Sunny vs. Starlet: The TS Cup

The Japanese Classic Car Association is one of Japan's most prominent vintage car organizations. Besides the annual New Year Meeting (which I will be covering in '08), JCCA holds a series of yearly circuit gatherings at Fuji Speedway and Tsukuba Circuit. These events include a number of separate races with grids full of nostalgic Japanese and imported cars, but one of the most popular races is the TS Cup, which harks back to the 70's-80's racing series that was a launching point for many of Japan's famous race drivers.

The two most common cars of the TS Cup are the Nissan 310 Sunny (Datsun 210 stateside), and the Toyota Starlet. Both of these cars are powered by modified versions of their original small -displacement overhead-valve four-cylinder engines. Despite the lack of displacement and modern technology, these cars of capable of lapping Tsukuba in the 1:04-05 range. In addition, the similarity of the cars makes for some very competitive races.

On YouTube, you can find several in-car videos from TS Cup 310 Sunny's, the sound and speed of these cars is quite entertaining. Check it out if you have time!