The Retro Pop-Up Headlight Mod Every 86 Owner Wanted Just Landed In The US
Trade-show body kits have a reputation for looking amazing under the lights and falling apart the moment someone tries to actually bolt them onto a real car. Result Japan’s NEO86 kit, which turns the 2013-2020 Toyota 86, Scion FR-S, and Subaru BRZ into a pop-up-headlight homage to the AE86 Corolla, debuted at the Tokyo Auto Salon looking too good to be functional. A new install video from Dustin Williams’ on YouTube channel proves it’s the real deal, and the kit is now reaching US buyers through reseller channels.
Williams picked up a used GT86 from Carmax and tore into it on camera. Stripping the front end of the Toyota down to bare metal, including the bumper, headlights, fenders, and hood, took him just 20 minutes. That’s the easy part. Bolting on the NEO86 kit means cutting into the factory bodywork and wiring up functioning pop-up headlights, but Williams’ walkthrough shows it’s a job a motivated builder can tackle without a shop full of specialty tools.
The Pop-Up Headlights The Toyota 86 Was Always Missing
The Toyota 86 was built from day one as a spiritual successor to the AE86 Corolla, the lightweight, tail-happy coupe that defined Japanese drift and touge culture in the 1980s. But the AE86 had one thing the modern 86 never got: pop-up headlights. Fans have wanted a way to bridge that gap for years, and Result Japan’s NEO86 kit is the most convincing attempt yet. It’s not just a headlight swap either. The kit widens the car’s hips with flared fenders, adds aggressive side skirts, and reshapes the rear haunches, giving the 86 a genuinely different silhouette rather than a bolt-on gimmick.
The fiberglass reinforced plastic panels fit tight against the factory body in Williams’ install, which is no small thing for a kit this ambitious. The only real surprise was a bit of trimming needed at the top of the bumper, so the pop-up mechanism had clearance to fold down, a fix Williams handled with a rotary tool and a cutting wheel in minutes.
What’s Actually In The Kit, And What It Costs
The NEO86 package includes the functional pop-up headlight assemblies, widened front fenders, side skirts, and the thicker rear quarter panels that give the car its AE86-flavored stance. It’s a comprehensive transformation of the car’s exterior, not a handful of add-on pieces.
The catch is getting your hands on one. Result Japan doesn’t ship internationally, so US buyers need to go through a reseller. Evasive Motorsports currently lists the NEO86 kit at $8,600, plus a $400 oversized freight charge. Factor in paint and installation labor, and a finished car could easily run past $10,000. That’s a serious investment on a platform that can still be bought used for relatively cheap, but for 86 owners who’ve wanted pop-ups since the car launched, this is the first kit that looks like it’s worth the money.
Source: Justin Williams via YouTube, Evasive Motorsport, The Apex
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