Toyota Sprinter
| Toyota Sprinter | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Toyota |
| Also called | Chevrolet Nova Geo Prizm Toyota Corolla Sprinter Holden Nova |
| Production | 1968-2001 |
| Assembly | Toyota City, Japan |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Compact |
| Related | Toyota Corolla Toyota Tercel Toyota Sprinter Trueno |
The Toyota Sprinter was a compact car manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota as a variation of the Toyota Corolla. Each generation of the Corolla had a corresponding version of the Sprinter.
The Sprinter was sold in the United States as the Chevrolet Nova and the Geo Prizm. The Nova and Prizm were manufactured in Fremont, California, USA by NUMMI, a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors. The Nova was also manufactured in Australia as a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors - Holden.
The Sprinter was never available as a hatchback until the name was changed to Toyota Allex in 99'. Now it is known as Toyota Blade 2006 (sharp name han).
History
First Generation — E10 series
The first generation Sprinter was introduced in March 1968 as a fastback version of the first generation Corolla. This was the only version to include the word "Corolla" in it's name. Like the rest of the Corolla range, the 1100 cc K engine was upgrade to the 1156 cc 3K engine in September 1969.
Second Generation — E20 series
In May 1970, the Sprinter was released as a variation of the second generation Corolla coupe. Toyota had promised it's Corolla dealers in Japan that they would receive exclusive rights to sell the Corolla. In order to sell through a second dealer network, the Sprinter was no longer called a Corolla, even though the differences were mostly cosmetic.
In Japan, the 3K engine was supplemented by a 1407 cc T engine in September 1970. Some markets received the 1588 cc 2T engine in March 1972. With the twincam 2T-G engine the vehicle was known as the Sprinter Trueno. As special model called the Sprinter Trueno J had everything the Trueno had except it used the single cam, twin carburettor 2T-B engine.
Third generation — E40, E60 series
1974 brought the third generation Sprinter based on the third generation Corolla coupe, 2 door sedan, 4 door sedan and liftback. Once again, the differences between the Corolla and Sprinter were mostly cosmetic. Sedans received a more formal upright grill, while the coupe and liftback received a sleeker, aerodynamic looking frontal treatment.
The Corolla's were given E30-38 codes while the Sprinter's were given corresponding E41-47 codes. When the Corolla range received a minor update in March 1974 to become the E50-55 series, the Sprinter received a corresponding update to become the E60 series.
Fourth generation — E70 series
The fourth generation Sprinter was based on the fourth generation Corolla coupe, 2 door sedan , 4 door sedan and liftback. As before, the differences were cosmetic - the Corollas had a simpler treatment of the grill, head lights and tail lights while the Sprinter used a slightly more complex, sculptured treatment.
Fifth generation — E80 series
The fifth generation Sprinter was based on the fifth generation Corolla range. Like the Corolla, the model line was split into FWD and RWD models. The RWD AE85/86 Sprinters used the same chassis as the previous generation. This was the last generation of Sprinters to have RWD, so it remains a favourite of sports car enthusiasts - particularly in drifting. Fame was brought to this model by it's appearance in the Initial D Japanese animation.
The JDM sprinter was available as
- 4 door sedan, EE80,AE80,AE81,AE82 FWD 2E,3E,2A,4AFE,4AGE(GT)
- 5 door liftback, EE80,AE80,AE81,AE82 FWD 2E.3E,4AFE
- 2 door coupe(Trueno, RWD),AE85 AE86 RWD 3A,4AFE,4AGE
- 3 door liftback (Trueno, RWD), AE85 AE86 RWD 3A,4AFE,4AGE
The AE82 Sprinter 4 door sedan had distinct features like different fascia, different side windows, inclined roof, different tail lamps and a different grill, although it had an overall similarity with the Corolla Levin coupe. The RWD Sprinter was given pop-up head lamps (the Corolla had fixed head lamps) and the front bumper was raised a little to accommodate them. The US Corolla GTS shared the head lamps with the JDM AE86 Sprinter but with small differences. The Sprinter sold in Australia was actually identical to a Corolla in all of it's specifications (eg no pop-up head lamps).
FWD grades:
- ZX, SX
- DX,Special DX
- XL, Super XL, XL Lisse
- SE, SE Saloon, Riviere
- SR, GT twincam 16
RWD grades:
- XL, SE, SR, GT, GT Apex, Black Limited
Sixth generation — E90 series
The sixth generation Sprinter was based on the sixth generation Corolla range. All models were now FWD.
Seventh generation — E100 series
The seventh generation Sprinter was based on the seventh generation Corolla range.
Eighth generation — E110 series
The eighth generation Sprinter was based on the eighth generation Corolla range.
Ninth generation — E120 series
The ninth generation Sprinter was based on the ninth generation Corolla range.
Seventh generation — E140 and E150 series
The tenth generation Sprinter was based on the tenth generation Corolla range.