Aside from the debut of the Toyota GR Yaris at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, the Japanese carmaker also had another model on display called the 86 Black Limited Concept. Where the rally-inspired hot hatch is the spiritual descendant of the Celica GT-Four, the unique 86 looks to another famous model known as the AE86 Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex Black Limited.
To understand their affiliation, we need to understand what the AE86 Black Limited is all about. Back in the 1980s, the AE86 was an affordable, mass-produced sports car built on the E70 Corolla architecture with a front-engine/rear-drive layout, which many of you will identify as the panda-coloured tofu delivery vehicle in Initial D.
Production of the model started in 1983, and would come to an end in 1987. To mark the end of production, Toyota decided to built a batch of limited-edition units that it called the AE86 Black Limited. Only 400 examples were made, with all of them in Sprinter Trueno guise that featured pop-up headlamps unlike the Levin version. Additionally, all AE86 Black Limited cars were in GT-Apex specification, benefiting from luxuries such as power windows and air-conditioning as standard.
There were no mechanical changes to the AE86 Black Limited compared to a regular Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex, with the 4A-GE 1.6 litre Twin Cam 16-valve four-cylinder engine sending 120 PS and 149 Nm of torque to the rear wheels via five-speed manual.
What made the AE86 Black Limited unique is a variety of aesthetic enhancements starting with the Black Metallic Clearcoat exterior paint finish (colour code 204). This is unique to the model, as all 400 units have the colour code identifier on the VIN plate, so that’s how you spot a replica from the real deal. The body also received plenty of gold-coloured decals, including the words “Trueno” and “Black Limited” on the sides, while “Apex Twin Cam 16” and “Toyota Sprinter Trueno” were found at the rear.
Even the “Trueno” badge on the front grille was painted gold, as are the 14-inch “snowflake” wheels, the latter’s design also used for other Toyota models at the time like the Chaser and Cresta. Other unique exterior touches include a red reflector trim located above the taillights that has “Black Limited” printed on it.
Inside, the seats have the word “Apex” embroidered on them with gold stitching, while other areas of the car like the instrument cluster panel, centre stack, gear knob and various controls featured orange print or backlighting.
Shifting our attention to the modern day 86, which has been around since 2012, it’s likely that Toyota could look to create another batch of limited-edition cars to mark the end of the sports car’s production. Given that the company has announced plans to develop a next-generation 86 together with Subaru (again), the 86 concept might be a preview of a swansong model coming our way.
The 86 Black Limited Concept looks to be based on the existing GT Limited Black Package variant sold in Japan, but with a few special touches. First up, there’s a black metallic paintjob that isn’t listed in the available body colours on the company’s website, and the 17-inch aluminium multi-spoke wheels are finished in gold rather than black – these cover a set of Brembo brakes.
The interior is also largely the same, with just “86 Black Limited” stitched on the left side of the Alcantara-wrapped dashboard trim. In Japan, the 86 is powered by a FA20 2.0 litre four-cylinder boxer engine with 207 PS (with a six-speed manual) or 200 PS (with a six-speed automatic) and 205 Nm of torque.
Toyota 86 Black Limited Concept
Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex Black Limited
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Kesian these Japanese brands. To feel something proud about themselves, they had to bring out their old and obsoleted cars that used to be their top achievements. Emphasise: USED TO. What a pity. Even Toyota purists admitted the GT86 does not have the spirit of AE86. What a pity, what a pity.
At least Toyota don’t have to sell their company and maruah to China despite losing RM20 billion in bailouts. Maruah mana wei??
This article has nothing to do with with Proton. Stop your irrelevant BS. But talking about Toyota, they had to grovel at Geely for EV tech. Maruah mana wei???
You’re talking about Proton or someone?
I thought you voted him in? Shouldn’t you be asking where’s your maruah instead?
wow, Toyota is really a world leader in cars
Yup. World leader in auto-acceleration technology that sends people to their doom.
This is why abang2 love to buy Alphard to balik kampung to show off to Opah
So agreed with you. This is why our para-para mentris love to buy Velfires and Honda Accords using taxpayer money while telling the poor they should work harder to survive.
Do the readers of Paultan’s comment section ever have anything nice to say or at least not find something to complain about? Gheeze. The negativity is just baffling.
Anyway with regards to the special edition 86’s, I think it’s a sweet way to commemorate the original AE86. GIve Toyota a cookie!
Commemorate mean the current one isn’t living up to the legendary status of the old. It is not forging its own path to fame in the history books but relying on the myth of its predecessor. Is that something to be proud of? In any other situations that is a big failure since it could not step out of the predecessor’s shadow.
but the new 86 is superior to the old 86 in almost every aspect, except maybe cabin space, coz AE86 is based on a corolla while GT86 is a specialized 2 door sports car?
maybe GT86’s acceleration suffers due to AE86 being a milo tin?
but of course, AE86 is 30+ years old and has accumulated sales over the time and it has popular budget track car compared to other more superior cars like Silvias & Chasers.
GT86 is still young and will eventually become a cult car because GT86 is selling well in western countries due to it being a $30k car.