One of Australia’s most heavily modified cars, Toyota 86s is drawing closer to its competition debut at round two of the Australian Drifting Grand Prix.
Australian drift champion Beau Yates has put significant effort into preparing his new Toyota 86 drift car over much of 2013, and is currently in Perth preparing for the event at Barbagallo Raceway.
The new car takes over from Yates’ famous 1984 Toyota AE86 in which he has competed since 2004, winning multiple titles including the 2006 Australian Drift Championship and becoming the first CAMS-affiliated drift driver.
The build includes a heavily modified, turbocharged version of the factory FA-20 engine (producing 346kW with 22psi of boost), a sequential transmission, all new suspension and brakes, modified steering and substantial body and interior changes.
The development of the car, which Yates was so dedicated to that his own wedding date was pushed back, created numerous details which set the car apart from other modified Toyota 86s.
“We’re trailblazing a bit with the 86 and there’s not that many off-the-shelf parts available for a build like this,” Yates said.
“The quality of the fabrication and all the custom parts that have gone into the build, and the support from partners like Hypertune, Wynns, Insight, Nitto Tire and Toyota Australia make this car pretty special.”
While its modifications are extensive, Yates made an effort to keep many of the elements that make the road-going 86 an enjoyable drive.
“Retaining the factory engine is a key aspect of the build, because a lot of people have modified 86s with aftermarket motors six-cylinders or V8s,” Yates said.
“But Toyota knows how to engineer a car, and when you switch to a heavier engine you upset the balance. The stock engine is lightweight, has a low centre of gravity, is efficient and has proven it can produce a lot of power.”
Toyota Australia’s product public relations manager Stephen Coughlan said the most outstanding thing about Beau Yates’ new car is the effort that went into making it happen.
“Beau is very hands-on, and his dedication to this build is quite beyond anything I’ve seen before he knows every nut and bolt in that car,” Mr Coughlan said.
“He’s spent many late nights with different specialists working on the build, and he may have created a record for the number of nights he slept in the back of his Toyota HiLux!
“We’re very pleased that he saw so much potential in the road-going version of the Toyota 86 and transformed it into what is expected to be a formidable drift machine,” he said.
