Toyota’s Hommage to Initial D

Every automotive movement has its legends: musclecar aficionados have the Duke cousins’ General Lee, fans of classic Italian metal lust after Ferris Bueller’s Ferrari 250 GT and those who prefer quirky old English vehicles will look at Mr. Bean’s British Leyland Mini 1000.

For the JDM fans, there are a few automotive icons, like Fast & Furious’ Nissan Skyline R34 or James Bond’s Toyota 2000GT, featured in the movie You Only Live Twice. One of them, however, stands out. It is responsible for popularizing drifting in North America, and has introduced a generation of enthusiasts to Japanese domestic vehicles. This car is the Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno, better known in North America as the Corolla GT-S. In the Initial D anime, this car became famous sliding down Mount Akina while beating its rival in spectacular fashion.

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Toyota UK wanted to pay a tribute to this legend by creating a very special 86: it is painted in black and white Panda pattern and features the iconic Fujiwara Tofu Ten livery on the sides. The manufacturer also took the time to find the equivalent parts used by the Trueno. For example, the wheels are reproduction Watanabe F8 alloys, the suspensions are reinforced by Cusco Type OS strut bars and the carbon fibre hood is a courtesy of Seibon. TRD gave this car a sport suspension as well as interior accessories. Toyota used carbon fibre for the mirror covers and door handles; a nice touch, because on the original car, they were also black… albeit they were plastic.