It’s been a long time coming, but Toyota finally did it: they’re paying homage to one of the most iconic iterations of their hot hatch models from the 1980s: the AE86 Sprinter Trueno. Only this time, the legendary livery and design is now attached to the Toyota GR86, appropriately called the GR86 Trueno Edition. It may be new to a lot of drivers, but it’s actually a throwback to one of the most cherished outings from Toyota that helped reshape how this brand was viewed in both motorsports and tuner culture.
For the 2024 GR86, Toyota has a limited quantity of the Trueno Edition available to give those looking through available Toyotas for sale an opportunity to finally get their hands on a modern-day re-imagining of a classic car. So what makes the GR86 Trueno Edition so special, and why would sports car enthusiasts and fans of tuner culture want to get their hands on one? Well, it’s because of what the vehicle represents, its ties to pop culture, and the fact that it rekindles an homage to the tofu drift king.
How the Trueno Edition Came to Be
Toyota decided to release a special edition of the Trueno as part of its 40th anniversary, giving modern-day drivers an opportunity to bask in the glory of this legendary model. Only, this time, it’s a performance and livery package made available for Toyota Gazoo’s sports-themed models, including the GR Supra, the GR Corolla, and the GR86. All three models embody a throwback design to the classic Toyota AE86, also known as the Sprinter Trueno.
The Sprinter Trueno was originally released as a 1983 Corolla. “AE86” was the internal production and development code for the model, and the customer-facing name was known as the Toyota Sprinter Trueno in Japan and the Toyota Corolla Levin outside of Japan. Ultimately, the AE86 came onto the scene as a three-door liftback or hot-hatch sedan. It was lightweight and small but very spirited—a hot-hatch that featured a 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder engine paired with a manual transmission in a rear-wheel drive configuration.
The AE86 Trueno was only in production between 1983 and 1987. Part of its recognizable design centered around a gray body color with black stripes at the bottom. The most iconic version of the AE86 is the Sprinter Trueno GT liftback, featuring pop-up headlights, black lower stripes, and black cladding around the base of the vehicle; this was also the version that has become most recognized in popular media for decades.
The Pop-Cultural Phenomenon of the Trueno
The Toyota AE68 really kicked into high gear in the pop-culture scene thanks to a little manga series known as Initial D, which first started in 1995. It later became a highly popular anime, starring an unassuming young man named Takumi Fujiwara, who was a tofu driver making deliveries throughout the more remote mountainous regions of Japan. The hook for the series was that Takumi was mostly a conduit to showcase the drifting prowess of the hero car—the equally unassuming Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno—which he used to deliver tofu.
Fans of the series already know the gist of it, but for those unfamiliar, the series skyrocketed in popularity because Takumi, the tofu driver, had learned how to expedite his delivery runs by driving as fast as possible and drifting through the sharp S-turns throughout the mountain pass to reduce delivery times and increase his driving skill. This would spark all sorts of rivalries among other young drivers who had their own souped-up cars that were popular in the JDM scene at the time, such as the highly regarded Toyota Supra, the legendary Mitsibushi Lancer Evo, and the rally-king Subaru WRX.
The Initial D series was extremely detailed, oriented around the concept of drifting, touge racing, and utilizing lightweight, small-block engines to overcome more powerful vehicles based on driver skill—using pristine engineering to win races rather than relying on pure horsepower. It was a series that relished the culture of skill-based driving. What’s more, the Sprinter Trueno was used to highlight how an unassuming vehicle can become a legend on the road when driven by the right person with the right skill.
The popularity of Initial D ended up translating into all sorts of other mediums, including a live-action movie (starring pop singer Jay Chou and prominent character actor Anthony Wong) and multiple video games spanning arcade titles and home console releases over the course of many years. The AE86 Trueno also managed to gain quite the popularity thanks to Toyota utilizing the Sprinter Trueno in real-life motorsports throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, especially drifting and circuit racing, winning multiple races and championships over the years, which greatly boosted its appeal. This all translated into the vehicle becoming very popular in other big-selling video game franchises like Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport, Assetto Corso, and, of course, Need for Speed.
The cumulative pop-cultural influence from the comics, the animated series, the live-action movie, the video games, and real-life motorsports not only helped propel the AE86 throughout mimetic internet culture, but it also translated into the AE86 becoming highly popular in the JDM tuner scene. It’s become a global collector’s item for a lot of people who appreciate its influence on tuner culture, drift culture, motorsports, and street racing. There’s this mythical synergy between the different mediums wherein the AE86 has reached legendary status, and this has helped cement it as an icon in the minds of tuner car enthusiasts.
What the GR86 Trueno Edition Includes
With so much history packed into the Trueno nameplate, there are obvious expectations that many sports car enthusiasts are expecting from an anniversary special. Well, Toyota certainly hasn’t disappointed with the 2024 GR86 Trueno Edition. This sports car is built out of the Premium trim and features a throwback livery to the Sprinter Trueno GT, featuring a solid matte gray body with dual black stripes on the lower side of the vehicle and a matching matte black hood.
There are also some black accents, like trim along the side front air vents, the door handles, the front grille, and the mirror caps. Additionally, you have a black decklid spoiler and black cladding along the bumper line on the rear, highlighting the dual-rear exhaust. The two-tone black and gray color scheme is also matched with black metallic 18-inch ten-spoke aluminum alloy wheels with red Brembo brakes and SACHS dampers that are designed to improve both the looks and the handling of the GR86, not unlike the tuned suspension and black multi-spoke wheels featured on the AE86 Sprinter Trueno GT Apex.
The GR86 also still features the 2.4-liter four-cylinder Boxer Engine provided by Subaru, making 228 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque, and featuring a limited slip Torsen rear-differential so you drifting freaks out there can lock those apex turns hard at high-speeds. You also have Ultrasuede sport seats with contrasting red leather and black material surfaces; a red-stitched shifter (available in manual or automatic) and Trueno badging featured throughout are just an added touch for the whole package.
The GR86 also comes with all-weather floor mats and a robust Toyota infotainment suite featuring smart device integration and an 8.0-inch touchscreen. You even get the entire active safety suite on the manual transmission model. Basically, the GR86 is designed to enable you to drift out the gate and grip the road while you either partake in touge challenges or deliver tofu to customers as an Uber Eats driver.
Why the GR86 Trueno Edition Is Important for Sports Drivers
The performance modifications to the GR86 Trueno Edition and the livery overhaul give this vehicle a unique look and a nice throwback to the classic 1980s Toyota Corolla AE86 that ended up becoming the icon it is today. Will the GR86 Trueno Edition become as iconic? Maybe, but Toyota definitely has something special in this economy-class sports car that you just don’t find anywhere else on the market—not with the same level of sports appeal and performance scalability at that price point.
The Trueno Edition could definitely help propel the GR86 to new heights in terms of popularity within the tuner, JDM enthusiast, and sports car communities. A lot of people would love to get their hands on this vehicle and do their own tuning to improve or modify it to suit their driving style. Sometimes, a spark of inspiration is enough to compel people to undertake all sorts of overhauls and upgrades—to rekindle their love of car culture—and the GR86 Trueno Edition could be that inspiration.
Let’s not forget that the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds spawned interest in the 1967 Mustang “Eleanor” fastback, the Fast & Furious series spawned a renewed interest in the Charger, or how Mad Max Fury Road helped revitalize interest in the Ford Falcon Interceptor, with enthusiasts seeking out older Ford Falcons to be resto-modded to look like the “last of the V8s”. We could definitely see something similar with the GR86 Trueno Edition inspiring interest in the AE86.
But let’s say that you couldn’t afford an AE86 at the time, or you were too young to get in on the action while the action was worth getting in on; the GR86 Trueno Edition is a fantastic opportunity provided by Toyota to experience that greatness. It’s a different car, sure, but the intention to capture the spirit of the Sprinter Trueno is there. That’s assuming you can actually get your hands on one.
Will You Get a GR86 Trueno Edition?
While the 2024 GR86 Trueno Edition represents a throwback to a classic Toyota nameplate, the problem is that it’s only available in limited quantities. How limited? Well, you’ll likely have to rush to a Toyota dealer to find one. Otherwise, you might end up spending your days tapping F5 to refresh the auction page, trying to find this particular Toyota GR86 for sale.
If the GR86 Trueno Edition becomes anywhere near as popular as the original AE86 “Drift King” of old, you could be looking at a global “Tofu Tax” on the GR86 Trueno Edition just like its predecessor, making it absurdly expensive. Of course, that leads to the very obvious question: will you be getting one as soon as possible, or are you going to sit by the sidelines to see how well this homage to the great drift king will play out?
