Toyota Ae86

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 line-up. For the purpose of brevity, the insider-chassis code of "AE86" is used to describe the whole range. In classic Toyota code, the "A" represents the engine that came in the car (the 3A and 4A) and the E86 represents the 6th revision of the fifth generation (E80 series) of the E model which is the Corolla. The visual difference between the Levin and Trueno is that the former has fixed-headlights and the latter has retractable headlights. 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 variant of the AE86 called "Black Limited", replaced in 1987 by the front wheel drive AE92 Corolla/Sprinter range. In Japan, the AE86 was also known as the Hachi-Roku (ハチロク)

Engine/Technical

The AE86 was available with a fuel-injected 4-cylinder twin-cam 1587 cc 4A-GE engine in Japan and Europe which was also used in the first-generation Toyota MR2 (AW11). This engine had a maximum power output of 130 PS (97 kW) and 103 ft·lbf (140 nm) of torque in standard form.^[1 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 T-VIS (Toyota Variable Intake System). The AE86 had an optional Limited Slip Differential (LSD)

Body styles

Both the Levin and Trueno variants were offered with either a 2-door coupe or 3-door liftback (sometimes called hatchback) body style. Both the Levin and Trueno were generally identical, apart from fixed, rectangular headlights on the Levin and pop-up headlights on the Trueno. Minor bodywork changes were made in 1986 which resulted in different tail lights for both Levin and Trueno models, along with the coupe and hatchback styles. The models sold between 1983–1985 are commonly referred to as "Zenki" in America, and the models sold from 1986–1987 are referred to as "Kouki". The coupe version is considered to be more rigid and lighter version of the two.

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, with SOHC 3A-U AE85 version sold in a variety of trims including SR, GT, et cetera. In America, the top-spec DOHC 4A-GEC was sold as the Corolla GT-S AE86 (for VIN numbers starting with AE88 the 4th number in the VIN indicates 4agec motor in federal emissions handbook) , with the SOHC 4A-C AE86 bket, with pop-up headlights and the regulated 5 mph (8 km/h) bumpers.

The lightest AE86 is the Japanese 2 door GT model which weighs 910kg. 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.