Toyota Builds GT86 “Initial D” Concept – Manga Artist Sonia Leong Weaves Her Magic

By Steve & Tamami Laser

Shifting from the showroom to comic book fiction, Toyota UK’s latest GT86 concept, inspired by the Initial D Japanese manga comic series, reimagines the classic Corolla AE86 that earned cult status as the featured wheels in the adventure series for a new generation.

Initial D was a Japanese manga comic series in which a young hero, Takumi Fujiwara, drove a modified AE86, honing his driving skills on mountain roads while moonlighting as delivery driver for his dad’s tofu shop. The car became a star, influencing the drifting scene and inspiring a live action movie and arcade games.

To emphasise the new GT86 concept’s roots in pop culture, Toyota commissioned UK-based manga artist Sonia Leong to design a series of panoramic backdrops that effectively put the real GT86 into comic strip action scenes. Sonia previously applied her graphic skills to create a manga film featuring the Toyota Aygo.

Sonia (above) is a professional comic artist and illustrator, specializing in Anime and Manga. Based in Cambridge, she has produced numerous books, including an award-winning interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, and contributed designs, illustrations and character creations to films, TV shows and story compilations.

Created by Toyota’s UK special projects department, the GT86 Initial D concept is billed as an offspring of the fictional AE86. The coupe not only copies the manga car’s distinctive panda-style monochrome livery but uses new versions of the same Japanese market components that were featured on the original.

Toyota UK says these include custom-made RS Watanabe alloy wheels, TRD suspension, a Fujitsubo exhaust system, Cusco strut brace, and a carbon-fiber hood. Other cues, like the yellow-tinted fog lights, hint at the Cibié spots fitted to improve Takumi’s night-vision, and silver-painted engine cover in a nod to the “Silver Top” 4A-GE engine from the series.

The makeover even features carbon fiber door handle protectors and mirror covers that give an effect similar to the black plastic ones on the AE86. Mud flaps evoke the original Initial D car, while the rear spoiler has been removed, and rear combination lenses are tinted.