For Sale: A Restored 1987 Toyota Corolla AE86 Twin-Cam

The Toyota Corolla AE86 is one of the most influential of Japan’s many modern classics. The car played a pivotal role in the establishment of drifting as a sport, it became a multi-championship winning race car, and today it enjoys a cult following around the world.

The AE86 became a Japanese pop culture icon thanks to its inclusion in the Initial D anime and manga series. The car was used by the character Takumi Fujiwara, a street racer and tofu delivery driver on whom the series is based.

Fast Facts – The Toyota Corolla AE86

• The Toyota Corolla AE86 is the two-door, rear-wheel drive version of the Toyota Corolla E80 – the fifth generation of the popular economy car.
• Unlike the majority of E80 variants (and the Corolla variants that would follow), the front-engine/rear-wheel drive layout of the AE86 combined with its near 50/50 weight distribution and low curb weight made it ideal for performance driving.
• The AE86 would win the 1986 European Touring Car Championship Manufacturer’s Title, the British Touring Car Championship in 1986 and 1987, and a slew of other race and class wins around the world.
• The car you see here is a 1987 Toyota Corolla AE86 that has had a recent £20,000 restoration. It’s finished in a red over black two-tone with Minilite-style wheels and four front-mounted spotlights.

Initial D + Takumi Fujiwara

In 1995 the Initial D manga (graphic novel) first appeared in print in Japan, it was written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno and it rapidly exploded in popularity across Japan. By the time the series ended in 2013 there had been 719 individual chapters across forty-eight tankōbon volumes.

This cover of an Initial D manga shows both the now-famous Sprinter Trueno and lead character Takumi Fujiwara.

The Initial D anime (animated) series began appearing on television in 1998, the full catalog now includes individual episodes and a number of feature films, with the most recent being released in 2022. The series is showing no signs of losing its popularity.

Both the manga and the anime Initial D feature the Sprinter Trueno AE86 driven by lead character Takumi Fujiwara. The car has a white over black two tone paint job and black alloy wheels, many clones of the car have been made over the years as a result, but the series has significantly lifted the values of all AE86s worldwide.

Keiichi Tsuchiya – The Drift King

Keiichi Tsuchiya is a Japanese racing driver who is perhaps best known today for his work popularizing drifting as a form of motorsport. Tsuchiya himself drives a Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno and large parts of the central Initial D character Takumi Fujiwara was based directly on him.

Tsuchiya worked closely with Shuichi Shigeno, the creator of Initial D, as a consultant and he would later work as a stunt coordinator and stuntman on The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Above Video: This onboard footage of Keiichi Tsuchiya behind the wheel of his own AE86 gives fascinating insight into his unique driving style.

Although Tsuchiya is best-known for his drifting and touge driving he also enjoyed a significant amount of success in more traditional forms of motorsport – he finished 2nd in the 2001 All Japan GT Championship and he’s a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner.

The Toyota AE86 – Corolla Levin + Sprinter Trueno

The AE86 was released in two major variants, the Corolla Levin and the Sprinter Trueno. The key difference between these two cars is their lights, the Trueno has pop-up headlights and the Levin has fixed headlights.

There are a number of other smaller differences of course, but the headlights are the easiest way to tell the two cars apart. In Initial D the character Takumi Fujiwara drives a Sprinter Trueno, as does real-life racer Keiichi Tsuchiya, though both models have enjoyed a significant boost in value and desirability as a result.

The Levin and Trueno were released in parallel in 1983 (as 1984 model year cars) and built until 1987. They were offered in two major body styles, two-door coupe and three-door lift back, and in the Japanese market they were fitted with the DOHC 4A-GE 1.6 liter engine.

This is the Toyota 4A-GEU inline-four cylinder engine, it has twin cams, fuel injection, 16 valves, and a head developed by Yamaha. Depending on version it would originally have been making approximately 130 bhp and 110 ft lbs of torque.

A number of different versions of this engines were used depending on year, model specification, and market. Most cars were fitted with a 5-speed manual although some got the less-desirable 4-speed automatic.

Power wasn’t breathtaking in stock trim, Japanese market cars made approximately 130 bhp with 110 ft lbs of torque. The engines are highly tunable though, with strong aftermarket support, and many now produce well over 150 bhp as a result.

The AE86 enjoys nearly perfect 50/50 weight distribution and a very low curb weight of somewhere in the region of 900 – 980 kgs (1,984 – 2,160 lbs).

The 1987 Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 Shown Here

The car you see here is a 1987 Toyota Corolla Levin AE86, it’s finished in a red over black two tone paint job and it features Minilite-style alloy wheels and four front-mounted spotlights.

Thankfully the interior of this car remains largely original, it has managed to avoid the addition of aftermarket items like steering wheels, seats, and gear knobs.

This Corolla Levin AE86 was restored recently at a cost of £20,000, or approximately $24,200 USD, and as you would expect it’s powered by the legendary DOHC 4A-GE 1.6 liter engine with power sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission and a limited slip differential.

Modern Japanese classics like the AE86 are only increasing in popularity, so much so that in 2012 Toyota announced the all-new Toyota GT86, a modern 2+2 sports car that was directly influenced by the AE86 from the 1980s.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can visit the listing here on Silverstone Auctions.

The car is due to roll across the auction block on the 27th of August in England with a price guide of £40,000 – £50,000, or roughly $48,500 – $60,600 USD.

Images courtesy of Silverstone Auctions

The post For Sale: A Restored 1987 Toyota Corolla AE86 Twin-Cam appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/toyota-corolla-ae86/
via gqrds

For Sale: The Last Ariel Nomad R Ever Made

This was the final Ariel Nomad R ever produced by the specialist British automaker. It’s powered by a supercharged 2.0 liter Honda inline-four producing 335 bhp, and it has a supercar-beating 0-60 mph time of 2.9 seconds.

The Ariel Motor Company is one of the world’s smallest automotive marques, with just 30 full-time staff. Despite this they have risen to become globally famous for their unique, ultra-lightweight sports cars including the Ariel Atom and the Ariel Nomad.

Fast Facts – The Ariel Nomad R

• Ariel started out in 1991 as Solocrest Ltd, the name was officially changed to the Ariel Motor Company Ltd in 1999 and in the year 2000 they released their first car – the world-famous Ariel Atom.
• The Ariel Atom has a tubular steel exoskeleton chassis, open front and rear wheels, an open cockpit, and a mid-mounted engine driving the rear wheels. Its curb weight of just 612 kgs (1,349 lbs) results in an exceptional power-to-weight ratio.
• In 2015 Ariel announced the Nomad, a road-legal dual-sport vehicle using the same principles as the Atom, but capable of being driven at speed both on and off road. Power was originally provided by a 2.4 liter Honda engine producing 235 bhp.
• The Ariel Nomad R is a later road-oriented version of the buggy, just five were made and each was powered by a supercharged 2.0 liter four-cylinder Honda engine producing 335 bhp, with power sent to the rear wheels via a 6-speed sequential transmission.

The Ariel Motor Company And The Atom

Founded in 1991 as Solocrest Ltd the name was changed to Ariel Motor Company Ltd before the release of the company’s first production car – the Ariel Atom.

With street tires and its suspension adjusted to be lower and stiffer for road use, the Nomad R is the tarmac rally version of the Ariel Nomad.

The Atom lit up the motoring world on both sides of the Atlantic when it was released, largely due to positive reviews on automotive television shows like Top Gear. It’s been described as a Lotus 7 for the 21st century and it’s certainly a car that Colin Chapman would recognize as upholding his key design philosophy of “add lightness.”

The engineering team at Ariel developed an all-new exoskeleton chassis for the Atom made from tubular steel. The cockpit was left almost entirely open with no weather protection at all in the interest of weight savings over comfort.

The Atom has open wheels front and back, a mid-mounted engine, disc brakes on all four corners, and a curb weight of somewhere in the region of 612 kgs (1,349 lbs) depending on the model and final specification.

The Ariel Atom has now been in production for 22 years and counting, a number of updates have been made to the car over the years, and a variety of versions have been offered. Ariel makes just 100 (or so) cars per year, this helps to ensure that resale values remain high.

The Ariel Nomad R

When the Ariel Nomad was released in 2015 it received much the same rapturous welcome that the Atom had enjoyed 15 years earlier. In many respects the Ariel Nomad is a dual-sport version of the Atom, however they are both unique with different chassis.

This is the original Ariel Nomad, you’ll note that it’s fitted with off road wheels and tires, its suspension is cranked up higher, and it doesn’t have the windscreen of the Nomad R.

Unlike the Atom, the Nomad has a full roll cage surrounding the driver and passenger, it has uprated longer travel suspension to better handle off road use, and some versions have a full windscreen with some other body panels to help keep the dirt and mud on the outside.

The standard Ariel Nomad is fitted with alloy rally style wheels and off road tires, though some owners have lowered the suspension and fitted road tires for use on traditional asphalt circuits.

The Ariel Nomad R was offered in a very limited production run of just five units, all of which sold quickly. The key difference between the Nomad and the Nomad R is that the latter car was developed for road and tarmac based use, with different wheels and tires, lower set suspension, a windscreen and some other road-oriented features.

The Nomad R was fitted with a Honda K20Z3 2.0 liter engine fitted with a twin-lobe supercharger producing 11 psi of boost. Output is listed as 335 bhp at 7,600 rpm, it has 243 lb ft of torque at 5,500 rpm with power sent through a 6-speed sequential transmission with auto-blipping on downshifts and straight-cut gears.

Above Video: This episode from Carfection features Henry Catchpole driving the Ariel Nomad R, it includes plenty of onboard footage with full engine sound, and it’s well worth watching.

The car has four-piston Alcon brakes, and black 18 inch alloy wheels shod with Yokohama AO52 tires front and back. Suspension consists of Bilstein MDS dampers (adjustable for compression and rebound) and custom-made Eibach springs.

The performance of the Nomad R is just as impressive as you might expect, with a 0 – 60 mph time of 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 121 mph – which is limited by the close-ratio gearing.

The 2021 Ariel Nomad R Shown Here

The car you see here is said to be the final Ariel Nomad R that was built of the five that were produced in total.

With just 987 miles on the odometer this Nomad has barely been broken in, the owner has fitted it with uprated Öhlins suspension front and back and it has a light mounting bar with four spotlights up top for keeping trails well-lit after dark.

This Nomad R is now being offered for sale on Collecting Cars out of Warwickshire in the United Kingdom. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

The post For Sale: The Last Ariel Nomad R Ever Made appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/ariel-nomad-r/
via gqrds

The “Lost” 1948 Tucker Convertible Prototype Is For Sale On eBay

This is said to be the 1948 Tucker Convertible prototype, a car that had been developed and partially constructed when the ambitious automaker was shut down due to (alleged) controversial tactics applied by America’s larger automobile companies.

Of the few Tucker 48s that were built from leftover parts after Tucker went out of business, this car is the most controversial. There is some evidence that is an original Tucker 48 convertible prototype, and there’s some evidence it might have been the first prototype of the Tucker 49, with a new wrap-around rear windscreen.

Fast Facts – 1948 Tucker Convertible Prototype

• In the post-WWII years in the United States the general public were clamoring for new automotive designs but the Big Three were slow to capitalize on it. Preston Tucker launched his design for the “Tucker Torpedo” into this void and the American people loved it.
• By the time of its launch the name had changed to Tucker 48 as “torpedo” was likely to dredge up negative feelings about the war.
• The Tucker 48 included a slew of unique design features, many of which were focused on occupant safety. The car had pop-out shatterproof windshields, a padded dashboard, a central headlight that turned to see around corners, a perimeter frame, and a “crash chamber” under the dashboard to help protect occupants.
• Company founder Preston Tucker had developed not only an innovative car, but also a series of innovative methods of crowdfunding his start up. This would lead to a controversial SEC investigation that crippled the company and resulted in it shutting down. By the time the charges were proven false and he was fully acquitted it was too late.
• The controversial car you see here, chassis 1057, is believed to be either the original Tucker 48 convertible prototype or the Tucker 49 prototype with a wraparound rear window. It was completed in 2010 and it’s now for sale with a $2.5 million USD asking price.

Preston Tucker

The Tucker Torpedo was set to be the most revolutionary post-WWII production car in America. The Big Three automakers had been relatively slow to release all new models after the war but an ambitious and quick-thinking entrepreneur named Preston Tucker was hard at work to make them all obsolete.

Preston Tucker defied the odds and took on the “Big Three” US automakers. he’s now recognized as a significant influence on automobile safety.

Preston Tucker was a man who had already led a full and fascinating life before he launched his own namesake automaker. He’d been born on a peppermint farm and became obsessed with automobiles at an early age – by the time was 11 he had already learned to drive and by the age of 16 he was buying old cars, fixing them up, and selling them for a profit.

He worked for a time as an office boy for the Cadillac Motor Company, then later joined the police force at the age of 19 as he wanted access to their high speed cars and motorcycles, his plan was undone by his mother who exposed his true age – an age that was below the minimum for joining the force.

He would later rejoin (at a more suitable age) but would be fired shortly thereafter for cutting a hole in the dashboard of a cruiser to help warm the cabin in winter.

By the age of 20 Tucker had taken over the lease of a gas station with his new wife Vera, he would work on the Ford Motor Company assembly line during the day and she would run the station. He would later experiment selling used Studebakers, this would lead to a very successful life as a car salesman.

This undated image shows the Tucker factory floor. 36 cars were completed with an additional 15 made from left over parts. This convertible you see here would be number 16 and the 52nd car in total.

Being a longtime fan of motor racing Tucker fulfilled a dream in 1935 when he started a new business with racing car designer Harry Miller.

Tucker’s Military Ambitions

In the late 1930s with the impending storm of war descending over Europe Tucker turned his attentions to military vehicle design. He developed an advanced high-speed armored combat vehicle called the Tucker Combat Car, a vehicle with a rotating gun turret on the roof inside a clear perspex bubble – it was called the Tucker Gun Turret.

Although the military wasn’t interested in the Tucker Combat Car they were very interested in the Tucker Gun Turret. Different versions of this invention would be fitted as gun turrets to the B-17 and B-29 bombers during the war.

After WWII Tucker turned his attentions back to automobiles, specifically to automobiles that were modern, advanced, and safe – the kind of cars the American people were clamoring for.

This is the still-incomplete car, it was built using original Tucker parts where ever possible.

With a small team he developed the Tucker Torpedo, later renamed the Tucker 48, as it was felt that the word “torpedo” was likely to dredge up negative feelings about the war.

Crowdfunding And The SEC

Never one to be bound by tradition, Preston Tucker sought new avenues of funding for his venture. He had raised $17,000,000 in a stock issue that’s now recognized as one of the first speculative IPOs in history. He also sold dealership licenses across the country and perhaps most interestingly, he created the Tucker Accessories Program – essentially a very early example of crowdfunding.

The Tucker Accessories Program allowed people to secure a spot on the lengthy Tucker waiting list by pre-purchasing items like seat covers, a radio, and bespoke luggage – before their car was built. It raised $2,000,000 but it’s one of the things that attracted unwanted attention from the SEC.

The Tucker engine was originally a helicopter engine. It’s a flat-six with a displacement of 334 cubic inches (5.4 liters) and it produced 166 bhp with 372 lb ft of torque.

It’s been alleged in the years that followed that the SEC investigation was essentially an indirect targeted attack on Tucker by the Big Three US automakers. In the court case that followed Tucker would be acquitted on all charges, but the damage had been done and the company never recovered.

The Tucker 48

Preston Tucker set to work in the mid-1940s to develop, build, and sell a new four-door sedan that would be the safest and most advanced automobile in the United States, and probably the world.

The development process was fast-paced but mired in difficulties, the company initially worked to develop their own engine before switching to a flat-six helicopter engine to which they added a slew of changes including a liquid-cooling jacket.

A new transmission was designed, as was an all new body with a strong perimeter frame for crash safety, the central front headlight was designed to turn with the steering wheel to light the way around corners.

Additional safety features included a shatterproof windscreen that was designed to pop-out in an accident, a padded dashboard for impact reduction, a roll bar integrated into the roof, and a “crash chamber” under the dashboard to help protect passengers in the event of a crash.

The interior of this car is beautifully appointed, having been finished to a very high standard by the team at Benchmark Classics.

With its rear-mounted flat-six engine keeping weight over the driven wheels, the Tucker 48 had good traction, it also had independent front and rear suspension which was an unusual (and advanced) feature for the time. As a result of the engine being in the rear, the 48 had a large front trunk which was accessed by a standard-looking hood.

In many respects the Tucker 48 was a revolutionary car. Parallels have been drawn between Tucker and more modern companies like Tesla that have appeared on the scene and disrupted the entire automotive industry. Even though Tuckers were never produced in volume many of the company’s innovations are now standard on almost all production cars.

The “Lost” Tucker Convertible Prototype Shown Here

The car you see here has caused no small amount of controversy over the years. It started out as Tucker #1057, which remained unfinished after the Tucker factory shutdown. It was then assembled many years later using as many original Tucker parts as possible.

That’s the part that everyone seems able to agree on. The controversy begins the people start disagreeing over what this car’s original intended specification was. In short there are two groups – those who believe it was the Tucker Convertible prototype and those who believe it was the first prototype of the Tucker 49 the car that was destined to replace the Tucker 48 for the 1949 model year.

The Tucker 48’s engine is mounted in the rear to keep the weight over the driven wheels. The front hood now covers a large luggage bay.

There does seem to be some evidence to support both of these competing claims, which makes things all the more complicated. Jalopnik has a good breakdown on the controversy surrounding this car here.

Those who claim the car was being developed as the Tucker convertible say that the chassis was modified by Tucker engineers to add strength to compensate for the structural rigidity loss caused by removing the roof.

The other camp, those who claim the car was being developed at Tucker as the first prototype of the Tucker 49, have some evidence on their side. Photographs from the Tucker factory show that #1057 was being built with a “wrap around rear window” as one of the 1949 model year design changes.

The collection of parts that made up this car remained unassembled for decades, it wasn’t actually completed until 2010 by Benchmark Classics in Middleton, Wisconsin – making it the last Tucker to be finished.

36 Tuckers are known to have been entirely built at the factory, the parts to complete many more were left over and as a result an additional 15 were built in subsequent years. This car would then be the 16th, making it the 52nd Tucker.

As the car remained unfinished in parts there may never be a full resolution of the controversy, which may be the reason that the car has remained for sale for a couple of years with an asking price of almost $2.5 million USD.

If you’d like to read more about this unusual Tucker you can visit the eBay listing here, it’s being sold out of Rowlett, Texas by Accelerate Auto Group and the current Buy It Now price is $2,495,000 USD.

Images courtesy of the Accelerate Auto Group

The post The “Lost” 1948 Tucker Convertible Prototype Is For Sale On eBay appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/1948-tucker-convertible-prototype/
via gqrds

The Ocean UNA One-Person Hammock Tent By Tentsile

This is the new Ocean UNA one-person hammock tent by the team at Tentsile, it’s claimed to be the world’s first tree tent made from 100% reclaimed ocean plastic fabric.

Each Ocean UNA is made from the material recovered from 128 recycled plastic bottles, all of which are taken from the western Pacific Ocean.

Tentsile was founded by Alex Shirley-Smith, a Londoner and trained architect who specializes in sustainable living and low impact shelters. In 2013 he designed his first tree tent, and the rest is history.

The Ocean UNA is strung up between the trees, it can comfortably accommodate one person, and when packed away it can be easily carried due to its low weight.

The company he founded has now shipped a wide variety of tree tents to customers around the world, and on Instagram the hashtag #tentsile or #treetents will now bring up an almost incalculable number of images showing people out camping in their tree tents, from the tropical islands of the Caribbean to the snowy wildness of Canada.

The Ocean UNA is the newest tent from Tentsile, it follows through on the company founder’s mission of low impact, environmentally friendly shelters, and it makes an excellent one-person tent when out hiking.

Tentsile tree tents have been set up everywhere from tropical beaches to snowy mountain ranges and everywhere in between. Image courtesy of Tentsile.

Due to the low weight, ease of use, and small packed volume the Ocean UNA also makes a great tent for those on cross-country motorcycle trips, and for those in cars who prefer to sleep in hammocks than on the ground.

Each hammock tent weighs in at 5.1 lbs or 2.3 kgs, and it can be packed down into a bag measuring in at 13.8 × 5.9 x 6.3 inches, or 35 x 15 x 16 cm. Set up takes a matter of a few minutes, and the tent can accommodate one adult up to 265 lbs or 120 kgs in weight, and it retails for $349 USD.

Visit The Store

All images provided by Tentsile

The post The Ocean UNA One-Person Hammock Tent By Tentsile appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/ocean-una-one-person-hammock-tent-tentsile/
via gqrds