The #Toyota #Corolla #AE86 was first presented in 1983. And it goes by many names: Toyota A E 8 6 (in Japan) - and Hachi-roku in Japanese; or: Toyota Corolla Coupé GT 16 V with fixed headlights or Toyota Corolla Sport S R 5 or rather GT-S with pop-up headlights in the US.

In Germany marketers promised things like "From rally sports to the road" or "Up and away with 16 Valves” showing an A E 8 6 with airtime. In the US the Japanese manufacturer chose a more playful approach by celebrating those “Sweet 16!” valves – four for each cylinder.

"Ain't that a tad too much for a Corolla?" you might ask. And: "Ain't that just a boring compact?" Basically, you’re right, but let me put you right: The AE86 is a compact car gone so horribly wrong, that it came out perfectly right. This little icon of Eightiesness is based on the 5th Corolla generation. But for some strange reason, those responsible at Toyota decided to turn a good but average basic car into something totally different. Instead of the Front Engine Front Wheel Drive layout, which the regular Corolla used, they chose a direction every sportsman would: longitudinally installed engine in the front, power to the back, and by that also reaching a weight balance very close to an ideal 50/50.

Before I get into this car’s driving antics, there is the chapter of names and naming. The four-digit maker code of the A E 8 6 emerges from a very precise ciphony:
A explains the naturally aspirated #4A-GE inline-four engine with a displacement of 1.6 liters or 96.8 cubic inches; as used in the M R 2 , type A W 1 1; E stands for being a Corolla; 8 for its fifth generation and the 6 names the exact type of the model range.

This car came with two different bodytypes - a two door coupé, like you can see here, and a 3 door hatchback body. And both shells were available with fixed headlights or with fancy pop-ups. With its headlights fixed the car is called #Levin - an ancient English word meaning lightning; the pop-up-headlights type goes by the name #Trueno - Spanish for thunder.

The main part in driving is played by the seemingly tiny inline-four with 1.6 liters. Doesn't sound spectacular at first, does it? But when you ask that powerhouse to rev, it DOES. With one hard kick on the pedal it goes from idle at 800 rpm up to 7700 revs in less than a second - 0.98 to be exact. According to different sources its rev limit lies between 7400 and 7800 rpm.

All this explosiveness is good for fuel injected 124 PS / 122 hp @6800 r p m and 142 Nm / 105 Foot pound @ 5200 r p m. Therefore, on the mechanic side, each cylinder has two air intakes, one with a throttle valve - called Toyota Variable Induction System T - V I S. And on the electronic side, air fuel mixture and ignition timing are managed by T C C S – the Toyota Computer Controlled System. When revs climb above 4650 per min T C C S tells T - V I S to open those valves and allow more mixture into the cylinder. This makes the engine torquey at first and revy later on, but you don't feel to much of the first.
Due to its tiny displacement the power output also seems cute. But this guy weighs in at 955 kg / 2105 lbs. Then there’s the transmission: its gears line up instantly and all their ratios are short and snappy - so the A E 8 6 moves easily fast. It's the same thing with the steering and the shifter - only the latter I'd like a little more precise.
But the real magic happens, when the engine revs. And when you shift fast. When you raise the pressure. Then everything seems to solidify a little. The car gets better the more you urge it – almost like synthesizing a diamond from a chunk of coal.

Little disclaimer: I got this car from the Toyota Collection of Toyota Germany in Cologne. On every 1st saturday of the month you can enter their little hoard of beautiful and interesting cars for free. So, when you're around - give it a shot!
https://www.toyota-collection.de/de/h...

Music:
80s Cop Show von Twin Musicom ist unter der Lizenz "Creative Commons Attribution" (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...) lizenziert.
Quelle: http://www.twinmusicom.org/song/240/8...
Künstler: http://www.twinmusicom.org