Toyota’s AE86 from Initial D: A Brief History and the Future of Electric Vehicles
Fans of JDM cars and manga know this Japanese license plate number: 13-954. It’s emblazoned on the Toyota Corolla AE86, aka “Hachi-Roku” (Japanese for eight-six), made famous by the comic series “Initial D.” In the series, an AE86 serves as a vehicle for the young Takumi Fujiwara, who unintentionally develops into the drift king of Mount Akina and causes quite a few surprises in the drift scene. The combination of tofu and Corolla came together in 1995 in “Initial D,” the Japanese comic by Shuichi Shigeno, which struck a chord with car lovers (and, dare we say it, tofu lovers, too).
Takumi Fujiwara: The Tofu Drifter
The protagonist of the story, Takumi Fujiwara, is a high school student (and later a college student) who works at a gas station during summer vacation and lives in the mountainous Gunma prefecture in central Japan. In the early hours of the morning, he delivers tofu from his father’s store in his family’s aging Corolla, a Toyota Sprinter Trueno (commonly known by its chassis number, AE86). When the sun goes down, his black-and-white AE86 becomes the ultimate racing machine on the nearby mountain roads. Fujiwara and his fellow racers drift along the winding roads, deliberately oversteering and pushing their cars and skills to the limit. With its simple body and layout, the AE86 was perfect for tuning and drifting.
Toyota AE86: An Icon in Motorsport History
Let’s break the whole thing down: Toyota offered sporty Corolla models with rear-wheel drive from the summer of 1983. In Japan, these hatchback and notchback coupes went by the names Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno; in the USA, the cars were called Corolla GT-S or SR5. On the domestic market, an SOHC 1.5-liter with 84 horsepower and a 1.6-liter with two overhead camshafts and 128 hp were available. In North America, these engines produced 74 hp and 114 hp. In Europe, both or just one body variant was offered, depending on the market. In Germany, the notchback version was available from November 1983 under the name Corolla GT. Coupe production ended in July 1987.
Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 BEV: The Next Generation
Why am I telling you all this? Well, as a fan of the “Initial D” series, I was extremely pleased when Toyota showed the Corolla Levin AE86 BEV Concept last year. It’s a classic car with electric drive, which is not a breathtakingly new idea, as many restomods show, but Toyota actually installed a manual gearbox in this EV. The battery-powered system uses an electric motor from a Tundra Hybrid, a battery pack from a Prius plug-in hybrid, and components from other Toyota and Lexus series models. Toyota is expected to introduce a simulated manual gearbox as an option in its electric vehicles from 2026, bringing a new level of excitement to the world of electric cars.
The Future of Electric Sports Cars
With the shift towards electric vehicles in the automotive industry, Toyota’s development of the Corolla Levin AE86 BEV Concept represents a unique combination of classic design and modern technology. By incorporating a simulated manual gearbox into an electric vehicle, Toyota is appealing to enthusiasts who value the driving experience and engagement of a traditional manual transmission. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how other automakers embrace similar technologies and cater to the demands of car enthusiasts looking for a balance between sustainability and performance. The legacy of the AE86 lives on, not only in the pages of “Initial D” but also in the evolution of electric sports cars.