Toyota AE86


The AE86 series of the Toyota Corolla Levin and Toyota Sprinter Trueno are small, front-engine/rear-drive models within the fifth generation Corolla range — marketed by Toyota from 1983 to 1987 in coupe and hatchback configurations.
Lending themselves to racing, the cars were light, affordable, easily modifiable and combined a five-speed manual transmission, optional limited slip differential, MacPherson strut front suspension, high revving, twin-cam engine with oil cooler, near 50/50 front/rear weight balance, and importantly, a front-engine/rear-drive layout — at a time when this configuration was waning industry-wide.
Widely popular for Showroom Stock, Group A, and Group N, Rally and Club racing, the cars' inherent qualities also earned the AE86 an early and enduring international prominence in the motorsport discipline of drifting. The AE86 was featured centrally in the popular, long-running Japanese manga and anime series titled Initial D — as the main character's drift and tofu delivery car. In 2015, Road & Track called the AE86 "a cult icon, inextricably interwoven with the earliest days of drifting."
The AE86 would go on to inspire the Toyota 86, a 2+2 sports car jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru, manufactured by Subaru — and marketed also as the Toyota GT86, Toyota FT86, Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ.

Name

The nameplate Trueno derives from the Spanish word for thunder, and Levin derives from the Middle English for lightning. In Japan, the Sprinter Trueno was exclusive to Toyota Japan dealerships called Toyota Auto Store, while the Corolla Levin was exclusive to Toyota Corolla Store.
The name AE86 derives from Toyota's internal code during the car's development, designating the 1600 cc RWD model from the fifth generation of the Corolla. In Toyota's code language, the "A" designates the car's engine, "E" designates Corolla, "8" designates fifth generation and "6" designates the variant within this generation.
The AE86 is also called the "Hachi-Roku", Japanese for "eight-six". Similarly the AE85 was commonly called "Hachi-Go", meaning "eight-five".
Bracketing a minor external facelift, models marketed between 1983–1985 are called "zenki", and those marketed from 1986–1987 are called "kouki".
In 1986, Toyota marketed a limited edition model of the AE86 as the "Black Limited" model.

Engine/technical

The AE86 was available with a fuel injected naturally aspirated 4A-GE Inline-four engine DOHC 4 valves per cylinder in Japan and Europe, which was also used in the first-generation Toyota MR2 and the facelift Toyota Celica GT-R and GT Carina with a compression ratio of 9.4:1, had a maximum SAE gross power output of at 6,600 rpm and at 5,200 rpm of torque in standard form, though it was later down-rated to and in net output. The AE86 came with a 5-speed manual gearbox, and later came with the option of an automatic. The 4A-GE engines used in the AE86 and AW11 were equipped with Toyota Variable Intake System. The AE86 had an optional LSD.
In North America, a modified 4A-GEC engine was used to comply with California emissions regulations. Power was rated at and of torque.
The AE86 used ventilated disc brakes. The car was equipped with a MacPherson strut style independent suspension at the front and a four-link live axle with coil springs for the rear as well as stabilizer bars, front and rear.
Higher- spec AE86 models known as the GTS featured the DOHC 4A-GE, 4 wheel disc brakes, color matched bumpers, front lower bumper surround had a much more sporty and pronounced lip, door panels were moulded, tachometer redline is around 7,500, wrapped steering wheel, seats had leather wrapped tops, optional LSD, and aluminium wheels, chassis code in the VIN is AE88.
Lower-spec American AE86 SR5 models used the 4A-C SOHC unit, The SR5 rear end was a non LSD with drum brakes. The SR5 model also had a softer suspension, and small styling and interior changes such as seats, gauge cluster, door panels, un-painted front and rear bumpers, and the lower part of the front bumper surround is shorter and flat, and its chassis code in the vin differs as well being AE86 for the SR5 model.
Models equipped with the 4A-GE engine received a rear differential, while 4A-U, and 4A-C models received a smaller, weaker, rear differential.
The AE86 SR5 had an optional automatic transmission, though the GT-S model only came with a standard 5-speed manual gearbox.
One of the staff who was behind the car's engineering work was Nobuaki Katayama, who would later head the company's motorsport department and who would become chief engineer of the Altezza project a decade later. He has a photo of an AE86 hung in his office.

Body styles

The Levin and Trueno featured fixed-headlights and retractable headlights respectively, with both available as hatchback or coupé. The export model name Corolla applies to both variations.
The AE86 was rear wheel drive, unlike the front wheel drive CE80, EE80 and AE82 models in the same range.
Minor bodywork changes were made in 1986 which resulted in different tail lights, front and rear bumpers, corner and headlight trim lights, and grilles, are the main differences for both Levin and Trueno models, along with the coupe and hatchback styles.

Models/specifications

In Japan, the DOHC 4A-GEU AE86 was offered in GT, GT-APEX and GTV trims as the Corolla Levin or Sprinter Trueno. In North America, the top-spec DOHC 4A-GEC was sold as the Corolla Sport GT-S, with the SOHC 4A-C being sold as the Corolla Sport SR5. Both versions were sold with pop-up headlights only. Euro spec models were sold as the Corolla GT with DOHC engines and fixed Levin-style headlights. Australian models were sold as the Toyota Sprinter, also with fixed Levin headlights and Trueno taillights. The Middle East received the same basic model as the North American market, with pop-up headlights and the regulated 5 mph bumpers.
The lightest AE86 is the Japanese 2 door GT model which weighs. It has the same exterior as the GTV trim, but with the interior of the AE85 with the exception of the gauges, and is equipped with rear drum brakes.

North American AE86 specifications

There are three types of Corolla Sport RWD for the US market: DX, SR5, and GT-S, though the DX was generally an internal Toyota designation, as brochures, and advertising do not include the DX designation; it consisted of a lower trim level, lighter duty suspension parts and the like.
Note that the VIN and the chassis code do not match for all models.

DX & SR5 specifications

While in production, the AE86 was a popular choice for showroom stock, Group A, and Group N racing, especially in rallying and circuit races. After production ended, many private teams continued to race the AE86, and it remains a popular choice for rallying and club races today.
Part of the continued appeal of the AE86 for motorsports is its rear-drive configuration, not available in most newer lightweight coupes. In Group A touring car races, the car either dominated the lower category where eligible or fought it out with Honda Civics or the later AE92s and AE101s whilst maintaining its competitiveness. In Ireland, where rallying is considered one of the most popular forms of motorsport, as organizing regulations are more relaxed compared to that of other countries, the AE86 was popular when new, and remains so popular that teams will purchase cars from the UK due to local shortages. The AE86 is also popular for rally use in Finland, where the cars can be competitive in the F-Cup competition for naturally aspirated 2WD cars.
The AE86 was entered in the European Touring Car Championship from 1984 to 1988 with a 4A-GEU engine. In 1986 it beat the BMW M6, BMW 325i, Rover Vitesse, Volvo 240 Turbo, Merkur XR4Ti, Mazda 929, Holden Commodore, Alfa Romeo 75, and Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 to win the Manufacturers Championship with 267 points, surpassing the 1986 Drivers Championship Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M6.
The semi-factory supported Kraft team entered a spaceframe Trueno at the JGTC with a 3S-GTE engine that came from a SW20 MR2 Turbo producing about for the JGTC GT300 regulations in 1998. Despite being popular with the racefans, the car had minor success and was abandoned from use halfway through the 2001 season in favor of a newly delivered MR-S.
The rear wheel drive configuration, combined with the AE86's light weight, balance and relatively powerful 4A-GEU engine made it popular among the Japanese hashiriya, many of whom raced in touge where the corners suited the AE86 best, especially on the downhill. Among those who utilized this car was Japanese racing legend Keiichi Tsuchiya also known as the Drift King. Keiichi Tsuchiya helped popularize the sport of drifting, which involves taking a car on a set of controlled slides through corners. The AE86's FR configuration made it well suited to this kind of cornering, and currently the car is a mainstay of drift shows and competitions. Japanese drifters like Katsuhiro Ueo, Toshiki Yoshioka, Yoichi Imamura, Koichi Yamashita, Hiroshi Takahashi, Tetsuya Hibino, and Wataru Hayashi were also involved in making the AE86 famous in the drift scene.
AE86s around the world have been extensively modified for use in professional drifting.
The AE86 was also rallied by several rally drivers across the world.

In popular culture

The main character of the anime and manga Initial D, Takumi Fujiwara, uses his father's AE86 Trueno GT-Apex Hatchback for racing and making his tofu deliveries. Also in Initial D, Takumi's friend, Itsuki Takeuchi, drives an AE85 Levin, initially mistaking it for an AE86. Later on in the series, an imposter Takumi drives his own AE86 Trueno – although it is a Kouki instead of a Zenki. Throughout the series, two of Takumi's opponents would drive AE86s, the first being Wataru Akiyama, who drives a turbocharged AE86 Corolla Levin and Shinji Inui, who drives the Notchback coupe version of the AE86 Trueno in the series' finale. The AE86 is also a playable vehicle in the Initial D Arcade Stage series. Before Shuichi Shigeno created Initial D, he had a manga called Tunnel Nuketara Sky Blue, in which an AE86 Trueno GT-Apex Hatchback is present. In The Fast And The Furious, a red Corolla AE86 can be seen in the background waiting in line to enter the Race Wars. A few seconds later a white Corolla Levin is seen parked. The AE86 also made a brief cameo in and Fast and Furious 4. In Captain Marvel, a grey coupe Corolla AE86 makes a cameo twice during the pursuit scene. The popularity of Initial D is cited as the main cause of the car's high resale price, which is often referred to as "Takumi tax" or "Tofu tax", after the main character and his tofu delivery occupation.