Toyota Gazoo Racing to Produce Heritage Parts for Legendary AE86 Corolla
Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) has announced that it is reproducing spare parts for the Corolla AE86, Toyota’s legendary “everyman” sports coupe made famous by the cult Initial D manga comic series and films.
AE86 Corolla brought pin-sharp handling and performance within reach of drivers even before Initial D, but in the wake of the books and movie, the car became a firm favourite for a younger tuning community.
TGR started selling newly made parts for the car both domestically in Japan and overseas on 1 November, as part of the GR Heritage Parts Project. This reproduces previously discontinued genuine Toyota spare parts as new items, in order to support customers who wish to continue driving cherished older vehicles. TGR has already launched heritage parts for the A70 and A80 Supra, the classic 2000GT sports car and the 40 Series Land Cruiser; the AE86 is the latest model to benefit.
Only vehicles equipped with the 1.6-liter DOHC 16-valve (4A-GEU) engine were given the “AE86” designation. Despite production having ceased more than 30 years ago, the AE86 continues to be extremely popular today, and is affectionately referred to in Japan as “hachi-roku,” meaning “eight-six.” The new Toyota GR86, the latest in the “86” line, is due to be launched in Europe in 2022, following the GT86 that went on sale here in April 2012.
From 1 November, TGR will gradually make reproduced parts available for purchase at Toyota retailers, in the same way as “normal” genuine parts. However, they will only be available for a limited period with the special cooperation of suppliers; for this reason, after their production periods have ended, each reproduced part will only be available for purchase for as long as stocks last. Details such as part numbers and production periods will be published on the TGR website from November 1, at https://toyotagazooracing.com/gr/heritage/
Parts on sale from 1 November include rear brake callipers and steering knuckle arms; rear drive shafts will be available from 1 December.
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