Quote Originally Posted by pixelparadigm
Thanks to Intial D... reselling price of Eight-Sixes went astronomical. IMO, it's an overhyped car nowadays. In stock form, I'll bet it won't be the best balanced car you could ever drive because it's a hatchback. By the proportion of its wheelbase, front and the back-end, I assume it would be front heavy, but not down to the nose. That's why that thing could easily drift with not-so-much power, because you could do a lot of drastic weight shifting.

Anyways, it's Initial D's fault why many people are crazy about AE86s. Same thing about the Skyline GT-Rs when Gran Turismo introduced it to the world.
Actually, it's a mis-designation calling the AE86 a hatchback. The one in Initial D has a tapered rear, which makes it more of a coupe or fastback, unlike a real hatchback like the Civic which has a tail almost perpendicular to the chassis.

As for prices, determining factors are variable, and don't depend on just age and utility. Think ESi. It recently had rust issues on the fender and roof, but resale value is still high. Go figure.

It's true that Initial D brought new life to the AE86, implying that Toyota bring back the RWD Corolla. Prices have surged because what was thought to be a low-powered, outdated car can still outhandle many newer, supposedly more sophisticated machines, as proven by the series.