A 2+2 front engine, rear wheel drive sports car is planned to be the sprititual successor to the AE86 Toyota Sprinter Trueno/Corolla Levin, unbelievably at a price cheaper than the discontinued Toyota MR-S…
Toyota enthusiasts should be happy with the latest news from the Japanese magazine ‘Best Car’, with news that Toyota is bringing back the soul of the now famous AE86 Trueno/Levin twins in an all new compact 2+2 sports coupe. It’s no suprise that the rumoured pricing target of 1,500,000 yen is almost too cheap to believe, but this is in fact what Toyota are aiming for. The idea behind the project is to create ‘a car that appeals to young people’ with a price that they would be able to afford (the ramifications of this we’ll discuss later). This same idea harks back to the early 1980’s when the original AE85 series Corollas were introduced, where relatively cheap and reliable cars were sold with just enough interior niceties to keep buyers happy, and the price to a minimum. There are no Toyotas in the RWD compact sports category since the MR-S was discontinued in April this year, and the 2+2 configuration should give the new compact sprts car a wider appeal than the strictly 2 seater MR-S.
The target selling price of 1,500,000 yen does seem almost too good to be true, and the basic model may actually increase to around 1,800,000 - 2,000,000 yen by the time it’s released, which is still reasonable if the car’s specifications are adequate enough. But this is where some people might start worrying…
It’s been hinted that the ‘New AE86′ will be powered by a 1500cc 2NZ-FE four cylinder engine producing 120ps/6000rpm and 14.8kgm/3800rpm coupled to a traditional 5 speed manual transmission. This may seem like a half hearted effort by Toyota, but the total weight of the car is expected to be around 1000kg which would be quite close, even too close, to the original AE86’s specification. A simple theme will give the car much of the soul of the last RWD Trueno/Levin and should keep costs down below the 2,000,000 yen mark. The artist’s rendition shown here includes black plastic bumpers much like the AE86 models had, with clean lines and minimal overhangs which, if it’s close to the mark, would almost guarantee a sales success.
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