As someone who owned an AE86 for about three years and drove it daily, I completely understand the Irish obsession with ‘Twin Cams’.
In 2021, while I still owned my Corolla, I took a solo trip to Ireland for 86 Fest. That was in COVID times and a scaled-down affair, so I always wanted to go back. This year, after hearing that Paddy couldn’t make it to the 2024 edition, my friend Michael and I managed to arrange a cheap last-minute flight from Amsterdam to Ireland on the Sunday morning of the event.
We left home at 5am and landed in Dublin around 11am, where we were greeted by a typically gray Irish sky. We drove straight to Mondello Park, Ireland’s most famous race track and, for this day, the epicenter of the largest gathering of AE86s outside Japan.
Although I’ve owned quite a few cars, I really miss my Corolla. Being surrounded by every model, color and style of AE86 only reinforced this fact.
It’s always cool to see a mix of Corolla Levin models (fixed headlights) and the iconic Sprinter Trueno (pop-up headlights), as well as coupes and hatchbacks side by side.
My favorite is the Levin hatch, but I admit I’m biased: this was my copy.
There are about 15 AE86s in circulation in the Netherlands, and it is becoming increasingly rare to see them modified or driven aggressively. Rising prices are only pushing these cars further away from the affordable cars they once were.
But 86 Fest Ireland showed the fun side of the car with plenty of on-track action. I saw at least 50 AE86s driving fast all day, just like in those 90’s/early 2000’s Option floating videos that we all love.
The contrast in speed and tire smoke production between the naturally aspirated 4A-GE powered AE86s and those with turbo upgrades or complete engine swaps highlighted the evolution of drifting as a legitimate motorsport.
The 86 Fest show space was equally impressive, with everything from fully equipped 90s drift-inspired machines to pristine original restorations and the signature ‘UK Spec’ cars with large rally spotlights and sometimes huge roof aerials.
An important part of Irish car culture is donuts – also called ‘rings’ – and figure eights around cones, so of course that element was there. In the Mondello Park skidpan, the drivers finished off their drift tires before swapping in new ones for more track time.
One of the most memorable things about this year’s event was the parade lap with all the cars in attendance. In the middle of a sea of more than 200 Corollas and other rare Toyotas, it felt like stepping into a scene from 1990s Japan.
Leading the parade was the famous green D1GP Bride AE86, piloted by its original builder, Ryota ‘Crash King’ Yuasa, who was flown in from Japan by Juicebox’s Neil Sheehan.
After Yuasa-san sold the car almost twenty years ago, he lost track of it and it was eventually taken apart and left in a field. In 2021, the iconic Levin coupe was rebuilt by its current owner, Paddy Connors. Neil and his friends came full circle to Yuasa-san and let him drive the car at 86 Fest, where he was greeted like a celebrity.
Yuasa-san spent the day signing autographs and taking photos, ending with an emotional moment when he signed the trunk lid, just as he did before selling the car.
Next to the Bride car was another legend: the Bee*R AE86. This car was built and once owned by Kiyonori Imai, the late owner of Bee*R. Even among the wide-body cars, the black Levin coupe stood out with its huge 1-inch-spaced and widened front fenders.
Neil Sheehan’s black Trueno hatchback, known worldwide after its rebuild on the Juice box for you YouTube channel was also present, now featuring bronze RAYS Volk Racing TE37s and a Goodline bumper inspired by Katsuhiro Ueo’s D1GP Garage Sift Trueno from the early 00s.
While AE86s were the stars, the parade lap featured other Toyota models such as the new 86, JZXs, Carinas, older Corollas and Starlets.
The event highlighted the Japanese import car boom in Ireland in the early 2000s, which resulted in a remarkable community and countless rare and unique cars and parts.
This Toyota-centric show has piqued my interest in attending events in Ireland to discover what other JDM cars are hidden in sheds on the Emerald Isle.
But for now, there are plenty more photos from 86 Fest Ireland 2024 that you can check out below.
Collin Tiemens
Instagram: collinclicksphotos
