Known in Japan as the "Hachi-Roku" (Eight-Six), the popularity of the AE86 Levin/Trueno platform has not diminished in the more than 25 years since it first appeared. And the Trueno here is of special interest - it is owned by Shuichi Shigeno, the author of "Initial D", a very popular comic book series in Japan in which the AE86 plays a pivotal role.
While chassis rigidity was improved by beefing up some body panels in key areas, the car's overall stock curb weight was reduced by about 100 kg, thanks to installing a carbon composite hood in place of the much heavier stock unit.
The AE86 enjoyed a long and varied tuning history, from carburetor conversions to superchargers to turbo kits. The method chosen for our car is perhaps the most common of AE86 upgrades: conversion to a 4-barrel throttle body. Further upgrades like high-compression pistons and a high-lift camshaft helped bring out the famous engine's character even more, imparting it with an exciting power curve where engine response felt sharp and the torque delivered generously with increasing revs.
A powerful MoTeC engine control unit was utilized for superior control, enabling the engine to attain a 207 HP maximum output, which is very close to the physical limits under normally aspirated tune. The exhaust system made use of an HKS manifold and Trust muffler to extract the most performance from the engine...plus it sounded really nice.
