Before the days of boring-ass beige Camrys, long before the hassle that is the unintended acceleration recall, Toyota built interesting cars. In addition to tough, durable, affordable pickups, and tiny-yet-spacious vans, Toyota's North American lineup included some sporty cars, too. Often overlooked by it's Celica and (later) Supra brothers, the Corolla was once a formidable player in the sports/compact segment.
Everyone thinks of the AE86 Corolla when they think "rear-wheel-drive Corolla", but that's not always the case. Enthusiasts know otherwise. Before the AE86 came out, Toyota had a Corolla lineup that was completely RWD. This lineup consisted of two and four door sedans, a hatchback, and a wagon. Later on, the Corolla lineup would be split up into a rear-wheel-drive coupe and conventional front-wheel-drive sedans. Eventually, the Corolla lineup would consist solely of front-wheel-drive economy cars not worth a hoot to enthusiasts.
This example of one of Toyota's sportier offerings is pretty well-kept for its age. The paint isn't clearcoat, so I can't evaluate it there. However, the paint appears to be original, and free of rust. Once more, all the correct trim and badging appears to be intact and present. The interior on this example seemed to be in decent shape, too, showing no rips or tears on the upholstery. Where things get interesting is the wheels and tires. I've never seen a set of these particular wheels before. I honestly like them. I'd go so far as to say I'd take these wheels over Works or Volks.
I obviously didn't get to see underhood, but being an SR-5, it was probably packing a 4A-C 1.6L 4 cylinder with approximately 90 horses. While this was plenty from the factory, I'd throw in a hotter Toyota motor. What I'd choose is not certain, but I'd go for 300ish at the wheels with minor boost. Who says you need to have insane horsepower to have fun?
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