The Toyota Corolla just went from commuter car to drift-ready at the Japan Mobility Show

The Toyota Corolla has just gone from the reliable commuter car we know and love to drift-ready at the Japan Mobility Show.

It appears to have undergone a complete 180-degree transformation.

For the longest time, the Toyota Corolla has been a bit of a dull, boring car.

But all of that might just be about to change.

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The Toyota Corolla does a complete 180

Car fans of almost any age will have heard of the Toyota Corolla.

The Corolla is one of Toyota’s most revered and enduring nameplates.

For the longest time, the brand’s range has been known for a few things.

It has mostly been known – and respected – for producing frugal, reliable cars.

But it has been quite a while since those cars got anyone’s heart racing, so to speak.

However, all of that could be about to change completely.

Toyota has just been one of the stars of the Japan Mobility Show.

And the new Toyota Corolla model has blown people’s minds.

It is a completely radical, overhauled new design for the long-standing model.

I’ts extremely sharp, angular, futuristic, and very eye-catching.

Of course, Toyota played up its EV presence for all of its existing models.

But the world’s largest car manufacturer said something even more interesting.

The company made it clear that the new Toyota Corolla will be offered with multiple powertrains.

How the model became a legend

At this point, you might be wondering – why is this such good news?

Well, it’s good news for a very important reason for petrolheads across the globe.

During its more than five-decade run, Toyota has sold over 50 million Corollas.

But it was during the 1980s that the Toyota Corolla became a legend.

In 1983, Toyota released the AE86 generation Corolla.

And, in many ways, the AE86 came to define the early years of drifting culture.

When it was released, the AE86 came with a lightweight, rear-wheel-drive (RWD) layout.

It also came with an iconic gem of an engine.

The 1.6-liter, 4A-GE fuel-injected, dual overhead cam (DOHC) engine was genius.

This inline-four cylinder engine was not only extremely revvy, but customizable, too.

The engine could be easily tuned and modified – or even swapped entirely.

And it led to the Toyota Corolla becoming an icon of drifting culture.

Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the incredible popularity of Initial D.

The hit street racing manga series featured the car heavily during its run from 1995 to 2013.

Takumi Fujiwara, the main character, drives an AE86 Toyota Corolla throughout the series.

The incredible success of Initial D further immortalized the car in drift culture.

The Japan Mobility Show will surely have left car fans worldwide salivating, because it looks as though the Toyota Corolla might be about to get a lot more exciting.