TRD 86 Griffon Concept

Toyota Racing Development of Japan released this update on their progress with their Griffon concept based off of the GT-86. Originally debuted at the 2013 Tokyo Auto Salon, the idea was to build a car capable of lapping Tsukuba Circuit in under a minute with the stock unibody and engine. All of the modifications have been done in the areas of suspension, lighter components and improved aerodynamics. These modifications make sense when you consider the Toyota GT-86 is the spiritual successor of the AE86. Both cars were designed to be lightweight handling machines with modest power so they could be used to train drivers.


Source: TRD Headquarters on YouTube

Drift Lessons From The King – Jay Leno

Here’s another installment from Jay Leno’s first trip to Japan. Here he’s getting drifting lessons from The Drift King, Keiichi Tsuchiya. Even though Leno is probably the most famous car nut in the world, he sucks at drifting. The result is a pretty entertaining video. Jay almost puts the Toyota GT-86 into the wall twice. Keiichi has to pull the hand brake from the passenger seat at the end to purposely spin the car instead of crumpling it into a concrete wall.


Source: Jay Leno’s Garage on YouTube

86 Day Parade 2012

Here’s some leftover footage from this year’s 86 Day at Fuji Speedway by the same guy who brought us the Pit Walk video. 86 Day is observed every year on August 6th to celebrate the history of the Toyota AE86, a lightweight, rear wheel drive enthusiast car of legendary status in Japan. This year was a little different because the AE86’s were joined by the Toyota GT-86’s for the first time (that’s what the Scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ are called outside of the US). About 150 cars participated in the parade led by The Drift King, Keiichi Tsuchiya.


Source: YouTube user noriyaro

The Nature of Performance – Chris Harris

This video is for the people who have yet to test drive the Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT-86 and don’t see the appeal of them because they don’t look like much of a performance car on paper. It’s my opinion that we as a generation of automotive enthusiasts are too concerned with on paper performance numbers. My theory for the reason is pretty simple. Another name for “on paper performance” is “impressive on an internet forum performance.” The problem is that on paper performance is all about power, acceleration and top speed numbers. What the paper doesn’t convey are things like chassis balance, feedback and the character of a car. Chris Harris does a truly exceptional job explaining the difference in this comparison video of the Toyota GT-86, Nissan 370Z and a used Porsche Cayman S. He says, “It’s time we got back to enjoying performance for its nature and not because of its quantity” and I couldn’t agree more.


Source: DRIVE on YouTube