-looking 4 door sedan with the ability to let 95% of all cars on the roads kiss the dust... What more can an enthusiast ask for?

Singapore's one and only Kouki S14!

Silvias are known for the various front conversions that can be done, with the S15 front being one of the most popular (read: common).

Our man Raymond has a Zenki S14 and with no Kouki S14 officially or even parallel imported into Singapore, he set about to make his ride the one and only in Singapore.

Regular and eagle-eyed readers will remember his car looking like this.

After parting with much dough (a new set of bonnet, front bumper, headlights AND front fenders don't exactly come cheap), his S14 is transformed into a sharper and more intense looking creature.

So Zenki or Kouki, which one is your favourite?