Watch Japanese Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya behind the wheel in the latest Toyota GR86

In a campaign to promote the new edition of its classic front-engine, rear-wheel drive coupe, Toyota has created a trio of animated ads featuring the GR86. Furthermore, they're inspired by the famous Japanese street racing manga, Initial D.

In each of the ads, the manga's main character Takumi Fujiwara is seen driving in his AE86 when he spots a blazing red GR86 with an animated version of Keiichi Tsuchiya behind the wheel.

The two get into a drifting competition, with Takumi not realising who is behind the wheel of the GR86 until the end, in a meta moment of realisation.

Keiichi Tsuchiya, the Japanese professional race car driver, is responsible for popularising drifting as motorsport. His non-traditional use of drifting in non-drifting racing events earned him the title Drift King, and is a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner.

He also served as a consultant for the manga and anime version of Initial D. Takumi, the protagonist of the series, also drives an AE86 throughout the series, just like Keiichi's own personal car of choice in real life. 

To find out more on the new GR86, check out our full story here. Meanwhile, Singapore can expect the GR86 to make its way here in the last quarter of the year.

ALSO READ: Watch a Toyota Supra drift itself

This article was first published in CarBuyer.