Known commonly as the AE86, the Japanese vehicle known more commonly as the Toyota Sprinter has become the vehicle for numerous members of the pop culture generation. The Sprinter has always been one of Toyota’s most popular models, and it is very easy to find a Toyota Sprinter for sale if you look in the right places. Of course the ones you find in pop culture are not necessarily for humans to drive, but you get the basic picture.
The Toyota Sprinter - or Hachi-Roku - has been featured in the manga anime series “Initial D”. It was chosen by artist Shuichi Shigeno for the series, and the actual model of the car that is used is a Sprinter Trueno. Fans of the series will recognize the car as one of the models that is painted in a panda motif that is driven by the lead character. Additionally, fans will see Corolla Levins in the series as well as one of the lead character’s friends purchase it, thinking it is a Sprinter.
The AE86 model Sprinter has also been featured in a variety of video games. You can find the car in three “Need For Speed” incarnations, “The Fast And The Furious” video game, “Drift City”, and all incarnations of “Gran Turismo”. The Sprinter has become iconic in Japanese pop culture which is influencing the world around it. It has become so iconic that some people are referring to it as the Japanese equivalent of the Ford Mustang in American culture and the Ferrari Testarossa and Porsche 911 in European culture.
Citizens of Australia who are under “P” Plate laws may want to consider the AE86 Toyota Sprinter as an import car. The early version of the car or the later 20 Valve AE-111 Levin is a respectable choice if they want to avoid imports that are turbo charged. As seen by the expanse of pop culture references, these versions of the Toyota Sprinter are great little cars that are reliable, fuel efficient and fun to drive, especially with the younger crowd. All you need is a good Japanese vehicle exporter to help you with the paperwork.
The same can be said for anyone in the United States looking to purchase a Toyota Sprinter. By using an exporter based in Japan you can save quite a bit of money bringing the car to your home town. And if you are a big fan of “Initial D”, you may even consider having it painted with the panda motif.