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 (7800 rpm), twin-cam engine with oil cooler (e.g., in the US), 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 featured centrally in the popular, long-running Japanese manga and anime series titled Initial D (1995-2013) — 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."[2]

The AE86 would go on to inspire the Toyota 86 (2012–present),[3] 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.

The AE86 generation of the Toyota Corolla Levin and Toyota Sprinter Trueno is a small, lightweight coupe introduced by Toyota in 1983 as part of the fifth generation Toyota Corolla lineup. For the purpose of brevity, the insider-chassis code of "AE86" depicts the 1600 cc RWD model from the range. In classic Toyota code, the "A" represents the engine that came in the car (4A series), "E" represents the Corolla, "8" represents the fifth generation (E80 series) and "6" represents the variation within this generation.

The Levin has fixed-headlights, and the Trueno has retractable headlights, both could be hatchback or coupe. The export model name Corolla covers both variations. The AE86 (along with the lower spec 1,452 cubic centimetres (1.452 L) AE85 and 1587 cc SR5 versions) was rear wheel drive (unlike the front wheel drive CE80, EE80 and AE82 models), and is among the last rear-drive cars of its type, at a time when most passenger cars were being switched to front-drive. In 1987, there was a limited edition model of the AE86 called "Black Limited" that served as a send-off model before the AE86 chassis was replaced later that year by the front wheel drive AE92 Corolla/Sprinter range.

In Japan, the AE86 was also known as the Hachi-Roku (ハチロク) Japanese for "eight-six". In Japan, the Sprinter Trueno was exclusive to Toyota Japan dealerships called Toyota Vista Store, while the Corolla Levin was exclusive to Toyota Corolla Store. The word "trueno" is Spanish for thunder, and "levin" is Old English for "lightning".

Specs (Stock)

 * Engine Name: 4A-GEU
 * Engine Type: L4 DOHC
 * Max power: 125 HP / 6600 rpm
 * Maximum torque: 230.5 Nm / 6500 rpm
 * Displacement : 1587 cc
 * Drivertrain: FR
 * Aspiration: NA
 * Length: 4205 mm
 * Height: 1335 mm
 * Width: 1625 mm
 * Weight: ~1000 kg
 * Transmission: 5-speed MT

Specs (Takumi Ver.)

 * Engine Name: OEM 4A-GE
 * Engine Type: L4 DOHC
 * Max power: 150 HP / 7500 rpm
 * Displacement: 1587 cc
 * Drivetrain: FR
 * Aspiration: NA
 * Transmission: 5-speed MT
 * Model: Zenki

Specs (Project D ver.)

 * Engine Name: TRD Group A 4A-GELU
 * Engine Type: L4 DOHC
 * Max power: 240 HP / 11000 rpm
 * Displacement: 1587 cc
 * Drivetrain: FR
 * Aspiration: NA
 * Transmission: 5-speed MT
 * Model: Zenki
 * Weight: 880 kg

Specs (Stock)

 * Engine Name: 4A-GEU
 * Engine Type: L4 DOHC
 * Max power: 125 HP / 7600 rpm (280 HP and later 250 HP for Wataru)
 * Maximum torque: 260.3 Nm / 6000 rpm
 * Displacement: 1587 cc
 * Drivetrain: FR
 * Aspiration: NA (Turbo and later Supercharged for Wataru)
 * Length: 4195 mm
 * Height: 1335 mm
 * Width: 1625 mm
 * Weight: 900 kg
 * Transmission: 5-speed MT

Specs (Wataru Stage 2)

 * Engine Name: OEM 4A-GEU
 * Engine Type: L4 DOHC
 * Max power: 280 HP / 7600 rpm
 * Displacement: 1587 cc
 * Drivetrain: FR
 * Aspiration: Turbocharged
 * Transmission 5-speed MT
 * Model: Kouki

Specs (Wataru Stage 4)

 * Engine Name: 4A-GZE Swapped
 * Engine Type: L4 DOHC
 * Max power: 250 HP / 7600 rpm
 * Displacement: 1587 cc
 * Drivetrain: FR
 * Aspiration: Supercharged
 * Transmission 5-speed MT
 * Model: Kouki

Specs (Stock)

 * Engine Name: 4A-GEU
 * Engine Type: L4 DOHC
 * Max power: 125 HP / 7600 rpm
 * Max torque: 260.3 Nm / 6000 rpm
 * Displacement: 1587 cc
 * Drivetrain: FR
 * Aspiration: NA
 * Length: 4205 mm
 * Height: 1335 mm
 * Width: 1625 mm
 * Weight: 950 kg
 * Transmission: 5-speed MT

Weakness
The AE86 has a large weakness in that the suspension is poorly designed and the weight distribution is suboptimal. This means initiating braking drifts is very difficult and the car is prone to corner entry understeer. It also means the car can oversteer quite easily when opening the throttle out of corners, as the lightness of the rear combined with the antiquated live-axle (beam) rear suspension invites a loss of traction.

In The Last Battle, Ryosuke discovers the weakness of Takumi's Trueno is gone, because he uses very little countersteering as he stabilizes the car in the final moment of drift. He countersteers right less after a turn-in maneuver.

Trivia

 * Bunta states that the AE86 is the type of a car that trains a driver.
 * The popularity of Initial D is said to have caused the price jump for AE86s (dubbed "Tofu Tax"), with real-life replicas of Takumi's Trueno being made.
 * In the Tokyopop dub of Initial D: First Stage, the L4 engine sound was swapped with a V8 Engine sound from the Chevrolet vehicles.