# 10 Iconic Cars From Toyota | Otto Explains | AutoTronix **Section:** Otto Explains **Canonical:** https://autotronix.om/otto/toyota-iconic-cars **Language:** English **Arabic version:** https://autotronix.om/ar/otto/toyota-iconic-cars --- ## Short Answer Otto's ten iconic Toyotas are the Land Cruiser 40, the Sports 800, the 2000GT, the AE86, the Land Cruiser 70, the Celica GT-Four, the Land Cruiser 80, the A80 Supra, the 86 and the TS050 HYBRID. They run from 1960 to 2018 and range from off-roaders and small sports cars to a rally champion and a Le Mans winner, each remembered for something specific. --- ## How did Otto choose these ten cars? Each car is a model in its own right with a defining fact from Toyota's own records, and together they cover off-roaders, sports cars, a rally car and a racing car from 1960 to 2018. Most are also on Toyota's own GR Heritage Parts list of classics it still supports with parts. Cars that changed Toyota as a company, such as the Model AA, the Crown, the first Land Cruisers, the Corolla, the Hilux, the Prius and the GR Yaris, are covered in Otto's article on the legendary Toyotas instead. --- ## Why is the Land Cruiser 40 an icon? Launched in August 1960, the 40 Series came in short, medium and long wheelbases and stayed on sale for 24 years. Toyota says it was one of its best-selling models in North America from the early 1960s and that many are still working around the world; in Japan it is simply "yon-maru", four-zero. Diesel engines arrived in 1973 and 1974, and its simple column-shift three-speed gearbox and two-speed transfer case are part of its reputation for toughness. --- ## What was the Toyota Sports 800? Announced in March 1965, the Sports 800 (UP15) was a small, light sports car built mostly from Publica parts. Its aluminium-alloy body kept it to 580 kg, and Japanese drivers nicknamed it "Yota Hachi". --- ## Why is the 2000GT so famous? Toyota built the 2000GT with Yamaha, which made its prototypes and production cars. Before it went on sale it ran for 78 hours in October 1966, covering 16,000 km at an average of 206.1 km/h and setting 3 world and 13 international records. Its 3M twin-cam six was derived from the Crown's M engine, and its role as a James Bond car in You Only Live Twice made it known far beyond Japan. Toyota lists it from 1967 to 1970. --- ## Why do enthusiasts love the AE86? The AE86 was the Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno coupe of 1983 to 1987, and only cars with the 1.6-litre twin-cam 16-valve 4A-GEU engine carried that code. Its front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout made it a favourite for driving skill: it won the British Touring Car Championship in 1986 and 1987, and from 1995 the Initial D comic series made the nickname "hachi-roku", eight-six, known worldwide. --- ## Why is the Land Cruiser 70 still in production? The 70 Series replaced the 40 in November 1984 as Toyota's heavy-duty Land Cruiser, offered in five wheelbases from 2,310 to 3,180 mm. It has been updated rather than replaced: in 2007 its nose was redesigned to take a V8 turbo-diesel, it returned to Japan in 2014 and again in 2023, and it remains in production more than 40 years after its launch. --- ## What made the Celica GT-Four a rally legend? The Celica, launched in 1970 as Japan's first specialty coupe, took its name from the Spanish for celestial. The GT-Four (ST165) of 1 October 1986 combined full-time four-wheel drive with a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine of 185 PS, and in 1990 Carlos Sainz won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in one, the first for a Japanese-made car. Otto explains [how a turbocharger works](https://autotronix.om/otto/turbocharger-vs-supercharger). --- ## What made the Land Cruiser 80 different? Introduced in October 1989, the 80 Series moved the station-wagon Land Cruiser to coil springs for a more comfortable ride and gave higher grades full-time four-wheel drive with a centre differential. From August 1992 it had a 4.5-litre 24-valve six of 215 PS. Toyota says its new frame and suspension became the benchmark for later four-wheel-drive models, and a Lexus model was developed from it during its life. --- ## Why is the A80 Supra so famous? Released on 24 May 1993 and made until 2002, the A80 Supra used the 2JZ 3.0-litre inline six, with twin-cam 24-valve heads, and the RZ came with a Getrag six-speed manual gearbox. It raced at Le Mans and in Japan's GT500 class. After it, the Supra name was absent for 17 years until the fifth generation of 2019. --- ## Why does the 86 matter to Toyota? The 86 went on sale in Japan on 6 April 2012 as a compact rear-wheel-drive sports car developed with Subaru, with a 2.0-litre horizontally opposed engine of 200 PS. Toyota named it after the AE86, hoping it would be cherished in the same way. Its successor, the GR 86 of 2021, has a 2.4-litre engine. Otto explains how [flat, V and inline engines differ](https://autotronix.om/otto/engine-designs-explained). --- ## Which Toyota won Le Mans? The TS050 HYBRID. In June 2018 the #8 car of Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alonso won the 86th Le Mans 24 Hours from pole position, Toyota's first victory at its 20th attempt, and Toyota became only the second Japanese manufacturer to win the race. It was a hybrid racing car, and Otto explains the different kinds of [hybrid and electric drive](https://autotronix.om/otto/hybrid-vs-plug-in-hybrid-vs-electric). --- ## Common Questions **Why aren't the Corolla and the Prius on this list?** Because Otto covers them in the article on the cars that changed Toyota as a company. The Corolla became Japan's best-selling car within three years of its 1966 launch, and the Prius of 1997 was what Toyota calls the world's first mass-produced hybrid passenger car. **Which Toyota was a James Bond car?** The 2000GT, which appeared in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. **Does Toyota still make parts for its classic cars?** For some of them. Toyota's GR Heritage Parts programme covers the 2000GT, the A70 and A80 Supra, the AE86 and the Land Cruiser 40, 60, 70 and 80, although the list of parts available differs from model to model. **Which Toyota won the World Rally Championship drivers' title first?** The Celica GT-Four, in which Carlos Sainz won the title in 1990. It was the first time a Japanese-made car had done so. --- ## Related Otto Explanations - Why You Need a Pre-Purchase Inspection Before Buying a Used Car: https://autotronix.om/otto/pre-purchase-inspection --- ## Related Services - AutoTronix PERFORMANCE: https://autotronix.om/performance - Performance Car Pre-Purchase Inspection: https://autotronix.om/performance/performance-pre-purchase - Performance Vehicle Health Report: https://autotronix.om/performance/vehicle-health-report --- ## Book a Service WhatsApp: +968 9966 7600 https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=96899667600&type=phone_number&app_absent=0 Location: Mabellah Industrial, Street 7, Muscat — Saturday to Thursday, 9 AM to 9 PM