4AGE against the machine: Toyota AE92 Trueno

There was a time when the number 4 combined with the letters "AGE" was enough to cement a car enthusiast's respectability in Dhaka's automotive circles. Coupled with the Honda counterpart, the B16A, the blacktop and silvertop 4AGE engines were the hot cakes everyone lusted after, and a 4AGE transplant cost a small fortune.
The rare beasts were Truenos and Levins and GT versions of the Corolla, these factory tuned hot versions of basic Corollas fetching very good prices due to the rarity of these machines and their performance capabilities. Nowadays, the 3SGE and the 3SGTE have stolen the 4AGE's limelight, as more and more people switch to the larger displacement engines in the ever long quest for more power.

Is the 4AGE dead, then? That's exactly what I wanted to find out when I stepped into M Raihan Ahmed's clean AE91 Trueno.

The X90 Sprinter bumper looks great on the Trueno. Photo: Rahin Sadman Islam

The low slung coupe's flip headlights make it a time machine into the past, harking back to a time when sports coupes without flip-up headlights were incomprehensible. One of the last Toyotas to feature them (other than the SW20 MR2), its difficult to move past how cool the Trueno looks, with a sort of angular, edgy look to it that you'd be hard pressed to find in any modern contemporary car. In terms of exterior modifications, the owner has kept it limited in trying to accentuate the original lines of the Trueno rather than go all out. An X90 Sprinter front bumper and custom lip were made to fit the Trueno, with a great deal of work and time spent in the garage to get the body sorted properly. After going through several colour changes and experimentation, Raihan settled on the metallic blue you see on the car now. It might go into the bodyshop again for fresh paint, Raihan informs us.

Source: Rahin Sadman Islam

These are all insignificant next to how the lightweight machine performs, which is what I was most interested in. Pulling out of Uttara and onto Airport Road, the car rattles a bit, typically old Toyota, which is all part of the inherent charm of these cars. The exhaust has a loud bass-line, thrumming with restraint. It doesn't have to wait long to be let loose though. Raihan drops a gear, and floors it.

The 4AGE is still king of the smaller Toyota engines. Photo: Rahin Sadman Islam

The RPM needle makes a ferocious climb towards the redline, and the exhaust sings the song of its people, leaving a ringing sensation in your ears. The upshifts are smooth and precise, delivering instant power from the naturally aspirated blacktop 4AGE engine. This is not the first time I have experienced the power of a 4AGE at full throttle, yet, it has an addictive pull which never seems to diminish in pitch and fervor even after you've sampled it for the thousandth time. It's a solid piece of Japanese engineering at its best, squeezing out incredible amounts of fun-power (horsepower should not be the unit of measurement for such engines) from a tiny 1.6 liter engine. The speed, the sound, the ferocity with which the car accelerates, they're all testament to this fact.

Source: Rahin Sadman Islam

Detractors will point out that the kick of a turbocharger at full boost is unparalleled, and yes, a turbocharged engine does make for a wholly different kind of experience, but purely from an engineering point of view, making a small displacement four-cylinder engine rev to over 9000 RPM and keeping it intact is no small feat. The power delivery is instant, on demand, and its miraculous how a 160 horsepower engine can make tingles course through your body whenever the accelerator is held down.

Source: Rahin Sadman Islam

To those who say the days of the 4AGE are over in Bangladesh, eat your own words.

Owner: M Raihan Ahmed
Hails from: Chittagong
Currently: Working at Red Rocket
Past: Studied BBA at North South University

Specs
AE92 Toyota Levin

Engine: 1.6 liter 4 cylinder twin cam 20 valve, quad throttle 4AGE (blacktop), with K&N air intake, NGK Power Cable plug wires, NGK iridium plugs, ZerOne lightweight pulley, lightweight flywheel.
Transmission: 5 speed C56 manual transmission,
Brakes: All wheel disc brakes from Levin BZR.
Wheels and tires: Yokohama S-drive tires with 17 inch aftermarket wheels.
Suspension: Ultra Racing front and rear strut tower bar, front sway bar.