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cropzy

Number of TRD's in colours

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20 minutes ago, Lauren said:

Just buy stuff and stick it in your case. You should get a VAT exemption in Japan as well which helps. A car is good if you're going over the Skylines round Mount Fuji area and Gunma. I hired a GT86 from Toyota. Simply enough to do. You won't be able to get there by train so easily and obviously you need a car to drive the touge and all that. First class for a week on the bullet train is definitely worth doing. I'm guessing you've figured that out already. 

Ahh cool, I'll look into the VAT exemption! I reckon we'll go back after this trip, hire a car and go out up to the mountains! Need to live out my initial d dreams 😂 

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3 hours ago, Lauren said:

Totally agree it is a shame. It would be lovely wouldn't it knowing that your chassis had specific VINs that identified it as a TRD and it was taken off the main line whilst they added TRD goodness. I've been to the Maebashi Subaru factory where all GT86's and BRZ's are made. I had a factory tour. Though I wasn't allowed into the actual assembly line for the GT, I had a tour of the Forester being made from sheet metal to driving out the other end. You can kind of see why when you watch it in action why it would not be feasible to have factory built cars unless they were hand finished, given how automonous production is. 

I think you have to remember how much more a TRD was compared to the stock car which wasn't cheap anyway which is in part due to the £3K tax (then add VAT) for cars produced in Japan and imported to the UK. I remember well enough when it was released and reviewed the RRG TRD demo when it came in. It certainly seemed a lot of money for a bodykit and precious little else. I was surprised at the time that they didn't add any performance TRD parts and not even the TRD engine start/stop button (I bought one of these for my car whilst in Japan incidentally!). I think at the time it came out people expected more and the price put a lot of people off. 

TRD nowadays is simply cosmetic mods with Gazzoo Racing taking over the performance parts side of Toyota. That there was only 166 or so sold in the UK make it a rarity (though the Giallo and Blanco are by nature of only 86 of each being available are rarer still), but it is a pity that the UK TRD is a Toyota GB special only, though the car was sold as a TRD in Europe and other markets of course all with variations on what got fitted. So it's the same everywhere if that makes sense with the authenticity of this model. Most were white or black, so having a red one is rare. 

Damn. Thanks for the history lesson and some interesting insight. I would love to go to Japan and do something like that as well. I happen to be a huge fan of Initial D (hence my love for 86's, also jealous you have a proper 86!). Knowing that I still have a rare car is nice though. I like the extra bodykit and the TRD exhaust system is nice. It is quite raspy and louder then you expect. It's nothing obnoxious though.

23 minutes ago, Kaisersalsek said:

Ahh cool, I'll look into the VAT exemption! I reckon we'll go back after this trip, hire a car and go out up to the mountains! Need to live out my initial d dreams 😂 

Might need to PM you for some info. I am thinking of doing exactly what you are planning to do and I have no idea where to start!

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No probs. I've been around 86's a while. ;)

Lose the second cat to get a bit more fruity on the exhaust front. I think I'm used to a louder exhaust as I always thought the stock TRD system a bit quiet. I did quite a lot of research before I went to Japan three years ago. It's best if you time it with an 86 event. We went to 86 style but if I go again I would likely look at a drift event as I fancy having a go over there myself. We did meet up with some 86 fanatics though of the AE86 variety and it was just amazing. I would say don't worry about the Buddhist temple stuff. Nice wood and all that, but once you've seen one.... Concentrate on the car scene stuff. Get to Tsukuba, Fuji Speedway etc for an event and do the night scene stuff in downtown Yokohama at Daikoke Fotu. You will need to hire car though if you want to get out and about to the tracks and drive the mountain roads. Just makes it a bit easier really. 

Maybe start a new thread and all can benefit, as doubtless there are others that have been. I was there only two weeks and did a lot of stuff. Visiting some of the cool tuning garages is a must as well, there are loads around so it's a matter of organising where you want to visit. You can also get a factory tour at Maebashi but you'll need a Japanese friend to book it by phone for you. Hiring a car from Toyota is easy you just call Japan and an English speaking person sorts it out for you. They seem to do a lot by phone, but if they say it's happening, it's happening. This was weird as we organised to pick up a GT86 from some small Toyota hire centre in Yokohama. No receipt, no email, nothing. But we turned up, it was there and all was well! Japan is a bit like that it seems!

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D1GP and the first FIA drift event are happening when I'm there! Gonna catch d1 before we leave, we're still in Osaka when the fia event is on. The FIA only called for car and driver registration the other day, somehow I don't think I'd make it through 😂 Hoping to catch a glimpse of the kanjozoku in Osaka too.

I'm gonna stop thread hijacking now lol.

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Hi guys. 2 and a half years on I know but I just came across this thread tonight so signed up to chat about it. It was Cropzy's original query about red Trd's that caught my eye. I am considering the purchase of a red 14 plate TRD and wondered if just maybe it could be the same one. I know that it was first registered in South Stockton. So Cropzy, if you're still around, can you remember what the last 3 letters of the registration number were? I would be interested to know.  Could there be 2 red ones? I assume you never got to know how many there actually are. 

Cheers

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Amazing! Thanks Iain. Yes, just seen his for sale posting. It's the same car. So, might buy that tomorrow. Its certainly reassuring to have the endorsement of the previous owner. Cropzy, if you read this, I'll let you know. 

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