Option — Shōwa Car Tuning & Buyers Guide (2000 Edition)

For Hachiroku fans, this is an emotional sight—something you really want to call a miraculous comeback. Everyone thought the car would never race again, but Racing Team Craft's Toshimichi Hiraoka (the familiar ‘Hira-P’ from V-OPT) brought it back completely as a GT Championship car. And this is no token entry just happy to participate; it is a serious machine built to go after wins. Modern racing technology has been poured into it so thoroughly that it could be called a formula car wearing Hachiroku bodywork. The engine is not a 4A-G: it is the 3S-GT used in the GT500 Supra. Built to withstand 500-plus horsepower, it is used here in a car restricted to around 300 horsepower…

…around 300 horsepower. The chassis is reinforced with a sturdy network of tubing. The basic suspension layout remains familiar—front struts and a rear solid axle—but it has been extensively modified, with front and rear suspension approaching a formula car's design. Seeing this strongest-ever Hachiroku battle SW20s, S15s, and FD3Ss in a top-level race shows that the AE86 is still very much alive.