The Toyota Corolla Levin (also known as the Sprinter Trueno) is a compact rear wheel drive sports car produced in Japan from 1983 – 1987. Very 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 North America in the mid-1980s. The car was powered by a state of the art twin-cam 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 AE86 comes with just a 115hp engine, but this free revving engine works like a charm all the way up to 7200 rpm. The 4A-GE engine in the car is not going to win any speed records, but this is not the reason you buy this classic Toyota sports car. The shear fun of driving the car is what makes people stay. The engine and gearbox work very well with the small light car. Steering feel and response provide great feedback and the car can be easily driven at the limit.
The classic AE86 was recently reborn with the all new Toyota GT, but somehow the magic of the original car was not resurrected 100%.
Today a used Levin in mint original condition will sell from RM80,000 upwards. A drift car probably RM35-45,000 and anywhere in between if you are lucky to find one, you will get a private owner willing to sell his appreciating asset.
