86FEST Comes to Irwindale Speedway

By Mark Dorman

It’s always great to see communities form around different makes and models. Some communities come long after the cars have gone out of production, and some begin while the cars are still in production. Many revolve around brands, some around models that have multiple generations. In one generation that is only entering its third year of production, the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ (also known in parts outside North America as the Toyota GT86) have already built a following that rivals cars that have been around for decades. 86Fest, which celebrates these vehicles, is quite a sight. Hundreds of FR-Ses and BRZs—as well as the car that inspired both, the 1980s Toyota Collora AE86—gathered together the owners to celebrate a common interest and show off what they have done with their cars.

One might think walking down rows of the same car could get boring. However, seeing the variety and creativity in these cars is quite inspiring. Endless combinations of color schemes, body kits, aerodynamic parts, exhaust systems, power adders, brakes, and of course wheels is mind boggling. Some may find it odd that owners will go as far as to cut their fenders to accommodate wide body kits and wide wheels, but there are no rules in the game of car modding and the pursuit of being unique and extreme.

Now for this type of variety to exist, there must be companies making parts. There are—lots of them. Rarely has there been a car with this amount of aftermarket support, much less one that is only three years old. And they’re not done yet. At 86Fest, vendors showed up to debut new products, show sneak previews of concepts in development, and even offer limited edition items only available at 86Fest.

So why is this car the darling of the tuner world? In stock form it is an amazing fun car to drive. The car was designed to be modified, however. Tuners around the world caught on quickly that this car is the ultimate blank canvas. With owners ranging from first time car buyers in their 20s to Porsche owning middle aged driving enthusiast, there is pretty much a market for everything.

If you missed the show this year, make sure you come out next year to witness this phenomenon and see what is new for this amazing automobile. The FRS/BRZ has definitely become a main stay in LA car culture. From the looks of it, it not going away soon.

The author is a contributing editor of LA Car. Photo by Roy Nakano, taken at the third annual 86FEST. To view more scenes from the third annual 86FEST, go to LACar.com or Facebook.com/lacarcom. For more information about 86FEST, go to 86fest.com.