Toyota retrofits classic Corolla coupes

At this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, amongst Toyota’s many exhibits was a pair of Corolla coupes from the 1980s, converted to be carbon neutral while maintaining as much of the original vehicle as possible. 

Although rarely seen in Australia, the ‘AE86’ rear-wheel drive fastback coupes produced during the fifth-generation (E80) Corolla’s lifespan would be familiar as the main character’s vehicle from ‘Initial D’, the popular manga series that was the introduction to drifting for many. Produced between 1983 and 1987, two variants of the AE86 were offered: the ‘Corolla Levin’ with fixed headlights; and the ‘Sprinter Trueno’ with hideaway headlights. 

For the Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota retrofitted one example of each to create the ‘AE86 H2 Concept’ and ‘AE86 BEV Concept,’ with the former fuelled by hydrogen and the latter with a battery electric drivetrain to demonstrate how older vehicles can also be made emissions-free.

According to Toyota, the move toward carbon neutrality will take some time, so they believe that simultaneously promoting carbon neutralisation of new cars and vehicles already in customer use is essential for the future.

Both AE86 concepts also aim to show that retrofitting older cars to make them greener can be done without irrevocably altering the original vehicle’s character.

Just as importantly, each concept uses alternative fuel and zero emissions technologies already employed in modern Toyota vehicles, demonstrating that the carmaker already has the means to make older models in their range greener should customer demand arise.

AE86 H2 Concept

The least-altered of the two cars, the AE86 H2 Concept, is based on an early-1980s Sprinter Trueno and retains the ‘4A-GE’ DOHC 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine that would have powered this car when new. However, in order to run the car on hydrogen, the fuel lines, injectors and spark plugs have been modified.

The original petrol tank remains, so the hydrogen is fed to the mildly modified engine by a pair of tanks mounted in the Trueno’s boot, shrouded by a carbon fibre cover. Reflecting the use of existing tech in these concepts, the hydrogen tanks come from Toyota’s Mirai fuel cell EV.

Such hydrogen fuelling technology has already been developed by Toyota Gazoo Racing and applied to a GR Corolla for the Super Taikyu endurance racing championship in Japan.

In the case of the AE86 H2 Concept, how the hydrogen conversion impacts performance, range, vehicle weight and other measures, as well as how refuelling is done, has not been revealed, but Toyota says “the internal combustion engine’s appeal points of sound and vibration” remain.

AE86 BEV Concept

Using a later Corolla Levin as its base, the AE86 BEV Concept is much more modified under the skin, replacing the entire 4A-GE engine with an electric motor, but interestingly, the five-speed manual transmission is retained.

The electric motor is taken from the Tundra hybrid pickup that Toyota sells in the US, while the batteries come from a Prius plug-in hybrid. Incorporating the latter takes up not only the boot area, but all the rear seat space, too. This infers that the concept would be heavier and unbalanced compared to its original form, but Toyota says that the light weight and front-rear balance were maintained as much as possible.

The concept’s performance and range aren't revealed, but the EV motor produces 36kW and 250Nm in the Tundra, while the Prius battery has a 13.6kWh capacity. How the EV motor works with the existing five-speed is similarly unexplained, but Lexus have been working on a prototype that allows a manual shifter to be used in the conventional way, electronically replicating the transmission’s performance – even to the point of stalling the vehicle if enough “revs” aren’t applied. 

What Toyota does say is that the immediate acceleration offered by an EV ensures the AE86 BEV Concept “offers even greater driving pleasure than the original”.

Recycling

A further point of note on both concepts is that they feature aftermarket Bride front seats with multi-point harnesses. In each concept, these seats are refurbished used items, and while the harnesses are new, they’ve been made from recycled materials, including the belt pads.