Toyota 86 Makes its D1GP Debut in Japan…and Crashes!

We all know that the Toyota 86 (or GT86/Scion FR-S) was not made for outright power and top Nürburgring lap times but for having some fun behind the wheel of a nimble sports car. One of the things that the 86 is happy to oblige with is drifting thanks to its rear-wheel drive setup, limited-slip diff and a stability control system that can be fully deactivated.

It goes without saying that the modern-day hachiroku would participate in pro drifting series. But while the standard boxer may be satisfactory for road use, for racing, more power is needed.

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Ferrari California Driver Rear Ends a Pair of Lincoln Town Car Limos in Tokyo

While our previous Ferrari-related accident of day, which took place in Germany, was caused by the love/respect of a man for animals/life, this incident involving a California hardtop roadster in Tokyo, Japan, is most likely the result of some careless driving.

The driver of the Ferrari California reportedly lost control of the car and smashed into a Lincoln Town Car limousine that was parked on the side of the road.

The crash was violent enough to push the white Town car into the rear end of the black limousine of the same brand parked right in front of it.

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Daihatsu Ending Copen Production with Special 10th Anniversary Edition

One of the smallest convertible models available in the market will soon be part of history, as Daihatsu has decided to cease production of its Copen roadster in August, 10 years after its introduction.

Daihatsu says it has sold more than 56,000 examples of the tiny roadster model with the retractable aluminum hardtop.

To mark the approaching end, Daihatsu has revealed the Copen 10th Anniversary Edition that will be available in Japan in limited numbers.

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Toyota Wants us to Know that the 86 Coupe was 'Built by Passion' in New Spot

With the Toyota 86 gradually rolling out into more markets worldwide, the Japanese automaker is stepping up its efforts to promote the rear-wheel drive sports coupe, this time with a new commercial labeled "Full Throttle - Drive with Passion".

As the name suggests, the spot was made to highlight the 86's (called GT 86 in Europe) driving dynamics. You can check it out in the video right past the jump.

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Subaru BRZ GT300 Makes its Racing Debut at Super GT's Season Opener

The racing version of Subaru's new BRZ sports coupe made its motorsports debut during the opening round of Japan's 2012 SUPER GT that took place on Sunday, April 1, at the Okayama International Circuit.

With Tetsuya Yamano behind the wheel, the BRZ GT300 started the final race from 8th place on the grid as the team had advanced to Q3 in the knockout qualifying the previous day.

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This Toyota 86 is Powered by a Lexus IS F 5.0-liter V8!

Even though few consumers have actually driven it, many have been…complaining about the lack of power in the Toyota GT 86 and 86, Subaru BRZ and for North America, the Scion FR-S, all of which share a 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated boxer-engine yielding 200-horses at 7,000rpm and a peak torque of 205Nm (151.2 lb-ft) at 6,600rpm.

That's music to the ears of the aftermarket industry, which will happily provide a lot more ponies in all sorts of ways, depending on the depth of buyers' pockets.

Over the coming months and years, we're also sure to see many custom creations with engine swaps. If you're looking for ideas, here are a couple of videos of a custom Toyota 86 that you will probably find extremely interesting.

Made to compete in this year's Japanese D1 drift series with Max Orido behind the wheel, this Toyota 86 ditches the factory four-pot for a 5.0-liter V8 engine sourced from the Lexus IS F!

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Subaru BRZ is Big in Japan, Sales Hugely Surpass Initial Forecast

The new Subaru BRZ is going much better in its home market than what the Japanese automaker was expecting.

Since sales started in Japan on February 3 and through March 27, Subaru has delivered 3,551 units of its rear-wheel drive sports coupe. That's almost quadruple the initial sales forecast of 450 cars per month.

The BRZ is available in three trim levels in Japan, with prices starting from 2,058,000 Yen (US$24,980 / €18,890) for the base, stripped out RA model

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A Street Full of Tuned Rolls Royce Phantom Limos, Coupes and Convertibles

How often do you see a street occupied by a plethora of Rolls Royce Phantom models of all sorts including the limo, the Coupe and the Drophead Coupe variants?

But wait, did we mention that all Phantoms were custom tuned? Now that's a sight you never forget.

You'd be inclined to believe that such a happening would most likely take place in Dubai, and you'd be partially right. We say partially because the street is named Dubai but it's not located in the United Arab Emirates but on the other side of the world in Tokyo, Japan.

Make your way through the jump to watch the videos.

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Mazda to Exit Commercial Vehicle Manufacturing Business After 2015

More problems for Mazda Motor Corp., which doesn't seem to be going as well as its management had hoped after the company broke free (or so to speak) from the Ford group back in 2008.

Today, Japanese business daily Nikkei reported that Mazda has decided to pull the plug on its commercial vehicle division in the second half of the decade due to declining domestic demand.

While the company will continue to offer commercial vehicles, it will no longer develop or produce them.

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Big in Japan: High Domestic Demand May Affect U.S. Supply of Toyota’s Prius C Small Hybrid

The good news for Toyota is that its recently launched Prius C hybrid is proving to be a hit. In Japan, where it went on sale last December as the Aqua, the sub-compact hybrid received 60,000 orders even before it was even launched and that number has now increased to 120,000 units.

The Prius C / Aqua is manufactured exclusively in Japan at Toyota's Iwate plant. While in 2007, the plant exported around 60 percent of its output, that number has now been halved to 30 percent.

Therefore, the bad news is that despite Toyota's boasting about the fact that it only took three days for the Prius C to sell more units than the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet combined in one month, the Japanese automaker may not be able to satisfy demand for its hybrid model in the U.S. market.

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2012 Ferrari 599XX Evolution Makes its Debut Run at Suzuka

The crew over at Japan's Car Nifty sent us this video of the new 2012 Ferrari 599XX Evolution performing its first runs on the track at Suzuka following the racing car's world premiere at the Bologna Motor Show last December.

The debut took place during the first event of the Ferrari Racing Days that groups together the races for the entrants in the Asia-Pacific series of the Ferrari Challenge Tofeo Pirelli and the track sessions for clients involved in the 599XX and F1 programmes.

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Nissan Silvia S14 Looks Ready to Pick a Dog Fight

While not the first World War II fighter jet-themed automobile we've shown you, we can't remember seeing the motif applied to a Nissan Silvia S14 (sold as the 240SX in North America as the 200SX in Europe).

This one in particular is said to be inspired from German jet fighters and is distinguished by the attention to details, right up to a certain sign of an equilateral cross that appears on the rear bumper and front fenders – more commonly known as the Swastika, the most hated and prominent symbol of Nazi Germany.

Something tells us the owner of the car won't be making a lot of friends…

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Subaru Kicks Off Series Production of BRZ and Toyota 86 in Japan

Subaru held a special ceremony today at its Gunma factory in Ota-city, Japan, to mark the series production start of the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 (named GT 86 in Europe) rear-wheel drive coupes. The presidents of both companies attended the event.

The factory, which will produce both models as well as the Impreza by March 2013, underwent several changes to cope with the extra capacity.

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Oops…Toyota 86 Coupe Drifts Into a Metal Barrier in Japan

Drifting a lightweight, rear-wheel drive coupe like the Toyota 86, which is Japan's version of the North American Scion FR-S and the European Toyota GT 86, on a wet parking lot can be loads of fun just as long as you accept the increased risk of losing control.

Which is what happened to one of the drivers trying out the 86 at a parking lot in Odaiba, Japan, last Friday on March 9.

Fortunately for the driver, he didn’t hit the metal barrier hard thus reducing the damages to the car. If you want to see what happened, head past the break for the video.

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Mazda CX-5 Orders in Japan Surpass Mazda’s Original Estimates by 8 Times in the First Month

Mazda revealed today that it has received close to 8,000 orders for its brand new CX-5 crossover in Japan since February 16.

Now, either the Hiroshima-based carmaker was extermely conservative in its projection or the locals have really taken to the new crossover because that figure is eight times the original monthly estimate of 1,000 sales.

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eBay Find: 1975 Datsun 620 Pickup Truck with Buick Small Block V8

While not on the radar of most collectors, vintage Japanese automobiles are slowly gaining followers in the States.

Found on eBay is this 1975 Datsun 620 pickup truck that has been restored but not to its original condition - at least not mechanically.

The owner of the relatively rare today 620 fitted the small truck with a 215 c.i. (3.5-liters) Buick small block V8 linked to a new all-wheel drive system, while he also jacked up the suspension.

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