Toyota enlarged the first Corolla's engine late in development to 1,077cc purely to beat the Datsun 1000 by 100cc.
Median 103 hp across 284 similar cars
Lead trim: K 1.1 L OHV (Japan, 60 PS) · up to 77 hp
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Toyota Corolla E10 first generation yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactToyota enlarged the first Corolla's engine late in development to 1,077cc purely to beat the Datsun 1000 by 100cc.
The first car Toyota sold as the Corolla, launched in Japan in November 1966 through the Toyota Corolla Store dealership channel, with the Toyota Sprinter as its companion at Toyota Auto Store; designed by Tatsuo Hasegawa (1962) and shaped by the lessons of the air-cooled Publica. Rivals were the Datsun 1000 and Subaru 1000. The engine was enlarged late in development to 1,077 cc so as to beat the Datsun 1000 while staying in the 1,000 cc road-tax class, sold on a "100 cc advantage" campaign. It used a four-speed floor-shift manual (a risk in a market where floor shifts suited trucks), a two-speed Toyoglide automatic, MacPherson struts and a transverse leaf spring at the front and leaf springs on a solid axle at the rear. A four-door sedan and a three-door light van followed in May 1967; the March 1968 facelift added a twin-carburettor SL and the "Corolla Sprinter" coupé, and in August 1969 the engine grew to 1,166 cc. Thai Hino Industry started assembly in August 1968, the first Corolla built outside Japan; US exports began in March 1968 at about US$1,700.
Real Toyota Corolla cards spotted on the street by Burbles collectors. Tap any card to flip it over, inspect the collector’s binder, or follow them.
VerifiedFIRST PRINTSince 1997 the Corolla has been the best-selling car nameplate in history, overtaking the VW Beetle -- Toyota passed 54 million sold by early 2026.
VerifiedFIRST PRINTPROA humble Corolla Axio went racing in Japan's Super GT GT300 class with its engine moved to the middle of the car and a 3.5-litre V6 making over 300 PS in place of its usual four-cylinder.
6 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3K 1.2 L OHV (Japan, 65 PS) | 1969–1970 | 1.2 L Inline-4 | 64 hp | 69 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 3K 1.2 L OHV (North America, 65 hp) | 1969–1970 | 1.2 L Inline-4 | 65 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| 3K-B 1.2 L twin-carb OHV (Japan, 78 PS) | 1969–1970 | 1.2 L Inline-4 | 77 hp | 69 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| K 1.1 L OHV (Japan, 60 PS) | 1966–1969 | 1.1 L Inline-4 | 59 hp | 69 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| K 1.1 L OHV (North America, 60 hp) | 1968–1969 | 1.1 L Inline-4 | 60 hp | 61 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| K-B 1.1 L twin-carb OHV (Japan, 73 PS) | 1968–1969 | 1.1 L Inline-4 | 72 hp | 65 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Since 1997 the Corolla has been the best-selling car nameplate in history, overtaking the VW Beetle -- Toyota passed 54 million sold by early 2026.
This is the last Corolla India ever got — Toyota never bothered re-engineering it for the country's 2020 emissions rules, so the model line simply ended there.
A humble Corolla Axio went racing in Japan's Super GT GT300 class with its engine moved to the middle of the car and a 3.5-litre V6 making over 300 PS in place of its usual four-cylinder.
The XRS version of this Corolla borrowed its high-revving 2ZZ-GE engine straight from the Celica GT-S and the Lotus Elise — a Yamaha co-developed, 8,200-rpm-redline motor hiding in an economy sedan.
A cost-cutting fix backfired: Toyota's attempt to curb oil burn on the non-VVT-i engines instead gave this Corolla generation a flawed piston ring design across the board.
The E100 Corolla was built with fewer body panels than its predecessor -- stronger, cheaper, and with tighter panel gaps for a cleaner shape.
The AE92 Corolla Levin and Trueno could be had with a Roots-type supercharger bolted to the usual 4A-GE engine — good for 50% more torque than the naturally aspirated version.
The Corolla FX hatchback almost never happened — it was just a sketch by chief designer Fumio Agetsuma until Toyota Australia’s marketing director saw it and demanded it be built.
The one millionth Corolla ever built was one of these, rolling off the line in February 1983.
Australia kept building this Corolla for years after Toyota replaced it everywhere else in August 1979.
Twin-cam Levin coupes of this generation skipped brake servos entirely, just to make the pedal feel sportier.
Toyota enlarged the first Corolla's engine late in development to 1,077cc purely to beat the Datsun 1000 by 100cc.
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It briefly served as senior sibling to Marquette, a GM companion brand cancelled after just one year.
Nissan hired former BMW engineers to help develop the 510's suspension, which is why period reviewers frequently compared its handling to the BMW 1600/2002.
A Trabant 601 won its class at the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally, with a second 601 right behind it in second.
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