Toyota is leaning on the heritage of the GR86 and the anime that helped bring the original AE86 into the spotlight with a series of new videos. Called FasterClass, the videos bring the all-new GR86 into the world of Initial D and are paired with another series that shows real-life applications for going very fast in the GR86.
GR86 Crosses Over to Initial D
Initial D is a manga and animated series about Takumi Fujiwara, a teenager who learned how to drive mountain passes while delivering tofu to the hotels at the top. His ride, a Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex, or AE86, is a key part of the story and a seriously cool icon. "To achieve mastery, you must know what mastery looks like," says Toyota, and that's why they've sent a recruiter from FasterClass in a new GR86 after the Takumi.
The new series of crossover shorts bring the best of Initial D back on your screen: a bangin' Eurobeat soundtrack, the unique art style, and impossibly angled feet handling brake and accelerator.
Normally we wouldn't link to Toyota's whole campaign, but for some reason the automaker has made the clips "unlisted" on YouTube. And that's a shame because even animated drifting GR86s are great.
FasterClass: A Masterclass for Speed
The real-life campaign shows drivers racing and drifting around closed streets to the tagline "To master the drive, you must master the streets." It's a far cry from just a few years ago when the automaker's UK division said it kept its vehicles out of video games because of depictions of street racing.
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