AE86 Frozen in Time...

This is just some random Corolla that's been worshiped by a "scene" of youths just because they saw this car on TV and "drifting" exhibitions. :mrgreen:

Don't forget about the Group A Group N (rally and circuit) plus Touring Car Racing racing as well... yes it's known for drifting but it's motorsport history is much much more than just that.
 
such a pure car. simple and elegent.

amazing find.

the AE86 is a long time favorite of mine

*heads off to watch Initial D on netflix*
 
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why would you buy a new car and put it in your basement?
 
there's a difference between a supercar and hot hatch...

and still! an F40 shouldn't have been bought to put in a basement either!
 
there's a difference between a supercar and hot hatch...

and still! an F40 shouldn't have been bought to put in a basement either!

Ah?!
Now it?s something I agree with.

NO CAR should be sored away, undriven.
 
the Eight-Six owner had to seen something unique about the car to preserve the car in its original shape. the AE86 didn't gain it's cult status until the mid to late 90s. and it was around the same period of time when the Corolla was transitioning from Rear-Drive to Front-Drive, with a 4WD model available too at the time.

this link provides very little detail on why the owner would do such a thing. i think these idiots were more intrigued about the car itself than the history of how the car came to be.
 
That's the part that boggles my mind. What did he see in that car 25 years ago that would cause him to preserve it in like new condition? I can think of many other cars that would have been more obvious choices at the time.
 
What a numpty. If he intended to keep it as a museum piece, it should be in a museum so others could look at it too. This is more nutty than people who hack off the roof of their Maybachs.

That's the part that boggles my mind. What did he see in that car 25 years ago that would cause him to preserve it in like new condition? I can think of many other cars that would have been more obvious choices at the time.
A model that have sold one car every 40 seconds for the last four decades at that.
 
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I was part of the crew that visited the shop while we were covering the 24hrs Spa race. The owner has build the Group A cars for Toyota back in the days. When the group A was killed he managed to keep this car. He asked us to keep his name out of the story for private reasons.
 
That explains a lot. So it was more a personal reminder to him of the Group A days. I can understand that. Even nicer, when the car has now turned into cult status.


And to all who said "it's just an appliance". First you're wrong. Why? AE86 was one of the last small affordable RWD cars that were designed with spirited driving in mind. The fact that it was a Toyota made it cheap and reliable. In theory, it's no different than E30 318iS, but I'd guess it was quite a lot cheaper to buy and run than the Bavarian car. That's one of the reasons why Miata/MX5 is so popular. It's cheap to buy and run, reliable, lightweight and RWD, just like the AE86. Yes, it's a roadster, but many enthusiasts would've bought it as a coupe of hatchback as well. But there might be not so much used examples running around if it werent' a soft top, enthusiasts weren't usually the first owners for Miatas... Now to my point: after the AE86, there were not many cars like it. Miatas, old BMWs and maybe S13/S14 Nissans if you had a bit larger budget.

Many of us love cheap, light RWD cars that are built as driver's cars. There were plenty of them in the 70s, some in 80s but after AE86 they became rare species and for a long time there was only MX5. Luckily the future seems better. Genesis Coupe is a breath of fresh air but maybe not excatly what I mean, but luckily Toyota seems to know what it does with the FT86.
 
I was part of the crew that visited the shop while we were covering the 24hrs Spa race. The owner has build the Group A cars for Toyota back in the days. When the group A was killed he managed to keep this car. He asked us to keep his name out of the story for private reasons.

thank you for shedding some light into this story. this makes more sense and too bad for the "writers" in this link that they failed to provide it's readers this important bit of info.
 
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