1985 Toyota Corolla - The Kousokjin - Back In The Day

On a normal month-to-month basis, there will come a time during that month where we writers get our "monthly gift". Women call it their menstrual cycle while we writers call it "work". Similar to the female persuasion, "work" causes cramps as well and we, too, get moody. What causes this emotional roller coaster? Well, typical protocol at work is when we receive our assignments of what cars to write about, and that is usually accompanied by a tech sheet. These tech sheets are basically our keys to everything we need to know about the cars we write about.

Usually they're filled out in a very detailed fashion and make our jobs easy. There are some cases, though, when they're barely filled out or there just isn't one at all. The cars that typically lack the proper information are the ones from Japan or other countries overseas. The language barrier presents quite the conundrum and we either don't understand what they're communicating to us, or it's just outright lost in translation.

In the case of this AE86 Corolla that you see laid out before you, there was little to no information. There are times when we can just call the owner to ask them everything we need to know, but a contact number wasn't included and even so, our paychecks aren't sizable enough to where we can call Japan. To say that there were many sleepless nights as a result of doing research on this 86, would be an understatement. Luckily, everything we needed was available online (for the most part).

This AE86 may not look familiar in its current livery, but it has a bit of history. In fact, it has even appeared in Super Street once before when it was the Vaka-mon/Speedmaster demo vehicle and piloted by the infamous and internationally known Eiji "Tarzan" Yamada. Tarzan was actually the previous owner and Yaso Hashimoto, who currently owns the 86, was his former manager. Hashimoto is probably best known for coming up with the paint and graphics scheme for the Cyber Evo.

What's really interesting about this Corolla Levin is that it may make appearances at all the major drifting events in Japan, but its main purpose isn't to go sideways. Deemed "Kousokjin" or "High-Speed Man-Car", this Toyota spends most of its days now making runs through the East Nippon Expressway.

For those that aren't familiar with Japan, you may not know that their highway system is completely privatized. This means that every time someone wants to go on the highway, they have to pay a toll to a company that maintains and operates it. In the Kanto, Tohoku and Hokkaido regions of Japan, toll fees are paid to the East Nippon Expressway Company or abbreviated as "NEXCO East".

NEXCO East came up with the ingenious idea to create the E-NEXCO Pass. With an electronic toll collection machine installed inside the vehicle, drivers can pass through toll gates without having to stop by merely sliding their E-NEXCO Pass card; this saves commuters time and allows them to speed through. The E-NEXCO Pass also doubles as a credit/Visa card and whenever it is used, points are gained, which can also be used to pay highway tolls.

NEXCO East commissioned Mr. Hashimoto to have this AE86 built for their introductory campaign for the E-NEXCO Pass. They wanted the drift livery and race car look to represent how Pass-owners can speed through toll gates with ease, hence the 'Kousokjin' or High-Speed Man-Car namesake. Their entire campaign was centered on the Levin making stops at different service areas throughout the region with a half-rabbit/half-man mascot in leather boots that promoted the E-Nexco Pass. An online community catered to new NEXCO Pass owners where they could discuss their experiences and see information on Hashimoto's speedy demo Corolla.