How This Naturally-Aspirated
Toyota AE86
Broke 1 Minute at Tsukuba
For the generation who grew up reading Initial D manga and idolizing Keiichi Tsuchiya, Toyota’s humble AE86 is nothing short of legendary, yet it’s hard to believe the original Hachiroku is now 33-years old. And even though the AE86 is no spring chicken, tuners are still able to find ways to teach the old dog new tricks. ircuit
Takumi Hayashi’s Carbon Junkie
Toyota Levin AE86 track monster is built for time attack and managed to break
the one-minute barrier at Tsukuba Circuit back in January this year. Even for
cars like the Toyota Supra Turbo and Nissan Skyline GT-R, Tsukuba’s one-minute
barrier is considered the tuner’s equivalent to Mount Everest—many people spend
their whole lives chasing that time. And for an old naturally-aspirated Hachi,
the climb to the summit is exponentially more difficult.
to 220PS, or about 216 horsepower. It’s an impressive figure for an N/A AE86 for sure, but 1-minute Tsukuba challengers often boast power figures that are twice as great. So how does Hayashi-san manage that disadvantage? Lightness - we’re talking about a full-carbon diet.
The Carbon Junkie AE86 took about six years to develop. In that
time, its aero bumpers, massive front splitter, custom hood, hatch, door skins,
roof, fenders, chassis-mounted GT wing, quarter glass, virtually everything,
has been converted to dry carbon fiber. Inside, the cabin is completely
stripped and the factory dashboard has also been replaced by a carbon fiber
panel housing a RacePak digital gauge cluster. Is it overkill? Maybe, but the
numbers don’t lie: Hayashi’s carbon 86 with full aero weighs less than
800kg—less than a Lotus Elise.
As tuners have moved on to more powerful platforms like the
Mitsubishi Evo IX or more aerodynamic platforms like the Mazda FD3S RX-7, it’s
exciting to see Hayashi-san stick with the old icon and continue to push its
envelope. We can’t wait to see what’s next for the Carbon Junkie Hachiroku.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น