Toyota Corolla Levin / Sprinter Trueno AE86

Named by its Japanese-market titles; the same car was sold as the Corolla Sport GT-S in North America and the Corolla GT in Europe. The AE86 code means specifically the 1.6-litre 4A-GE rear-drive version, not the 1.5-litre AE85 — a distinction that matters now that values have risen. It was the last rear-wheel-drive Corolla, which is the whole reason it survived into enthusiast culture after Toyota moved the model to front-wheel drive, and it became foundational to Japanese touring car racing and to early drifting.