TOYOTA'S ICONIC TRUENO TURNS 40 - SO HERE'S A GR86 TRUENO EDITION IN CELEBRATION
The Toyota AE86 Trueno is a legendary Toyota, and clean ones that are still around can fetch some pretty amazing money. The car became especially popular for use in drift racing and gained lifelong scene points for being a top choice in the legendary Japanese touge racing battles, further emphasised thanks to starring in the much-loved Initial D manga series. The AE86 did that crossover in the 1990s. The animated AE86 Trueno GT-APEX Liftback with black rockers and bonnet known as “Panda” cemented its anime fame, and saw real-life copies of the car around the world. The car was essentially a Japanese hot hatch with pop-up halogen headlights, an angular hood, and liftback styling. The car was fitted with a motor that has legend status here in SA, the normally-aspirated twin cam 1600cc, 4-cylinder. This small-capacity engine punched way above its weight, and is a popular choice for engine swaps locally. When properly fiddled with they’re seen making over 500 kW. The Toyota 4A-GE is pure brilliance. In the AE86 with a short-throw 5-speed transmission and power going to the rear wheels, the combination resulted in a car with exceptional handling. It makes perfect sense then that to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Trueno, Toyota would do something special, and they did. The limited-number 2024 GR86 Trueno Edition is here. We like it.
The changes to the regular GR86 to make it a fitting tribute to the old-school AE86 for the car’s 40th anniversary are pretty cool. There’s a black-wrapped bonnet, Trueno Edition side panel graphic, a black-painted duckbill spoiler with either Halo or Track bRed for a two-tone look, Trueno Edition badges on the front bumper lip and rear boot lid, black door handles and mirror caps and black metallic 18-inch, 10-spoke wheels are unique to the tribute car. Inside the seats are trimmed with red leather with a matching red-stitched gear gaitor and leather-wrapped steering wheel. You’ll also find a Trueno Edition logo on the shift knob and all-weather mats. The new, optional GR86 Performance Package is standard fitment on this limited model and is made up of ZF SACHS dampers and Brembo Brakes, and the whole package is specially tuned by Toyota Gazoo Racing for the GR86, with the aim of maximizing handling, ride comfort, and brake system consistency. There’s no word on pricing or availability as yet, but we probably won’t see any in SA, well not official ones anyone. We’re expecting to see a few unofficial, homemade copies cruising around.
Take a look at the YouTube video from the crew at Redline Reviews who seems to have access to all the newest Toyota models that are dropping left, right and centre in this year of unending motoring anniversaries. This time they have access to the car created as a tribute to the iconic Toyota Trueno AE86, the Toyota GR 86 Trueno Edition. While the changes are minimal, this is one great-looking Toyota 86: The 2024 Toyota GR 86 TRUENO Edition Is A Limited Production Nod To The RWD AE86 | Redline Reviews
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