The Toyota AE85, sold as the Toyota Corolla Levin, Toyota Sprinter Trueno or Toyota Corolla SR5 is a rear-wheel drive sportscoupe manufactured by Toyota from 1983-1987. The AE85 shares its chassis and basic design with the famous AE86, but while the AE86 was designed for performance, the AE85 was designed for economy and differs mainly in its engine.
The inaugural AE85 model's standard equipment included Toyota's 3A-U carburetor-equipped SOHC motor displacing 1286cc(cubic centimeter) and the cable-clutch transmission. It did not incorporate the hydraulic T-50 transmission, nor the limited-slip differential (LSD) and rear disc brakes of the higher-performing AE86 version of the car. Both AE85 and AE86 were available in coupe or hatchback form, and also with the fixed headlight front (Levin) or pop-up lights (Trueno.) Because of their identical outward appearance, the two can sometimes be mistaken. The Corolla Levin was unique to Toyota Japan retail sales channel called Toyota Corolla Store, and the Sprinter Trueno was available new only at Toyota Vista Store locations.
The A Series engines are a family of straight-4 internal combustion engines with displacement from 1.3 L to 1.8 L produced by Toyota Motor Corporation.
The car is known in Japan as the Hachi-Go , meaning "Eight-Five". The word "trueno" is Spanish for thunder, and "levin" is Old English for "lightning".
It is most famously featured in the manga/anime series Initial D, where Itsuki Takeuchi purchases an AE85 Levin, mistaken for an AE86.
First generation—E10 series
The first generation Sprinter was introduced in March 1968 as a fastback version of the first generation Corolla, and sold at Japanese dealership sales channel called Toyota Auto Store. This was the only version to include the word "Corolla" in its name. Like the rest of the Corolla range, the 1077 cc K engine was upgraded to the 1166 cc 3K engine in September 1969. The Corolla was sold at a different dealership in Japan called Toyota Corolla Store.
Second generation—E20 series
In May 1970, the Sprinter was released as a variation of the second generation Corolla coupe. Toyota had promised its Toyota Corolla store dealers in Japan that they would receive exclusive rights to sell the Corolla. In order to sell through the Toyota Auto Store dealer network, the Sprinter was no longer called a Corolla, even though the differences were mostly cosmetic.
In Japan, the 3K engine was supplemented by a 1407 cc T engine in September 1970. Some markets received the 1588 cc 2T engine in March 1972. With the twincam 2T-G engine the vehicle was known as the Sprinter Trueno. As special model called the Sprinter Trueno J had everything the Trueno had except it used the single cam, twin carburetor 2T-B engine.
Third generation—E40, E60 series
1974 brought the third generation Sprinter based on the third generation Corolla coupe, 2 door sedan, 4 door sedan and liftback. Once again, the differences between the Corolla and Sprinter were mostly cosmetic. Sedans received a more formal upright grill, while the coupe and liftback received a sleeker, aerodynamic looking frontal treatment.
The Corolla's were given E30-38 codes while the Sprinter's were given corresponding E41-47 codes. When the Corolla range received a minor update in March 1974 to become the E50-55 series, the Sprinter received a corresponding update to become the E60 series. In 1978, the Sprinter saw a competitor introduced by Nissan called the Pulsar.
Fourth generation—E70 series
The 1979 fourth generation Sprinter was based on the fourth generation Corolla coupe, 2 door sedan, 4-door sedan and liftback. As before, the differences were cosmetic—the Corollas had a simpler treatment of the grill, head lights and tail lights while the Sprinter used a slightly more complex, sculptured treatment.
Fifth generation—E80 series
The fifth generation Sprinter was based on the 1983 fifth generation Corolla range. Like the Corolla, the model line was split into FWD and RWD models. This was the last generation of Sprinters to have RWD, so it remains a favourite of sports car enthusiasts—particularly in drifting. Fame was brought to this model by its appearance in the Initial D Japanese animation.
The four door sedan and the five door liftback were sold in North America under the resurrected name of Chevrolet Nova, the first of several Toyotas built by General Motors under license at NUMMI.
The AE82 Sprinter sedan had slightly different head lamps compared to the AE82 Corolla, 4 side windows, inclined c-pillar, different tail lamps the boot was placed a little higher and front aero grills were like the AE86 Levin. It had an overall similarity with the AE86 Levin coupe. The RWD Sprinter came with pop-up head lamps (the Corolla had fixed head lamps) and the front bumper was raised a little to accommodate them. The US Corolla GTS shared the head lamps with the Japanese market AE86 Sprinter but with small differences such as lower lift height and US globe fittings. The Sprinter sold in Australia was actually identical to a Japanese market Corolla in all of its specifications (e.g. no pop-up head lamps, Japanese market tail lamps).
Sixth generation—E90 series
The sixth generation Sprinter was shared with the sixth generation Corolla range, introduced in May 1987. They were offered as FWD & full-time 4WD. The Sprinter was offered as a sedan, coupe, 5-door liftback called Sprinter Cielo, and station wagon named Sprinter Carib.
The sedan and liftback had the same front ends but different rear ends. The JDM market Sprinter Trueno coupe had retractable head lamps, but in this generation the RWD model was discontinued and all coupes were FWD. It was the based for the American Corolla coupe. In the USA, the Sprinter sedan and liftback with slightly different front end were sold as Geo Prizm.
Out of all these engines the 4A-GE 20v Silver Top was a revolutionary engine when it was offered in 1991, with features like VVT, individual throttle bodies (ITB's), a compression ratio of 10.8:1 and 5-valve per cylinder. This helped the car to accelerate from 0–100 km/h in approximately 6 seconds and reach a top speed of over 200 km/h. A 5-valve-per-cylinder engine was unusual for the time, though Mitsubishi also offered a 5-valve vehicle in the Minica Dangan ZZ-4 in 1989.
The inaugural AE85 model's standard equipment included Toyota's 3A-U carburetor-equipped SOHC motor displacing 1286cc(cubic centimeter) and the cable-clutch transmission. It did not incorporate the hydraulic T-50 transmission, nor the limited-slip differential (LSD) and rear disc brakes of the higher-performing AE86 version of the car. Both AE85 and AE86 were available in coupe or hatchback form, and also with the fixed headlight front (Levin) or pop-up lights (Trueno.) Because of their identical outward appearance, the two can sometimes be mistaken. The Corolla Levin was unique to Toyota Japan retail sales channel called Toyota Corolla Store, and the Sprinter Trueno was available new only at Toyota Vista Store locations.
The A Series engines are a family of straight-4 internal combustion engines with displacement from 1.3 L to 1.8 L produced by Toyota Motor Corporation.
The car is known in Japan as the Hachi-Go , meaning "Eight-Five". The word "trueno" is Spanish for thunder, and "levin" is Old English for "lightning".
It is most famously featured in the manga/anime series Initial D, where Itsuki Takeuchi purchases an AE85 Levin, mistaken for an AE86.
First generation—E10 series
The first generation Sprinter was introduced in March 1968 as a fastback version of the first generation Corolla, and sold at Japanese dealership sales channel called Toyota Auto Store. This was the only version to include the word "Corolla" in its name. Like the rest of the Corolla range, the 1077 cc K engine was upgraded to the 1166 cc 3K engine in September 1969. The Corolla was sold at a different dealership in Japan called Toyota Corolla Store.
Second generation—E20 series
In May 1970, the Sprinter was released as a variation of the second generation Corolla coupe. Toyota had promised its Toyota Corolla store dealers in Japan that they would receive exclusive rights to sell the Corolla. In order to sell through the Toyota Auto Store dealer network, the Sprinter was no longer called a Corolla, even though the differences were mostly cosmetic.
In Japan, the 3K engine was supplemented by a 1407 cc T engine in September 1970. Some markets received the 1588 cc 2T engine in March 1972. With the twincam 2T-G engine the vehicle was known as the Sprinter Trueno. As special model called the Sprinter Trueno J had everything the Trueno had except it used the single cam, twin carburetor 2T-B engine.
Third generation—E40, E60 series
1974 brought the third generation Sprinter based on the third generation Corolla coupe, 2 door sedan, 4 door sedan and liftback. Once again, the differences between the Corolla and Sprinter were mostly cosmetic. Sedans received a more formal upright grill, while the coupe and liftback received a sleeker, aerodynamic looking frontal treatment.
The Corolla's were given E30-38 codes while the Sprinter's were given corresponding E41-47 codes. When the Corolla range received a minor update in March 1974 to become the E50-55 series, the Sprinter received a corresponding update to become the E60 series. In 1978, the Sprinter saw a competitor introduced by Nissan called the Pulsar.
Fourth generation—E70 series
The 1979 fourth generation Sprinter was based on the fourth generation Corolla coupe, 2 door sedan, 4-door sedan and liftback. As before, the differences were cosmetic—the Corollas had a simpler treatment of the grill, head lights and tail lights while the Sprinter used a slightly more complex, sculptured treatment.
Fifth generation—E80 series
The fifth generation Sprinter was based on the 1983 fifth generation Corolla range. Like the Corolla, the model line was split into FWD and RWD models. This was the last generation of Sprinters to have RWD, so it remains a favourite of sports car enthusiasts—particularly in drifting. Fame was brought to this model by its appearance in the Initial D Japanese animation.
The four door sedan and the five door liftback were sold in North America under the resurrected name of Chevrolet Nova, the first of several Toyotas built by General Motors under license at NUMMI.
The AE82 Sprinter sedan had slightly different head lamps compared to the AE82 Corolla, 4 side windows, inclined c-pillar, different tail lamps the boot was placed a little higher and front aero grills were like the AE86 Levin. It had an overall similarity with the AE86 Levin coupe. The RWD Sprinter came with pop-up head lamps (the Corolla had fixed head lamps) and the front bumper was raised a little to accommodate them. The US Corolla GTS shared the head lamps with the Japanese market AE86 Sprinter but with small differences such as lower lift height and US globe fittings. The Sprinter sold in Australia was actually identical to a Japanese market Corolla in all of its specifications (e.g. no pop-up head lamps, Japanese market tail lamps).
Sixth generation—E90 series
The sixth generation Sprinter was shared with the sixth generation Corolla range, introduced in May 1987. They were offered as FWD & full-time 4WD. The Sprinter was offered as a sedan, coupe, 5-door liftback called Sprinter Cielo, and station wagon named Sprinter Carib.
The sedan and liftback had the same front ends but different rear ends. The JDM market Sprinter Trueno coupe had retractable head lamps, but in this generation the RWD model was discontinued and all coupes were FWD. It was the based for the American Corolla coupe. In the USA, the Sprinter sedan and liftback with slightly different front end were sold as Geo Prizm.
Out of all these engines the 4A-GE 20v Silver Top was a revolutionary engine when it was offered in 1991, with features like VVT, individual throttle bodies (ITB's), a compression ratio of 10.8:1 and 5-valve per cylinder. This helped the car to accelerate from 0–100 km/h in approximately 6 seconds and reach a top speed of over 200 km/h. A 5-valve-per-cylinder engine was unusual for the time, though Mitsubishi also offered a 5-valve vehicle in the Minica Dangan ZZ-4 in 1989.
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