Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 GT Apex

Toyota AE86 at a glance

Levin or Trueno: two names, one car

The same car was sold under two names. The Corolla Levin had fixed rectangular headlamps, while the Sprinter Trueno used pop-up headlamps; under the skin they were the same. Both came as a two-door coupé and a three-door liftback, and the liftback had the better drag coefficient, 0.35 against 0.38 for the coupé. A dealer-fitted soft-top conversion of about 20 cars was sold in early 1987.

The 1985 facelift divides the cars into "zenki" (early, 1983–1985) and "kouki" (late, 1985–1987) models; on the Trueno, for example, the late cars have marker lights that wrap around the front bumper corners.

Grades and prices in Japan

In Japan the range had eight grades. Only the twin-cam cars were AE86: the two-door GT, the three-door GTV and the GT APEX in both bodies. The cheaper versions with the same bodies carried the code AE85 and a 1.5-litre engine.

The GT APEX cost about 46 percent more than the AE85 GL, and nearly twice the ¥832,000 of a basic Corolla 1300 DX four-door of the same period.

Engines: 4A-GEU twin-cam and the AE85

The heart of the AE86 was the 4A-GEU, a 1,587 cc four-cylinder with two camshafts and 16 valves. In the version for Japan it had a compression ratio of 9.4:1 and was rated at 96 kW (130 PS, gross) at 6,600 rpm with 149 Nm. European cars had a 10.0:1 compression ratio and 91 kW (124 PS DIN) with 142 Nm, while the North American version gave 84 kW (112 hp SAE net). The cylinder heads were made by Yamaha. The AE85 used the single-cam 1,452 cc 3A-U with 61 kW (83 PS), and North American base cars had a 4A-C with 52–55 kW (70–74 hp).

The twin-cam cars used the five-speed T50 manual gearbox; four-speed A42DL and A44DE automatics were available. Our power converter shows how gross, DIN and SAE net ratings compare.

Chassis, weight and dimensions

The drivetrain followed the classic layout: engine at the front, propeller shaft and live axle at the rear. The AE86 reused the front struts and many parts of its rear-drive predecessor, the TE71. At the front it had MacPherson struts; the rear axle was a rigid unit with four links and coil springs. Twin-cam versions had ventilated front discs; the single-cam cars made do with solid front discs and rear drums. A limited-slip differential was available only with the twin-cam engine and the manual gearbox.

Wikipedia gives a kerb weight of 900 to 1,065 kg, the lightest GT at about 900 kg; Wikipedia JA lists 935–940 kg for the three-door. With 96 kW and about 940 kg, each kilowatt had to move under 10 kg. Our power-to-weight calculator puts that ratio in context.

Export versions

Racing successes

The AE86 won the manufacturers' title of the European Touring Car Championship in 1986 with 267 points. Chris Hodgetts won the BTCC, Britain's touring-car series, in 1986 and 1987 in an AE86, and Kaoru Hoshino won Division 1 of Japan's touring-car championship in 1985. On the loose, an AE86 finished third overall at the 1989 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire, a round of the World Rally Championship.

Drifting, Initial D and the Hachi-Roku cult

Keiichi Tsuchiya, known as the "Drift King", helped make drifting popular, and the AE86 became the car most associated with the sport. Road & Track called it "a cult icon, inextricably interwoven with the earliest days of drifting". The manga and anime Initial D (1995–2013) added to the fame: its hero delivers tofu in a Sprinter Trueno GT APEX liftback. Enthusiasts call the resulting price premium the "tofu tax" or "Takumi tax".

Toyota itself still looks after the car. In November 2021 it restarted limited production of parts such as steering knuckle arms, rear brake calipers and rear half shafts, and in January 2023 Toyota Gazoo Racing and Lexus showed hydrogen and battery-electric AE86 concepts at a Tokyo show. The number returned in 2012 on the rear-drive Toyota 86, developed together with Subaru and also sold as the Subaru BRZ.

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