In 1987, the 80-series Toyota Corolla was replaced by the new front-wheel drive 90-series range
It also marked the introduction of Toyota's new '4A-GZE' supercharged engine
In retrospect, nothing will ever compare to the original Toyota AE86.
It combined a light, simple, and agile rear-wheel drive layout with a revvy and glorious-sounding twin-cam four-cylinder ‘4A-GE’ engine.
Towards the middle of 1987, Toyota replaced its legendary 80-series rear-wheel drive Corolla range with the wholly new front-wheel drive 90-series. Over in Australia, we received the AE92 Corolla hatchback and Seca—both in twin-cam SX and GTI guises—alongside a sedan and 4×4 wagon.
We never received the sporty coupe body style that Japan and America both loved. Over in Japan, the AE92 coupe continued on with the previous nomenclature of Levin featuring square fixed headlights and Sprinter Trueno sporting pop-up lights.
As the more expensive of the pair, Toyota produced fewer Sprinter Truenos than Levins. This example is a GT-Z model, being a top-of-the-line version with a supercharged engine.
With the Z in its model name referring to its supercharged, 1.6-litre, twin-cam ‘4A-GZE’ power plant, it now had some straight-line performance. Weighing just 1070kg, it’s positively lightweight compared to something from the 21st century.
This example was procured locally, as it would cost nearly double if we sourced it from Japan!
The car pictured – 1987 Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Z
This Toyota Sprinter Trueno was built in November 1987 as a GT-Z model.
That means it’s powered by a 1.6-litre, twin-cam, 16-valve engine with 106 kW/183 Nm. It was also configured with a five-speed manual transmission.
A client of ours privately imported it in 2017, and we purchased it from him in 2024. In the care of the previous owner, the vehicle was treated to a high-quality, glass-out respray. The previous owner retained and restored all original moulds, and, remarkably, procured and applied a new-old-stock set of decals to the vehicle once it was complete.
The suspension has also undergone a thorough refresh with KYB parts. The vehicle has been engineered and compiled by us and also received a new timing belt, water pump, crank seal, camshaft seals, radiator, and plenty more maintenance items.
The vehicle has no accident repair history and drives really well for its age. The vehicle remains entirely original and has undergone no modifications, rendering it a true artefact!
Quick facts
- 1987 Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Z
- Genuine 80,500km
- 1.6-litre 4A-GZE supercharged engine
- Five-speed manual
- Original and never modified
- High-quality repaint in original ‘Super Red II’
- 14-inch TOM’S wheels (period perfect!)
- Suspension refresh by Road & Race
- Major service completed (belts, water pump, radiator + more)
- Factory sports gauges
- Sports seats
- Power steering
- Air conditioning
- Sports gauges with oil pressure and voltmeter
- Pop up headlights
- Compliance certificate provided
- Comes with six months NSW registration
- Comes with personalised plate ’00-GTZ’
The meaning of "sprinter" is the same as in English. "Trueno" is Spanish for "thunderclap."Toyota – A history of the first 75 years microsite
