The Toyota Corolla AE86 is a classic drift car suited to rally and drifting motorsports due to these attributes: Rear wheel drive limited slip differential configuration, low vehicle weight, good balance, a 5-speed manual gearbox, ventilated disc brakes, MacPherson strut style independent suspension in front and a four-link live axle with coil springs for the rear, stabilizer bars (sway bars) at both ends, and a relatively powerful and easy to tune 4-cylinder engine.
In Japan, these qualities made the AE86 popular with Japanese street racers named “Hashiriya,” who raced the AE86 in mountain passes, named “touges,” where the tight corners suited the AE86. Many car enthusiasts refer to the AE86 by its Japanese name “Hachi-Roku,” which translated literally means “eight-six.”
