In summer 1983, the Toyota AE86 debuted in Japan. Two years later the AE86 came to U.S. soil, renamed the Corolla and Corolla GT-S. The Corolla GT-S was just what the horsepower-hungry Americans wanted: a sporty, yet economical, vehicle that would bring back the enjoyment of driving a high-spirited, free-revving car based on the 4A-GE engine.
Taka Aono, a resident of Gardena, Calif., has owned a handful of AE86s, arguably dubbing him the "Corolla King" of California. Aono's story might shock obsessive-compulsive AE86 devotees. In December 1997 he purchased his first AE86. After owning the vehicle for less than a year, Aono disliked it and quickly sold it to Toysport in Gardena. He was content that he would never see the car again.
That same year Aono became friends with the president of Club 4AG, Motohiro Miwa (Moto-P), since the two drivers saw one another regularly at autocross and time trial events in California. In an interesting twist of fate, Moto-P showed up one day at a speed trials event with a familiar looking AE86. To Aono's surprise it was his ex-AE86. The car was visually untouched by Moto-P, but the factory suspension was revamped. During the last session of time trials, Aono drove his old AE86. After a few hot laps, Aono had a change of heart. He realized he loved the AE86 the second time around. One month later during a casual trip to Toysport, a 3-door AE86 was for sale. With no hesitation, Aono bought the vehicle in hopes of rebuilding the car as an autocross competitor.
In a few months, the car was restored and the motor was freshened up. Aono entered the vehicle in the Solo2 "F" street prepared class. Within Solo2 is the competitive FSP class (F class, street prepared) that challenges vehicles like Civics and Volkswagens. Aono dominated his class, running three to six seconds faster than his competitors. Fully aware of the Corollas' capability on the track, he emptied his pocket book once again and purchased a 2-door AE86 from Signal Auto for $1200, with plans to build a FSP special full-race competitor. With two AE86s in hand, the previous vehicle became a daily driver and was eventually campaigned as a weekend race warrior. With help from friends Moto-P and Kenji of G-Speed, the 2-door Corolla was completed and debuted at SCCA in early 2002. Out performing all competitors, the Hachi took home the 2002 Solo2 FSP National Championship and SCCA ProSolo FSP Series Championship. In 2003 Aono and the AE86's dominating force continued, and he was awarded the coveted SCCA ProSolo FSP Series Championship.
On the morning of Jan. 17, 2003 Aono's life took a different direction after he witnessed an Ikaten drift event up close. He watched Ken "Nomuken" Nomura warm up. "I could not believe a driver could control a car, while remaining only inches away from the K-rail. It was amazing," states Aono. He said, "Watching Nomuken drift has changed my life from gripping to drifting." As the collection of AE86s formed in Aono's garage, he decided to rebuild the daily driver purchased from Toysport with a 4A-GE (20-valve) engine out of a (AE111) '97 Corolla Levin, complements of the land of the Rising Sun. This engine's unique cylinder head design was built and manufactured by Yamaha, who worked with Toyota to create a unique 20-valve street engine by using 5 valves per cylinder. Yamaha used the same technology seen on its Formula One series engines. The factory-issued individual throttle bodies enable this stout motor to climb well beyond the 9000 to 10000 rpm range. Arguably, this is the closest Toyota ever got to a race-spec engine.