The Love For Toyota’s 86 Is Eternal

This week, in partnership with Toyota, we take a ride in Ron Ng’s pair of Toyota 86. Although 31 years separate Ron’s Toyotas, both cars were concocted from similar recipes intended to delivery a tasteful drive.

If you’re unfamiliar with the famous Japanese econobox tuned driver’s bargain, listen to what Ron has to say. After owning eleven classic AE 86, he’s gained an encyclopedic knowledge of the Japanese nostalgic car commonly referred to as Hachi-Roku—literally translating to “8-6.”

Ron can’t seem to shake his hankering for the AE 86. “Whether it’s the AE 86 or the new Toyota 86, they’re a blast to drive. I can’t get away from it,” he says. After rebuilding six, Ron seems to be stuck with the hallmark Japanese hatchback, so he felt its modern equivalent, the new Toyota 86, would make the perfect addition.

“Driving the new Toyota 86, it definitely has the characteristics of driving the older Corolla. It’s engineered to be a driver’s car,” Ron states. Referring to his latest ‘86 GTS build and personal favorite Corolla to date, Ron admits it’s not an inherently fast car, “It’s a momentum car. You always have to push it. You’ve gotta learn your brake points properly to keep your RPMs up.” So when driving Toyota’s newest sportscar, Ron said «it kind of comes natural.»

With the high-strung 4GE-swapped four-pot blaring, Ron wrings out his Hachi-Roku through the winding back roads of Southern California’s magnificent mountain terrain, emulating a picturesque scene torn from the pages of Japanese touge anime.

“The new 86, or the old AE 86 Corolla, both cars share an amazing driving spirit. It makes you want to go out and have fun and enjoy yourself,» satisfyingly explains. That’s what it’s all about.