The is a series of compact sports coupés and liftbacks which were produced by Toyota from 1972 to 2000. The name trueno in Spanish means thunder. In Japan, the Sprinter Trueno was exclusive to Toyota Auto Store locations.
Its twin, the , was produced in parallel with the Sprinter Trueno. In Middle English, levin means lightning. In Japan, the Corolla Levin was exclusive to Toyota Corolla Store locations.
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TE27 Series (1972–1974)
The first generation of the Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin was the high performance models of Corolla and Sprinter 2-door fastback coupé, introduced in March 1972. The inspiration for these compact sport coupés came from Toyota manager Geisuke Kubo who wanted to offer something similar to the Alfa Romeo Giulia Junior. The highest performance version of the twin coupés was powered by the high compression (9.8:1) 1.6 L DOHC 2T-G engine with twin double venturi side draft 40 mm Mikuni-Solex 40PHH carburettors and mated to a T50 5-speed manual transmission, borrowed from the bigger TA27 Celica 1600GT. This engine produced gross, with claimed top speed of and able to complete a sprint in 16.3 seconds. A lower compression (8.8:1) 2T-GR engine option was also available for customers who preferred using cheaper, lower octane fuel. This engine was less powerful, which also lowered the top speed to and quarter mile time to 16.7 seconds.
An updated model appeared shortly in August in the same year with the refreshed appearance. Another update was introduced in April 1973 with the introduction of less powerful model called J (Junior), powered by an OHV twin carburettor version of the 2T-G engine called the 2T-B/BR, shared with the lower priced Corolla/Sprinter 1600 SR coupé. These engines produced in gross power, with claimed a top speed of and a quarter mile time of over 17 seconds. Vehicles installed with the 1.6 L engine obligated Japanese owners to pay more annual road tax, as the displacement exceeds the 1.0–1.5 L tax bracket.
TE37, TE47, TE51, TE55, TE61 & TE65 Series (1974–1975, 1977–1979)
With the introduction of the second generation Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin in April 1974, there was a clearer difference between the two through design. Though based on the same platform, the whole design differed totally with the Sprinter Trueno (TE47) was offered as a coupé and had a sleeker and more curved design. In contrast to the Corolla Levin (TE37), it was only available as a hardtop coupé with an aggressive forward raked nose design similar to the 1400/1600 sedans. Both models were still powered by the same 2T-G/GR engines and mated to the same T50 5-speed manual transmission. The twins was also available with a better equipped GT sub-trim. Due the incompatibility with the Japanese emission regulations, the coupés were discontinued in November 1975.
Toyota reintroduced the twin coupés in January 1977 with a minor facelift and also the new fuel injected version of the 2T-G engine with the Toyota Total Clean-Catalyst (TTC-C) emission control technology, with the installation of catalytic converter to pass the Japanese 1976 emission regulation, now called the 2T-GEU. The Corolla Levin (TE51) was also changed to a regular coupé body style just like the Sprinter Trueno (TE61), but still with a drastic difference on the nose. Also in this facelift, the North American market low speed impact-absorbing bumpers were also added as an option. In September 1977, Toyota launched a limited edition called Black Trueno, based on the GT trim and limited to 550 units (together with 1000 units of the T120 series Corona Black Limited Edition sedan/coupé, to celebrate its 20th anniversary). Two months later in November, the Levin GT received the same limited edition and available for 1000 units. This limited edition was only offered in black coloured body, special brown mats and body decals, "Limited Edition 550 or 1000" mark on the body, a plate with the owner's name engraved on it placed above the glove box and a black mug for the Levin. A similar limited-edition model was offered in 1986 as the facelifted AE86 Sprinter Trueno Black Limited liftback. Another facelift was introduced in April 1978 with the new front grille and low-speed impact-absorbing bumpers and the advanced TTC-C with three-way catalytic converter because of the stricken emission regulation. The Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno now bearing TE55 and TE65 codes, respectively.
The TE47 Sprinter Trueno was exported in limited numbers to select markets in Europe (such as Belgium, Canary Islands and Luxembourg) and Asia-Pacific (general specification), while the rest of the world received the regular Corolla hardtop coupé version. It was marketed with three trim levels; LT with the plain 2T engine and 4-speed T40 manual transmission, ST with the twin carburettors 2T-B engine and 5-speed T50 manual transmission and the GT which used the same powertrain as the Japanese-spec Sprinter Trueno.
TE71 Series (1979–1983)
The third generation of the Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin was released in May 1979, powered by the same fuel injected 2T-GEU engine from the previous generation. Unlike previous generations, this generation of the Trueno and Levin were exclusively 3-door liftbacks (marketed as a coupé, there was another liftback with steeper tailgate based on the hardtop coupé). Like the preceding models, the twin coupés had distinct front ends to set them apart. The Sprinter Trueno has a slanted nose with recessed mesh grille and headlights, whereas the Corolla Levin features a simpler front end with an almost vertical nose. This generation was now equipped with 4-wheel disc brakes as standard, rear suspension with coil springs like the E70 Corolla/Sprinter sedan and had a sunroof as an option. In the May 1981 facelift, two new trim levels were added to the line up; the cheaper "S" (with shorter front bumper) and the better optioned "APEX" (with standard sport seats). The Sprinter Trueno has a new, more aerodynamic front end with an inverted trapezoid slanted grille and half trapezoid-shaped flush headlights. The Corolla Levin, on the other hand, has larger headlights and a rectangle slanted grille.
The Corolla Levin was exported as the Corolla GT for select markets in Europe, powered by the twin double venturi side draft Mikuni-Solex 40PHH carburettors 2T-G engine, producing .
AE85 & AE86 Series (1983–1987)
The fourth generation of the Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin was released in May 1983 and was offered in 2-door coupé and 3-door liftback body styles. This was the last in the series to use the front-engine, rear-wheel drive platform, which was carried over from the previous generation with major modifications. From this generation, all coupés (and liftbacks in this generation) were marketed with both the "Trueno/Levin" suffix and its own trim levels to further differentiate it from the regular Corolla/Sprinter line up. Also in this generation, the Corolla Levin came with fixed rectangular headlights while the Sprinter Trueno used retractable pop-up headlights to distinguish itself from the Corolla Levin. Trim levels ranged from the base model GL, GL-Lime, XL and XL-Lissé, the-mid range SE and SR, to the highest-grade GT, GT-V and GT-APEX, with different options and features for each trim level.
Markets North America The North American Corolla GT-S, SR-5 and DX (US coupé only) uses the same front-end as the Japanese-market Sprinter Trueno, complete with retractable pop-up headlights, but has different and longer bumpers in the front and rear in order to comply with US federal standards. It also used the Corolla Levin's taillights instead of the ones from the Sprinter Trueno. This version was also sold in the Middle East as the Corolla GT, offered with a sole liftback body style and lack of the side marker lights on the rear wings.
Other Markets The European and general export markets (such as Chile, Hong Kong and New Zealand) Corolla GT (not available as coupé for general export) and SR had the same styling as the Corolla Levin. This specification can be recognized by the use of standard grille with "TOYOTA" badge, turn signal on the front wings (Europe only), rear license plate lights that illuminate from below, fuel door with keyhole (optional for general export) and sometimes equipped with hubcaps and headlights washer. The Australian market version was only available as liftback and marketed simply as the Sprinter, having the similar appearance as the general export GT liftback but fitted with Sprinter Trueno's taillights instead.
From this generation, the old 1.6 L DOHC 8-valve 2T-GEU engine used in previous generations was replaced with a more modern DOHC 16-valve 4A-GEU engine (also known as the 4A-GEC in North America, West Germany, Switzerland and Sweden, or simply as 4A-GE for the rest of the world). The new engine is more powerful, lighter and also 4 dB quieter than the old engine. A carbureted SOHC 8-valve version of the new 1.6 L DOHC engine called the 4A was also available for select general export markets and the 4A-C for the lower-grade models in North America, Australia, Switzerland and Sweden,
Japan While the Japanese market received the 1.5 L SOHC 8-valve version of the A-series engine called the 3A-U exclusively for the AE85 range. These SOHC engines were inherited from the previous E70 series Corolla/Sprinter range. The option for an automatic transmission was also available for first time in the Sprinter Trueno/Corolla Levin range during this generation. In Japan, automatic transmission was available as an option for all engines, depending on the trim level, while in some export markets, it was only offered for the SOHC-engined models.
Facelift Minor bodywork changes were made in May 1985, which included different taillights, updated bumpers with wrap-around front indicators, corner and headlight trim lights, interior, and grilles. New paint colours have also been introduced. Both the Levin and Trueno now have halogen lamps as standard, and the seats on both the GT-V and GT-APEX models have been redesigned.
The AE85 models in Japan also received the same treatment with some minor changes, for instance, the AE85 model Sprinter Trueno in Japan replaced the cornering lamps on the front bumpers with non-illuminating orange inserts. In January 1986, Toyota marketed a limited-edition model of the AE86 known as the "Black Limited" model. It was advertised as a limited-production model with only 400 units, and was based on the facelifted Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX 3-door liftback. It came with an exclusive all-black paint job, gold wheels, and gold badges.
For the European and general export markets, only the front end was refreshed, same as the facelifted Corolla Levin. However, the facelift model for North American and Middle Eastern markets only received new taillights from the facelifted Corolla Levin. Coinciding with the introduction of new safety regulations for 1986 model year cars in North America, a high-mounted brake lights was added behind the rear windshield glass for this market.
AE91 & AE92 Series (1987–1991)
The fifth generation of the Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin was introduced in May 1987. This generation had several changes from the previous generation, the most notable being the omission of the front-engine, rear-wheel drive (FR) layout of the previous generation in favour of a more conventional front-engine, front-wheel drive (FF) layout in-line with the other Corollas of the same generation. The 3-door liftback body style was dropped from this generation and was only produced in the 2-door coupé body style.