Toyota AE86

This week, the first set of spy shots of the upcoming Toyota sportscar came out. Expected to be a spiritual successor to the Supra, and likely to take the same iconic name, this model has the potential to give the Japanese carmaker’s image a definitive boost. Although, with all the financial considerations of the times, it will be difficult for Toyota to replicate its past glory days, it will make for a good start. While the Supra, the MR2 and the Celica had obvious attributes that gave them the following they had, there was another car in Toyota’s line-up, which wasn’t as well-endowed as its siblings, but went on to achieve an equally illustrious cult status. The Toyota AE86.

Visually nothing more than a generic Eighties Corolla, and with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine making a not-so-great 128bhp, the AE86 did not look promising at all. However, with its rear-wheel drive poise and its old-school mechanical simplicity, as well as a rev-happy four-pot, it soon gained a massive following. Japanese racer Keiichi Tsuchiya, who is known as the “Drift King”, also played a huge role in popularising the car with his exploits on the winding mountain roads, and even establishing a drifting grand prix, where the AE86 was the star.

It was given a further shot in the arm by the massively popular Manga comic book series, Initial D, which told the story of Takumi Fujiwara, a tofu delivery boy who is also an accomplished street racer.

The fact that the lead character, said to have been based on Tsuchiya, is shown using his father’s AE86 Sprinter Trueno for his sideways feats added to the car’s fan base and soon the AE86 name came to be synonymous with drifting.

Although interest in the model waned for a few years, the GT 86 of 2012 revived interest in the car and its legend, and consequently demand for the AE86 also spiked in the classic car market. It’s difficult to get one in good nick nowadays, and there are many examples that have been understandably abused by drifters over the years. However, if you manage to get hold of one that’s in a relatively decent condition, it’s sure to give you many miles of driving, or rather drifting fun, while also being a sound investment.