Keiichi’s drifting exploits have proven an inspiration for sideways enthusiasts around the world for coming on three decades. His green racing suit, his AE86, and his signature aggressive driving style are the key components of his iconic brand. You can read more about Keiichi’s life and racing career here, however this article is focused solely on his personal Toyota Corolla AE86 – the car that started it all..
His green racing suit, his AE86 and his signature aggressive driving style are the key components of his iconic brand
Keiichi purchased his Toyota Corolla Trueno in the mid 80s, allegedly building up his funds by working multiple jobs (one as a club bouncer!). With the keys in hand he worked during the day and practiced his driving skills at night. His chosen stomping grounds being the mountain passes of Japan.
After Keiichi had worked hard to make his way into the motorsports scene of Japan he took extra effort to build close relationships with his race engineers and while driving for Toyota (TRD) he built a great relationship with Mr Sakurai of Toyota’s Racing Division.
This fantastic video from back in the nineties shows just how potent Tsuchiya-san can be behind the wheel of his AE86 with just a 1600cc naturally aspirated engine. It is rumored that street racing and the on road driving antics shown in this video cost him his domestic racing license after a run in with the Japanese authorities.
Tsuchiya specified “total balance” over outright power for his own AE86 build
Working with Mr Sakurai, Tsuchiya specified “total balance” over outright power for his own AE86 build, all areas of the car’s performance were to be improved and only afterwards was power to be added.
The TEC-ART Partnership
When Mr Sakurai passed away Keiichi reluctantly needed to find a new workshop and engineer for his beloved Trueno, he selected TEC-ART of Saitama, Japan. TEC-ART’s is at top of the Toyota Corolla Levin scene and was the natural choice at the time.
TEC-ART took Mr Sakurai’s already highly developed platform and recommended a slew of upgrades to increase overall performance. These upgrades are detailed in the sections below.
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