The AE86, or Hachiroku, was a series from Toyota, of the Toyota Corolla Levin and Toyota Sprinter Trueno models. This small and lightweight car was introduced in 1983, and it was very popular in many areas of motorsports. The easy to tune engine made it an instant classic in both professional and amateur racing. The AE86 came stock with a fuel-injected, 4-cylinder twin-cam 1587 cc 4A-GE engine. The engine had a maximum power output of 130 PS (97 kW) and 103 ft/lbf (140 N/m) of torque in standard form. The AE86 featured a 5-speed manual gearbox, as well as the T-VIS system (Toyota Variable Intake System).

During its production life, the AE86 was a popular choice in Group A and Group N racing, especially in rallying and circuit races. Even after production of the car was discontinued, many privateer teams still race the AE86, being a popular choice for rallying and club races today. Part of the appeal of the AE86 for motorsports is its rear-drive configuration, a feature not available in most newer lightweight coupes.

With the help of "Drift King" Keiichi Tsuchiya, and the booming popularity of the Inital D anime, manga, and movie, the AE86 has become well known as a popular base car for Drifting. Many say that because drifting the AE86 is such a challenge, for its lack of power, it sharpens the skills of the driver, making drifting of other chassis, such as the Silvia and Skyline easy in comparison. Because of the many possibilities of the lightweight chassis of the AE86, various engine swaps have been done to them to further their performance potential. The commonly chosen tuning strategy of the 86 is to tune the 4A-G engine to the extreme without reliance on a forced induction system, making power harder to extract, but by many accounts, making the car much more fun to drive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_AE86