ae86

Everyone loves an origin story. In early 2016, an aspiring journalist (Maurice Malone), and an aspiring photographer (me), crossed paths. What would transpire, over the next few months, would be two

The 2019 season ender was particularly exciting, as Ken Gushi clinched the win after several exciting tandem battles in his ZN6 Toyota 86. The car was running strong with its Blue Moon-built 2JZ-GTE

Like most brilliant ideas that happen in life, the spark for this project came up during some hypothetical conversations between Kamata Yoshinori, the man behind Tec-Art’s, and Wai Hong, one of the

Some cars have been carefully and brilliantly reimagined, such as the ex-BN Sports PS13. There’s a former D1GP Silvia which is still in action, an ex-Shino Kouba AE86 which is currently living its

Instead, consider this an introduction to six cars, some of which I’m going to try and hunt down for more in-depth features in the coming weeks and months. You know, proper Speedhunting. These are

My problem, and it’s not a bad one to have, is that for as long as I can remember I’ve been what most would consider an ’86-head’. Everyone for whom the AE86 has managed to get under the skin of will

That old saying, ‘The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry’ fits my latest cultural exploration in Indonesia perfectly. Because no matter how carefully one plans things out or dots the i’s

At a small race circuit in Kildare, Ireland (around 45 minutes from Dublin’s city centre) 210 AE86s gathered last weekend. It’s a significant number, as it’s almost certainly the largest gathering of

This Toyota is Marc’s ultimate 86, “basically the build I wish I was able to do years ago,” he says. Everything except the two-tone bodywork was done by Marc himself, the end result of which is clean

But I have what is perhaps an embarrassing admission to make; I am not much of an Initial D fan. I somehow managed to completely miss the first North American wave of popularity for the series, and

During this long and arduous time, he sought refuge in distraction, and found respite in his passion embodied: Initial D. Many car fanatics are familiar with the story of Takumi in his ‘Hachiroku’ or

Whether you view them as some old shitbox from the ’80s, or as some machine worth endless praise, they’ve spawned quite the fanbase all the same. If you’ve ever talked to someone who’s into old

For the record, I do admire unique approaches and ingenious design solutions as much as the next person, but I also recognise that sometimes the best solutions already exist. And often for a reason,

There was an obvious omission, though: Irelands love affair with the ‘Twincam’. Argue against its cultural significance in any way and you will be defeated. A unique style found only in a small corner

Since I haven’t published any stories on Speedhunters in quite a while, and since the website continues to attract new readers every month, I thought it would be a good idea to reintroduce myself and

“It’s just a car.” We’ve all heard it from the outsiders. Or perhaps we’ve uttered it to ourselves in a moment of despair – there’s surely no reason to be this upset about a machine. But that’s a

I wasn’t searching for a Hachiroku again; I wanted something older, but on the other hand I already knew the AE86 community and had a few tricks to make the old Toyota a little more entertaining.

I figured enough time had passed since I publicly declared that I would never buy one, to re-visit and see what was happening within the Irish ocht sé community. My fascination and respect for the

There’s no doubt that the AE86 is special. The Corolla was the underdog of the mid-1980s; not as powerful, not as quick, not as good-looking as everything else around it. Even in USDM GT-S trim, the

The club members first gathered in a parking area early in the morning for a quick chat and even a monsoon season heatwave couldn’t stop local Hachiroku enthusiasts driving their beloved AE86s, a