Before getting the taste of the rear-wheel drive racing manga heroes, let's get to know these two iconic Toyota sports cars first, starting with the legendary AE86. Launched in 1983, the AE86 Trueno, including its Levin twin, has roots from the E80-spec Corolla/Sprinter range but when the E80 Corolla/Sprinter range became front-wheel drive, the sporty variants remained rear-wheel drive. Offered as a three-door hatchback and a two-door coupe, the AE86 is powered by a 1.6L DOHC inline-four engine with EFI-D and T-VIS, allowing it to produce 128hp of power and 109.9ft-lb of torque.
The Toyota 86, unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show and went on sale in the Spring of 2012, is the spiritual successor of the legendary AE86. It was jointly developed by Subaru and it's powered by a FA20 2.0L boxer-four engine producing 197hp of power while mated to either a 6-speed manual or automatic. Thanks to its ideal weight distribution and low center of gravity, the 86 is one of the best-handling sportscars in ages and a hit among car enthusiasts in the beginning.
Comparing between the legendary AE86 Sprinter Trueno and the Toyota 86 is like seeing how much we, speedo boys, evolved from Takumi to Kanata. Takumi's AE86 has been known to challenge even the most intimidating street racers on mountain roads while Kanata's 86 has been known to take on all comers in a sanctioned street racing sport called MF GHOST. Although they're different, they sure know how to drive their Toyotas to the upmost limit and that gives me an idea to conduct an experiment to see how much the 86 progressed from the legend itself so I went to Fuji Speedway and find out.
The Fuji Speedway has been the favorite proving ground for every Toyota cars made and this is the ideal ground to conduct my hypothesis regarding these two Toyota sports cars. These two are taking on time attacks to see which one is the quickest and without further ado, let's roll the tape.
After a quick lap round the short version of Fuji Speedway, here are the results; the AE86 did it in 2:16.620 while the Toyota 86 did it in 2:08.972 so by comparison, it took almost 8 seconds to evolve ourselves from Initial D's Takumi Fujiwara to MF GHOST's Kanata Livington. Surprising.
Like the two racing manga heroes speedo boys idolize, the AE86 Sprinter Trueno and the Toyota 86 are the lightweight rear-wheel drive sportscars that gained a cult following in the beginning and despite the ever-changing automotive landscape, rest assured that these two legends will forever be stuck in our minds like every Eurobeat music to our ears. Drive them with some Eurobeat music playing on the stereo and you'll know that you're just like our favorite racing manga heroes we know and admire.
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