If you say Toyota Levin (or Trueno) in Japan, anyone with even a basic amount of automotive knowledge will immediately respond “AE86.” There are so many of those around. Their FWD successors, which came in three generations between 1987 and 2000, are also present in decent numbers, but older RWD models are very thin on the ground nowadays. However, i finally found one.
Toyota knew a thing or two about branding, so they wisely elected to forego the odd “Levin” moniker in their overseas Corolla products. Sporty Corollas were known as SR-5 in North America (and in the UK, but not in Australia, it seems?). Elsewhere, as far as I can tell, they were just, well, Corollas.
But despite having come up with a snazzy name (for the JDM), Toyota went ahead and made the sporty Corolla range far more complicated than before – or than it needed to be, really.
There were three body variants of basically the same car, though only one (the fastback) was actually allowed to be dubbed “Levin.” The other two were just known as the Hardtop and the shooting-brake-like Liftback.
Actually, in the interest of being 100% accurate, there was also an SR Coupé (sans the number 5) as well that did not bear the Levin name, as we can see in the upper left corner of the above brochure spread and the 1981 press photo below:
For the complete picture of the model, we must also include its “sister car,” the Toyota Sprinter Trueno – i.e., the exact same product, but with a slightly different front end, sold via the Toyota Auto dealership network rather than through Corolla stores. (Corolla had its own dealer network in Japan.) I actually like the Sprinter styling a little better, personally.
This 3rd generation of the Corolla Levin was unleashed upon the world in March 1979. Just like its predecessor, it was powered by the 2T-GEU engine, i.e. a 1,588cc 4-cyl. with an 8-valve DOHC head, developed in collaboration with Yamaha. Updated with EFI in 1976 and a new polyspherical combustion chamber in 1981, it was nearing the end of its production life, but still provided the Corolla Levin’s rear wheels with 115 gross horsepower. The TE71’s suspension was new and much stiffer than its predecessor’s, with MacPherson struts up front and a coil-sprung multilink live axle in the back.
Overseas models didn’t get the benefit of the DOHC head, though, having to make do with the standard 2T OHV engine and its paltry 75hp. Once again, Toyota were keeping all the good stuff for their home clientele. The 115hp injected motor was even available in the Corolla 4-door, if one forked out a few additional fistfuls of yen to get the GT spec.
I guess most of these Levins have gone to the great knacker’s yard in the sky by now. This one has obviously cheated death and was treated to a restoration, though it’s had a few mods in the process. However, those small plates full of text on the top of the door card are original. I’ve seen them in other Toyotas of the period. Anyone have any idea what they’re meant to convey?
I could not find any production or JDM sales figures for the Levin or Trueno specifically, but a 1984 booklet about Toyota twin-cam engines reported that 21,299 Japanese-market Corollas and Sprinters were sold with the 2T-GEU engine in 1980 (14,396 Corollas, 6,903 Sprinters), followed by 23,073 in 1981 (15,533 Corollas and 7,540 Sprinters) and 13,963 in 1982 (9,462 Corollas, 4,501 Sprinters). That was about 10 percent of JDM Corolla sales and 17–19 percent of Sprinter sales. For 1983, the total increased to 41,608, but that included first-year versions of the famous AE86 model, which had essentially the same RWD chassis and only two body styles (notchback and Liftback), but introduced the new 16-valve 4A-GE engine with 130 gross horsepower.
Trouble is, the AE86 became such an icon here that this TE71, with its mini-Celica looks, slightly less potent engine, and dated wing mirrors (still required in Japan till the end of the run), kind of fell into a rut that it never really recovered from.
The older Levin/Trueno generations are proper classics and have their fans, but the AE86 has attained legendary status, leaving this model as the red-headed stepchild of the lineage. This is the only one I have seen in five years of combing Tokyo for CC fodder, and there are very few to be found for sale online. It’s a pity, as I would really like to see the notchback / hardtop variant in the metal.
I suppose we’ll just have to be satisfied with this one, then. Unless I get lucky (said he, vainly attempting to prompt the famous “CC Effect” to manifest itself), you never know.
Related Reading
Curbside Classic: 1981(ish) Toyota Corolla SR-5 – So, Do You Want It Now Or After Breakfast?, by Jason Shafer
Curbside Classic: 1982 Toyota Corolla SR-5 Convertible By Matrix3 – The Fanciest Corolla, Ever, by Joseph Dennis
Curbside Classics: 1980 – 1983 Toyota Corolla – The Datsun 510 Doppelgänger, by David Saunders
Oz got it as the T-18, and oddly enough, in that mock Lancia Beta HPE style only. It had the old pushrod Celica engine, bored out to 1.8 litres. It was poorly reviewed, and a bit of a sales dud. I quite liked them, but in a land where a Real Bloke lusted only after a local vee-eight of at least five litres, the marketing was, shall we say, optimistic.
(SR-5 has only ever indicated more upmarket trim pack in Australia).
The door card is a service reminder of when to change your engine oil in what amount of km travelled. In 1986 it was changed to the driver’s sun visor.