It seems like every fortnight, some company launches a restomod of an old car. Considering modern cars are both objectively better and less involving then machines of the past, it makes a great deal of sense that there’s an entire industry dedicated to taking the annoyances out of old cars while preserving and enhancing the good. The trouble is, cars like Singer’s reimagined Porsche 911 and Eagle’s Jaguar E-Type are biblically expensive, commanding price tags more than many of us will earn in a lifetime. The TOM’s Heritage AE86 is a little different.
If you’re big into the JDM tuning scene, you probably already know who TOM’s Racing is. If you aren’t, that’s okay. What you need to know is that TOM’s is the best Toyota tuner on the planet. Founded in 1974 by Nobuhide Tachi and Kiyoshi Oiwa, it quickly gained Toyota’s recognition and support as it delved into both road cars and motorsport. The company’s list of achievements over the years is simply outstanding: 25 Japanese F3 and Super Formula Lights championships, eleven Super GT/JGTC championships, a podium at Le Mans, five Macau Grand Prix victories. TOM’s Racing even built a prototype Formula 1 car years before Toyota entered the sport. Conceptually, the TOM’s Racing Heritage AE86 is almost if like Williams F1 started restomodding hot Renault Clios, which makes this restomod something worth salivating over. [Ed note: Imagine if Williams restomodded a Williams Clio. Restomodception? – MH]
The whole process starts with an old AE86 Corolla Levin. Yep, sort-of like the one from the anime, just with fixed headlights instead of pop-ups. Once TOM’s Racing gets its hands on it, everything comes off until there’s a bare shell sitting in the shop. Remember, these cars were cheap, so they were often driven hard and put away wet. TOM’s doesn’t just strip and fix any corrosion or damage, it goes the extra mile to stitch-weld the chassis and add additional spot welds for extra rigidity. A bit like a race car. Considering how floppy cars of the ’80s are compared even to cars from the late-2000s, this is a worthwhile while-you’re-in-there.
While the shell is being worked on, TOM’s Racing takes Toyota’s 4A-GE engine and bores it out by a single milimeter, upping displacement by a mere 48 cc to 1,626 cc. That’s not much on its own, but it’s part of a holistic package involving many tweaks. A 20-valve head, new internals, and individual throttle bodies all help output climb to 192 horsepower while raising the power peak from 6,600 prm to 7,980 rpm. This thing probably won’t win many drag races, but it’s not built for that. When you think about it, 118 horsepower-per-liter surpasses that of the AP2 Honda S2000 and the Ferrari F430, and a power peak knocking on the door of 8,000 RPM sounds like proper fun. At the same time, refurbished running gear promises streetability. No straight-cut gears here.
Speaking of go-fast bits, most people will probably never see the aerodynamic modifications TOM’s Racing makes to its Heritage AE86. That’s because they’re under the car, a carefully shaped series of belly pans engineered with the goal of reducing drag and increasing stability. Proper restomod stuff. Then there’s the set of TOM’s own 15-inch alloy wheels wrapped in V-rated Bridgestone summer tires, a throwback to the firm’s original period-correct lattice wheels of the 1980s.
Once all that’s together, it’s time for cosmetics. Just as the exterior gets suitably turned around, the interior of each AE86 gets a new lease on life. New urethane seat foam and hand-stitched reproduction upholstery winds back the clock on what is often the baggiest part of an old car, and the door cards are retrimmed to match. The final touch is a vintage-look steering wheel, keeping this fresh build period correct.
By now you’re probably wondering what this all costs. If you want TOM’s Racing to supply the car, you’re looking at 16,500,000 yen. That’s about $103,600 at the time of writing, and while it’s an enormous amount of money for an old Corolla, it’s not a bad deal when you consider the sheer labor and parts going into it. Remember, TOM’s takes an AE86, strips it back down to nothing, and refurbishes basically everything. A good restoration-quality paint job these days is more than $15,000 on its own without factoring in the cost of a complete vehicle tear-down and rebuild, for instance.
The TOM’s Racing Heritage AE86 is also one of the few cases of a small-batch restomod not exceeding the price of the most expensive current mainstream car made by the original’s manufacturer. A new Lexus LC 500 Convertible starts at $110,800, and while it’s a more powerful, quicker, more luxurious car, this modern grand tourer has a very different use case from TOM’s Racing’s backroad blaster.
All in all, the TOM’s Racing Heritage Corolla Levin AE86 actually seems like a pretty good way to spend just north of $100,000. If you love the AE86 and want a turn-key restomod, it turns out having it done by the best in the business isn’t wildly more expensive than having a local shop do it.
Top graphic image: TOM’s Racing
The bodyshell work is essentially what I wish I could have done with my ’90 Legacy. Had I the money, I’d have dropped over $1/4M on it without a thought (Hello, Prodrive? Do you do major work on old junk?). If this is a dream car you never plan to sell or the sales price doesn’t matter as you have that much money, who cares what it cost? Plus, it’s nice to not see yet another boring-ass Porsche and I’d bet this is more fun to drive than any new exotic.
Sure 104k is a LOT of money, but when looking at “new” sports cars for sale, you have to go up a lot in dollar value to get something so unique and special. It’s an experience car, not a speed per dollar car. If you wanna go fast, get a C8, but 104k can’t even get you a new manual Porsche these days.
Basically no restomod to this degree is south of 7-figures, and a vintage Alfa Romero from Alfaholics is going to be more expensive, or less thoroughly reworked for the same money. Heck, you can barely even get any stick shift 964 gen 911 for this sort of money. If you’re a well-off JDM car enjoyer, this is a hell of a special vehicle for the money, I’d take this over a low-mileage Mk4 Supra Turbo every day of the week.
It feels wrong to say it’s affordable, but people already spend that much on these cars anyways. Now it’s just one line item. I’m reluctantly all for this.
I mean, someone that grew up on anime and loved tuner cars but either too young at the time or broke (both?), and now making good $$. I could see them living their childhood dream.
“That’s about $103,600 at the time of writing”
I think I’d rather buy a used Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86/Scion FRS in excellent condition for around $25K and pocket the remaining $78,600… and have a car that is likely just as fast, has better safety, better tech and is more serviceable.
Looking at that minty fresh interior brings a tear to my eye. That’s the worst part about restoring an old car, trying to find unobtainium interior bits and exterior trim.
You, too, can own a 40 year old Japanese economy car for a mere hundred thousand dollars. Imagine.
The lyrics to These are the Days by 10,000 Maniacs comes to mind as Gen X tries to recapture some feeling long since forgotten, not unlike Boomers chasing after all the muscle cars of their youth. If someone offered this for a first or second generation MR2, I’d have to really think hard about it.
If you’re a zillionare, I can understand it. Especially for an mr2, or an NSX, which were built from the start to be an analog, driver-focused, enthusiast machine – but I feel like spening $100k on a Corolla old enough to need yearly colonoscopies, you’re missing out on a lot of what makes the Vintage Economy Car experience so magical. Like – mystery stains. Mismatched door cards. Previous owners’ magical underdash wiring puzzles. The general feeling of patina and terroir of owning something with its own history. And terror of wondering if it will start, run and stop well enough today.
What I’m saying is someone is paying $90,000 to rob themselves of the real magic of hooptie ownership.
Not gonna lie; you’re right. If you really break it down, it’s not really crazy money.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. People drop well over $100k restoring Mustangs and Corvettes