FT86 Mods, Pt III – Option’s May Feature

And rounding out our weekend of FT86 news, here are scans from Option Magazine’s May 2012 feature on preliminary 86 tuning.  Above is an overview of parts in development by Ings, Varis, Chargespeed, and more.

 Here are parts from the forthcoming HKS FA20 engine.

The Godzilla's

Classic NSX

 

Nissan GTR That’s Far From the Norm

Every once in a while, a car comes along that seems to be perfect in every way: amazing looks, spectacular performance, and of course an awesome price. The Nissan GTR was that car, and continues to be that car. When the most recent R35 body style came out, I remember Nissan making claims that it was “untuneable”, even to the extent of cutting off aftermarket suppliers from making parts for the car until it was available worldwide. As we can all see now, it takes a lot more than that to stop the tuning world. In a few short years we’ve come to accept them yet again as amazing tuning platforms, capable of attacking road courses as well as the strip with spectacular results.

2012 Toyota FT-86: New Photos Surface Online

When we brought you the first brochure images of the production version of the JDM Toyota FT-86 coupe on Thursday, we rightfully assumed that we should see more pictures of the rear-wheel drive model in the coming weeks before the official presentation at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show on November 30.

Better make that a little over 24 hours as we just discovered yet another collection of scanned images on a Japanese forum, providing us with an even better look at the exterior design of Toyota's mainstream sports car.

While the previous photos showed us a Modellista-prepped version, this time we have the standard FT-86 with or without some optional accessories such as the front panel air vent trims and rear diffuser accents.

We can't say that we understand what's written in the brochure (any help from our Japanese readers would be appreciated), but in one page it is evident that Toyota says that the styling of the FT-86's window line is inspired by the classic 2000GT from the late 1960's.

As we've previously reported, the FT-86 will go on sale worldwide next year with a single engine option, a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter boxer engine hooked up to either a standard six-speed manual gearbox or an optional 6sp automatic transmission.

Head down to check out the latest pictures plus a couple of videos we found on the FT-86 by Gazoo Racing from this month's VLN endurance racing championship at the Nürburgring circuit.

Honda CEO Confirms New NSX and “Hot” 2012 Civic Type R

Last April, we told you about Honda CEO Takanobu Ito's plans for a successor to the much-missed NSX supercar. Ito had then hinted that the “new NSX” would be more environmentally friendly, possibly using a hybrid powertrain like the Japanese firm's new small coupe, the CR-Z.

On the sidelines of this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, Ito-San reaffirmed the company's commitment to build an NSX successor.

“I spent part of my early career at Honda developing the NSX, and specifically the aluminium body," Ito told reporters from UK's Autocar. "I really enjoyed the experience and learned much, so my wish is that Honda engineers have the experience of developing a sportscar like the NSX in the future. Within Honda, our engineers are already looking at developing such a car,” he added.

Ito was not willing to give away any information other than that the new model would be quite different compared to the old NSX.

“The original NSX was about high power but also about good driving experience. Today power-to-weight is what we have to focus on. The NSX was known for its aluminium body, so when we develop our new sportcar we don’t want to copy Ferrari for power, but to also chase efficiency as well," Ito said.

This is the second coming of the NSX successor: in 2003, Honda displayed the HSC concept pictured here at the Tokyo Motor Show, hinting at a production model. Indeed the company was scheduling a 2010 launch, but the plan was cancelled by then-Honda CEO Takeo Fukui in the middle of the economic crisis.

The high-tech supercar isn’t the only performance model that Honda is developing at the moment. The 2012 Civic's chief engineer, Mitsuru Kariya said that a hot version is also under development.

It seems like Honda’s management changed its mind because it initially denied planning such a version as it didn’t fit in its new, “green” image.

“The performance version is already under discussion”, said Kariya. “We know the Type R was a big success, and we are looking for a car developed in that direction. Whether it will be called Type R is not certain though.”

It’s OK, Mr. Kariya, as long as you stay true to the hardcore character of the original. After all, a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.

Gong Xi Fa Cai (Happy Chinese New Year 2011)