Toyota and Subaru built the early Toyobaru for two reasons: To be an attainable rear-wheel-drive car in the vein of the AE86, and to be a base for modification by owners and tuners. Now a Japanese bodykit shop called Result Japan is putting the two together, by building a kit that brings classic Sprinter Trueno looks to the first-generation GT86 — bulky bumpers, wide fenders, end even pop-up headlights.
CarScoops spotted the bodykit, which Result Japan has been working on for a while. The kit’s been in the works since last year, with the creator posting occasional updates through the process of 3D modeling and test-fitting parts, and the quality of work is truly impressive. The fender fitment looks almost factory, the rear bumper is integrated perfectly, and the front is about as seamlessly designed as possible when mixing and matching two wildly different-looking vehicles. But while the execution is stellar, the core concept is… less so.
It sure is something
Pop-up headlights are cool! I’m a fan of them in almost all circumstances, and a world with more pop-ups is better than a world with fewer of them. Do these specific pop-ups work on this specific car? I honestly can’t entirely tell. It’s better than attempting to fit a fixed-headlight AE86 Levin front end to the ZN6 chassis would have been, but something about the scale here just seems off. Plus, the squared-off ’80s looks of the new bumpers contrast pretty harshly with the sleek curves of the rest of the ZN6’s body. If I still owned my old FR-S, I don’t know that I would go for the whole kit. Just the pop-ups, though, I think I’d consider.
If you’re interested in the contrasting aesthetics, though, preorders for this kit are set to open up at Tokyo Auto Salon later this week. There’s no word on whether it’ll be made available in the U.S. — or how much it’ll cost to get a kit here — but rest assured that, if you’ve got the cash, there’ll be some way to get some AE86 Sprinter Trueno-styled lights and bumpers on your ZN6 Toyobaru. If, again, you want that,
