Toyota
- Toyota’s Gazoo Racing Heritage Parts division is adding cylinder heads and engine blocks to its list of replacement parts.
- Built for the AE86-chassis Corolla, these parts will make restorations a bit easier.
- Toyota is taking pre-orders at an Initial D celebration this weekend, the animated series that made the AE86 so famous.
Explaining why a mid-1980s Toyota Corolla has the same cult status in Japan as, say, The Dukes of Hazzard‘s General Lee Dodge Charger does in America isn’t simple. Dubbed the hachi-roku by fans (which translates simply to eight-six), the AE86-chassis Corolla never had much power under its hood, and it made do with suspension tech that was a bit outdated when compared with a contemporary Honda Civic. However, it was rear-wheel-drive, and that made for sideways sliding action on the cheap.Thanks to a bestselling manga (graphic novel) and animated series called Initial D, the AE86 became beloved on both sides of the pond. Professional drifters like Keiichi Tsuchiya made this little Corolla dance, and the lasting cultural impact of the manga spun off into video games and underground drifting videos.toyotaToday, the AE86 is an icon around the world, especially in its signature Initial D white-and-black livery. Trouble is, these cars are now 40 years old. When the last season of The Dukes of Hazzard ran, the General Lee was only 16. Keeping this piece of Toyota heritage on the road is going to take some help from the mothership.Happily, Toyota appears to think so too. Launching this weekend at an Initial D 30th anniversary celebration held at Fuji Speedway is a new run of cylinder heads and cylinder blocks for the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that powered the AE86 in its various forms. This engine, known as the 4A-GE, is also found in other Toyota classics such as the MR2, so this is good news for plenty of vintage Toyota enthusiasts. These parts are offered through Gazoo Racing’s Heritage Parts service, which launched earlier this year with replacement parts for the AE86, Supra, and Land Cruiser. Not just a reissue of the original engine parts, this new cylinder head and block are slightly updated for durability, applying some of the manufacturing lessons Toyota engineers have learned over the past four decades.ToyotaThe sportiest U.S.-spec version of the AE86 was the Corolla GT-S of the mid-1980s, and it can be hard to find a decent one of those these days. These new GR Heritage Parts will make restoring one that much simpler, helping keep scrappy little Toyota hatchbacks on the road.Pre-orders will open at the GR booth this weekend at Fuji, and there are a couple of asterisks. Production of the parts will require a certain number of orders, and the launch date of May of next year is subject to any potential delays. However, if you’re a fan of the AE86, Toyota’s factory involvement can be seen as nothing but good news. Even Takumi Fujiwara, the perpetually moody fictional star of Initial D, would have to smile to see it.Related Stories
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➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsBrendan McAleerContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
Source: caranddriver.com
