Dared to buy a used early 2nd model instead of a new late model in 1986

At the ‘Yaho Tenmangu Shrine Old Car Festival’ held by Automobile Club Japan on 10 December 2023 in Kunitachi, Tokyo, some 190 famous cars from pre-war cars to supercars gathered. From this event, we would like to introduce the owner of a Toyota AE86 ‘Corolla Levin’, which has been beautifully refreshed in every part.

About 190 famous cars gathered at the Yaho Tenmangu Shrine Old Car Festival

Yaho Tenmangu Shrine in Kunitachi-shi, Tokyo, is the historic destination of Japan’s first petrol-fuelled motor car excursion (1 August 1908), led by His Imperial Highness Prince Takehito Arisugawa, known as the “Prince of Automobiles”. It is also known that the Automobile Club Japan, Japan’s first automobile club, was established at a dinner party of the Imperial Family in the plum grove there.

The Yaho Tenmangu Shrine Old Car Festival, held every December, has been held since 2009 to convey to future generations the presence of Yaho Tenmangu Shrine, which is also renowned as the birthplace of traffic safety prayers, and was held on 10 December 2023 to celebrate the 115th anniversary of the petrol car field trip.

From pre-war cars to supercars, we have interviewed some of the cars of interest among the approximately 190 world’s greatest cars of all time, and we will tell you about their owners.

“When the AE86 debuted, I had my heart set on it”

The AE86 Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno, known by the nickname ‘Hachi Roku’, have become the image leaders of the two-tone white/black Panda version, partly due to the influence of the hugely popular “Initial D” manga. In comparison, the red/black two-tone Corolla Levin, which is surprisingly rarely seen, was spotted at the event. Many people were taking photos of it, but we approached the owner and asked him about it so as not to disturb him.

Owner “86bd” bought his 1984 Toyota Corolla Levin GT APEX in 1986 and has used it as his first car ever since.

“My parents never owned a car, so I always wanted my car since I was a child. My yearning for cars was so strong that I would go to the library and read the car magazine Car “Graphic”. The editors of the magazine generally like RWD cars (laughs), and because of that influence, I gradually came to think that my favorite car would be a RWD car too.”

According to 86bd, he was unable to buy a car when he was a teenager due to military funding and other reasons and bought his first car when he was in his 20s. He decided that he wanted a Hachi Roku when it debuted in 1983!　He had made up his mind that he wanted one.