The Legend 1984 Toyota Sprinter Trueno Gt-Apex

The Toyota Sprinter Trueno / Toyota Corolla Levin is a compact sports car produced in Japan from 1983 – 1987. They are commonly referred to as the AE86, or by the Japanese pronunciation hatchi-roku (86). Many people consider this car to be a large influence in developing a market for sport compact cars in America and Canada. The car was powered by a state of the art twincam engine developed by Yamaha and Toyota. This vehicle has since become an icon of the JDM community, and is famous for drifting thanks to Keiichi Tsuchiya (Drift King). Tsuchiya and his AE86 invented the organized drift competitions in both Japan and America. Credit for the immense interest in the AE86 also goes to the drifting manga / anime Initial D by Shuichi Shigeno, a story of a boy who drifts his AE86 in the mountains of Japan.

The engine in the Trueno and Levin is the famous 4a-ge. It is famous because of its willingness to rev, and it’s refinement for the time. Twincam engines were still in their infancy when this car was produced and it was instrumental in convincing people of this new technology. The engine went on to power the MR2 in NA and supercharges forms, then in Japan it was refined with ITB and variable valve timing to produce up to 165hp. The engine is a popular base for many kit cars because of its low weight and ease of tuning.

Toyota FT-86 The New AE86

Toyota and Subaru are collaborating on a shared four-cylinder sports car that will be sold in two versions, beginning near the end of 2011. Largely engineered by Subaru, the cars will get a rear-drive platform consisting of a steel structure with aluminum body panels. A small, 2.0-liter flat-four engine made by Subaru will sit low behind the front-axle line. Toyota previewed its FT86 concept at last year’s Tokyo auto show; Subaru has yet to show its cards.

Neither automaker has released official names, but it is rumored that Toyota may revive “Celica,” which has been on hiatus since 2003. “FT” means “future Toyota,” and the “86” serves as a reminder of the rear-drive AE86 Corolla of the 1980s that has achieved cult status among drifters. Designed at Toyota’s European studio in the south of France, the FT86 concept’s shape is expected to enter production unchanged.

Toyota’s boss, part-time racer Akio Toyoda, recognizes that the brand lacks emotional appeal and doesn’t offer gobs of driving pleasure, so the company hopes the new car will inject some fun into the lineup. For Subaru, the new vehicle brings a dedicated rear-drive sports car to the company’s stable of all-wheel-drive hatchbacks, wagons, and sedans. But Subaru has built its reputation and much of its sales success on extolling the virtues of all-wheel drive, so how the sports car will change Subaru’s heading remains to be seen.