Toyota AE86 Is A Tofu Hauling Drift Racing Legend

The birth of AE86

Since the AE86 series was going to be the final series of Corolla with RWD and the new models were supposed to come with the FWD, Toyota gave all the freedom its designers and engineers needed.

The goal was to build two Corolla variants on two platforms with different drivetrains. The Corolla Levin and the Sprinter Trueno were available with coupe and liftback body styles.

Source- Wikimedia/Mythos88

Levin and Truenomean lightning and thunder respectively. By no stretch of the imagination, this naming was an exaggeration. After all, both AE86 models were incredibly lightweight and lively cars tuned by Nobuaki Katayama who later made the equally famous Altezza

JDM AE86s Were Way Cooler Than US Imports

The Hachi Roku models were powered by a 1.6L Inline-4 engine which could only make up to 128 horsepower and 110 lb-ft of torque.

However, the California emission norms lowered the output to 112 horsepower and 100 lb-ft of torque. The engine was attached to a 5-speed gearbox at first. Later a 4-speed automatic transmission was given.

The Corolla AE86 came with ventilated disc brakes, front MacPherson strut-style independent suspension, rear four-link live axle with coil springs, stabilizer bars, and more.

One could select the optional limited-slip differential as well. Furthermore, AE86 was also available with a non-LSD rear end with drum brakes in some parts of the US.

Due to all these features and light body, the AE86s were agile, offered nimble handling, and had the most beautiful mechanical engine sound.

At the same time, the Japanese Corolla Levin had fixed headlights. Moreover, various trim levels such as the GT-Apex, GT-V, and GT were offered for Japanese models. In North America, Toyota sold this Corolla with GT-S, DX, and SR5 specifications or trim grades and were made from 1984-1987. They had the following specifications

• Carbureted 8V 1.6 L 96.8 cu in Inline 4 With 87 hp and 85 lb-ft (DX-SR5),
• 1.6L DOHC 16V Fuel injected 112 hp and 97 lb-ft (GT-S)
• 5-Speed Manual, 4-Speed Automatic (All trims)
• 2200-2300 lb (All trims)
• Open Diff or LSD (Optional All Trims)

Toyota One-Upped BMW in Their Own Backyard

Source- Toyota UK

Even before Initial D, AE86 were extremely capable racing machines that could go more than just sideways. In the 1986 European Touring Car Championship, a 150 hp AE86 won against the high and mighty Schnitzer BMW M6.

It repeated the same in the British Touring Car Championship BTCC over the much more potent V8 Rover, M3, and Ford Cosworth. Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya had a custom AE86 that he used to race during his early years with Katsuhiro Ueo and Toshiki Yoshioka proving its potency as one of the greatest drift cars of all time.

Takumi Fujiwara's AE86

The Toyota Corolla AE86 has also been featured in a popular manga, Initial D. It was created by Shuichi Shigeno whose first car was actually a Sprinter Trueno.

The story revolves around Takumi Fujiwara who gets into an illegal street racing scene around the fictional Mount Akina. In the manga, Takumi uses his dad’s AE86 Trueno GT-Apex Hatchback to rise to the top. He engages in drift battles and other races and eventually reigns as a winner.

AE86 Problems and Modifications

The AE86’s racing heritage, balanced chassis, and reliability make it still popular today. However, it is also incredibly rare. You would be paying a high price for a Levin or Sprinter Trueno in good condition.

As much as I would like to fanboy over the "Panda", buying and maintaining an AE86 is a rather expensive hobby as I found out while rummaging through the AE86 fan club on Reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/AE86/comments/qln0fk/comment/hj4ke95/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

AE86: RWDFTW & Other Inspiring Stories (reddit.com)

Only 18,000 AE86's came stateside and approximately 4000 were GTS trims. A quick search on Cars From Japan pegged them around $40,000 for the original pop-out headlight AE86s.

If the sky high prices weren't deterring enough they were all high mileage, fingers crossed they run, JDM variants meaning you would have to spend a lot more on engine overhaul and import taxes.

A stock AE86 is incredibly rare and from the factory, they were grossly underpowered and rarely satisfied their owners who in most cases upgraded the internals for a bit more punch. An unmolested AE86 GTS may well cost over $75,000 in good or fair condition.

Eco-Friendly Drifting ...

That being said, Toyota recently unveiled two resto modded Toyota Corolla AE86 from the 1980s at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon. One model has a liquid hydrogen powertrain while the other has a pure electric setup.

Toyota says it is trying to preserve the heritage and legacy of the AE86 “for a greener future”. They also briefly started producing OEM spares for all AE86 models through Gazoo Racing.