Autoblog

Back in our misspent Dime daze days, we made the annual trek to Mt. Shasta to bathe in the glory of all things Datsun, but we were primarily there to compare notes and swap parts with other 510 fanatics. The date was easy to remember: May 10th. Little did we know that another group of enthusiasts had their own thing going over 5,000 miles away on another notable calendar day – August 6th.

"8-6" day, as it's come to be known, is an excuse for anyone with a Hachi to head down to the Nikko Circuit to spend a day ripping rubber around the track in celebration of their favorite commuter-cum-racer. AEU86 forum member, Miguel, was on hand for the festivities and snapped a ton of great shots, including the turbo'd Tec Arts AE86 and a number of very clean, and very fast, Hachis. Follow the 'Read' link below to check it out.

[Source: AEU86]

Sega, the once heavyweight console maker now buried deep beneath the letters Wii, X, and PS, still pulls its weight in the arcade arena. Sega's Joypolis in Odaiba, Japan has an Initial D driving game based on the anime series that has the bodies of three actual cars mounted in front of a 90-inch screen. The cars don't have engines, but they sit on tilting frames, and include an RX-7, a WRX, and a Toyota AE86, which you can throw tilt around any of three courses. The game costs $5, but the cars are only there for the summer, so book those tickets to Nippon now.

Thanks for the tip, Judd!

[Source: Gizmodo]

Our pals at Winding Road just passed along a note that Toyota might be considering re-releasing the driftastic Corolla Sport. The endearingly tossable rear-wheel-drive AE86 platform was known by many names around the world: Corolla Levin, Sprinter Trueno, Corolla GT and of course the Corolla Sport in the States. Particularly in GT-S trim, it was one of the few sporty models to make its way into Toyota dealerships, alongside the Celica and Supra, and eventually the MR2, which essentially replaced it. But it was fun and cheap, and that set it apart. Available from 1983-1987, it was one of the last affordable rear-drive cars that could take a pounding, making it a favorite of budget street racers and the emerging drift scene in the '80s and '90s.

It looks like the suits at Toyota are close to greenlighting a new version. Apparently the idea has been floated several times over the years with mixed reaction, but it seems to be gaining some momentum lately. There is reportedly some disagreement within the corporate ranks over whether or not it would actually sell, but a few officials appear to be backing it strongly. Must be some Initial D fans up in there. A modernized Hachi-Roku would have to find a suitable rwd platform, but would be a blast to see in the lineup again. Of course, we've had access to AE86 in games like Need For Speed for years now, but getting our hands on the real deal would be sweet. We'll keep our fingers crossed on this one.

[Source: Winding Road]