Cars
Toyota Corolla GT-S (AE86)
Drift
Asia
What can be said about the AE86 that’s not been said already? Toyota’s little rear-wheel drive coupe of the mid-80s has risen to global stardom in the last decade or so thanks to a starring anime role and by being a staple of video games where it offered to players what it offered in the real-world – a relatively cheap, simple, light car for drivers to learn to tame rear-wheel-drive handling.
For the uninitiated, “AE86” refers to the chassis code for that particular model of car – this sort of thing becomes important when the car was sold under many names (Sprinter Trueno, Corolla Levin, Corolla GT twin-cam), and many of those names refer to long-lived models with many generations. Using chassis codes helps car-geeks talk to each other about specific cars without having to rattle off a long name, spec, and model year range.
Anyway, GRID’s AE86 is a drift-tuned monster, based on the less-commonly-seen (in games at least) 2-door notchback coupe body shell. This version of the car is said to be a better base for tuning as it’s both stiffer and lighter than the 3-door hatchback. It’s not a powerhouse – with “just” 250bhp from its tuned 1.6 litre 4A-G, but that’s never been the point of the AE86. It’s a precision drifting tool.
For the uninitiated, “AE86” refers to the chassis code for that particular model of car – this sort of thing becomes important when the car was sold under many names (Sprinter Trueno, Corolla Levin, Corolla GT twin-cam), and many of those names refer to long-lived models with many generations. Using chassis codes helps car-geeks talk to each other about specific cars without having to rattle off a long name, spec, and model year range.
Anyway, GRID’s AE86 is a drift-tuned monster, based on the less-commonly-seen (in games at least) 2-door notchback coupe body shell. This version of the car is said to be a better base for tuning as it’s both stiffer and lighter than the 3-door hatchback. It’s not a powerhouse – with “just” 250bhp from its tuned 1.6 litre 4A-G, but that’s never been the point of the AE86. It’s a precision drifting tool.
