A Custom Toyota 86 by Ryan Brooke

We had the good fortune of meeting with a real-life Toyota 86 enthusiast, in the form of local Durbanite, Ryan Brooke a few days ago. We initially met online on the ft86club.com internet forum after it became clear that Ryan had intimate first hand knowledge in the art of 86-customizing. He personally imported virtually all of the accessories that you see on his car in the video, from countries as far as the US, Japan, UK and Taiwan. This is obviously not for the faint-hearted amateur, as you really need to know your accessories while ensuring you do a thorough check on the suppliers if you are not to be duped by unscrupulous con men.

The boot spoiler you see, was imported ready-sprayed from the US. All Ryan had to do was provide the company with his colour code, and they took care of the rest. The touch screen audio system, was imported directly from Japan, and comes with built-in navigation. Ryan opted for a custom carbon fibre side skirt, and front lip kit as this specific design, didn’t affect his ground clearance at all – which is fast becoming an important factor with the state of our roads. The finishing touch on the exterior were the LED angel eyes on the front. As you will see on the video, Ryan customized the trim in his boot as well, where he has a subwoofer installed. This setup still allows enough room for the spare tyre. Going inside, he had custom carpets complete with 86 logo inserts made up for him, and also managed to source an 86 armrest that fits neatly into the center cup holders. Inside the engine bay, he has an after-market Works air filter and intake, TRD oil filter and extra stabilizing bars installed which he says has not only added a bit of extra oomph, but also improved on the already excellent stability when braking.

The Toyota 86 was initially conceptualized by Tada-San to be a car for the enthusiast, and this is exactly what Toyota had in mind when designing the car – An affordable sports car, that one can have fun with, while embracing the idea that owners will stamp their own unique identity on the car.