cool cars you could think of from the 1980s a 1986 toyota corolla wouldn’t be on your list it doesn’t talk it hasn’t got guns or a time machine and it wasn’t made famous by an inquisitive bloke with a big mustache and tight tennis shorts yet somehow this seemingly runofthemill coupe with its typically uninspiring japanese 80s styling has become One. one of the most Soughtafter. soughtafter performance cars to come out of japan ever this car almost singlehandedly invented a whole new motorsport genre and it became the star of a cult tv and film series so what you might Ask.

ask is this car’s secret weapon what is so special about the ae86 toyota corolla gt coupe i have to admit if you’re not Into.

into cars me it’s a little bit boring and nerdy but it’s the engine and this is the engine obviously it’s a 1.6. 1.6 liter 16 valve twin cam it’s good for 124 brake horsepower And. and there was a poster campaign By.

by toyota at The.

the time that read fact the most advanced 16valve fourcylinder production engine in the world the problem with that claim is that it came 20 years or So. so too late you see the 4age engine in the ae86 corolla is to all intents and purposes a production version of the cosworth bda that Was. was built for the worx rally ford escorts in the Mid. mid 60s it’s got the same boar and stroke the same valve and port sizes and The. the internals look remarkably similar as far as the escort is concerned the bda transformed a humble family saloon car into one of the most formidable and popular competition cars on the planet and toyota was hoping that this 4age engine could do the same for its corolla in other words none of this was by accident the marketing claims about the engine in this corolla ae86 weren’t actually wrong this was the most advanced production engine of its type at the time even if ford had given toyota the original idea 20 years earlier at a time when a switch to frontwheel Drive.

drive and a growing motoring social responsibility was seeing a definite toning down of most manufacturers marketing toyota unapologetically focused on performance for the ae86 with horses coming out of bonnets and endless references to this rather curious engine spec it’s not just the engine that jumps off the page at you When. when you’re reading up on the ae8060 spec front mcpherson struts and a fourlinked Live. live rear axle provide further curious links to the sporting escort and coupled with A. a limited slip differential Which.

which was standard equipment on many of the models it was clear That.

that the corolla ae86 was Destined. destined for fame and glory on say the mountain roads Of. of japan and that’s exactly where this car did find fame At.

at the hands of Legendary.

legendary japanese touga race driver kaiichi tsutiya conscious that his ability to fire the venerable Ae86.

ae86 corolla up a mountain Road