VOLUME 6 FEATURE
Photography by Brett Walker
5 MIN READ
“A few people asked in the lead up to this, why are we doing it on a Wednesday. I’m like, come on, it’s the eighth of the sixth – it’s 86 Day!” Drift Cadet’s Peter Pham explains, smiling between bites of his Beatbox Burger. Of course, the sanctity of 86 Day is already obvious to him. These days, he and his wife Lihn teach drifting techniques for a living. But, Peter says his passion for the 86 can be traced back to around 2004, when he bought an old AE86 for his first car.
Cylinders and sims on 86 Day.
Peter explains that you could get the 1980s model 86s pretty cheaply back then. There was already a small community meeting in web forums that knew the car – with its rear-wheel drive, perfect balance and punchy 4A-EG engine – was a cult classic. After all, it was the boxy little racer that the original Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya honed his cornering skills with, up on those Japanese mountain roads.
After buying his first AE86, Peter was soon posting on the forums, organising track days. Some of those old pals are here tonight so Peter leads us along a gleaming row of AE86 Levins and Truenos to meet a few.
A Levin and a Trueno with its eyes wide open.
JP
JP is hanging out by his red Levin GT-V Liftback. He tells us he bought it in 2001 because he wanted to drift and it’s been his daily ride ever since. “I drive other cars and it just feels numb,” he explains. “With this, I can feel everything. If the back steps out, I know it. I’ve always loved cars. But once I knew you could slide them like that, I was hooked.”
JP and his Levin GT-V Liftback.
PHILLIP
Parked opposite JP is a younger AE86 driver named Philip. He’s had his classic since late 2019 when his friend’s KE70-driving dad sold it to him. “There’s something so, so nice, yet so janky about these cars,” Phillip laughs. We ask if he’s excited about the local release of the new GR86. “Absolutely,” he replies. “The GR86, the GR Corolla and GR Yaris are the only new cars I would ever consider buying. I’ve been Toyota-pilled for sure.”
Phillip with his first dream car.
Peter then leads us through a side door into the Drift Cadet HQ garage where he introduces us to another old friend, Dean. Dean’s white Levin Coupe is parked across from a sleek, black GR86. It’s one of the only GR86s currently in the country – loaned for a sneak peek, as an exclusive for the GAZOO RACING CLUB.
Both 86s are lit up in cool blue LEDs, like we’re in a cyberpunk flick. Ever the showman, Peter is planning to set some sparklers and hit the roller door button for the big reveal: the AE86 and the new GR86, side by side.
Dean and his restored Levin GT Coupe.
Dean tells us he bought his current AE86 eight years ago and he’s really enjoyed restoring it. “The local AE86 people – we’ve all got a group chat,” he explains. “You get to know everyone, trade parts and ask for help.”
Dean takes his Levin to the track when he can but reckons the AE86 is getting so valuable that fewer and fewer people are keen to push them to the limit. “The early model of the new 86 is definitely more what you’re looking at for entry-level track driving,” he says.
DEAN
Dean's Levin, under the hood.
Toyota debuted the AE86’s successor back in 2012. Since the 80s and 90s, Toyota had built more of a reputation for making family-friendly cars like the Camry and SUVs like the RAV4. They were reliable and hugely popular. But it was time to get back into the affordable sports car market Toyota helped create. So they asked veteran engineer Tetsuya Tada to build them something new.
Tetsuya and his team ended up taking some inspiration from the second sports car Toyota ever produced, the Sports 800. Back in the mid-60s the tiny Sports 800 burst onto the scene as a front-engine rear-wheel drive with a boxer engine. Boxer engines are flatter because the pistons go sideways. Flatter means lower and a low centre-of-gravity sets you up for great handling.
Toyota had recently bought a stake in Subaru, who’d specialised in making boxer engines for decades. So the two companies collaborated to merge Toyota’s fuel injection technology with Subaru’s boxer expertise to make the FA20-D engine. It was flat, smooth and balanced – perfect for the modern Toyota 86.
The big reveal at Drift Cadet HQ.
Back outside we have a chat with a Toyota Product Planner named Andrew. He’s driven the AE86, the Toyota 86 and the GR86 and he’s a fan of them all. He knows they’ve managed to get the new model even lower to the ground this time. But, for him, it’s the increased torque that really sets the GR model apart.
“The major thing is the change in displacement from 2 litres to 2.4 litres,” he explains. “They did it by increasing the bore size of the pistons. So you can rev it to the same RPM as the current generation 86, but with more torque.” It means you can really feel the extra force push you back into your seat when it’s time to go.
The roller doors lift and the sparklers spark. Soon the club’s admiring Dean’s restored AE86 and crowding around the GR86. A welcome addition to the GR garage that’s sure to do the 86 legacy proud, especially when it whips around a corner.
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