30 years on, Toyota MR2 still an unsung marvel
Respect, as the saying goes, is something to be earned, not given. And yet sometimes, even when that respect is richly deserved, it’s still not forthcoming.
Consider this: 2014 is being heralded as the year of the Miata, perhaps the most important, and certainly the most popular lightweight sports car of the late 20th century. But there’s a car that predated the cheap and cheerful Mazda by a half decade, one that was even more focused on agility and lightweight poise, and one that had a considerably more advanced engine.
Everyone’s also making a great deal of noise about this year’s silver anniversary of the Acura NSX, and yet this unsung car also beat Honda to the mid-engined punch by a country mile. It, too, had its suspension famously tuned by a winning Formula One driver, and put the boots to a Ferrari costing thousands more.
“Neat little cars,” most people say, and that’s about the extent of it. This year, the Toyota MR2 marks 30 years of mid-engined excellence. If folks knew it better, they’d call it Mister.
On the rooftop level of a parking lot garage adjoining a huge new Canadian Tire store, the members of the local MR2 club gather for their monthly meet. It’s a sunny week night on the West Coast, and that means attendance is strong, swelling to around 20 cars. It’s the biggest informal gathering there’s been in quite a while.
There are three distinct generations to be seen here, and any number of personal takes on customization. Club exec Russ Turnbull has a gleaming white U.S.import 1994 model, which he swapped from base automatic four-cylinder to a manual transmission and the 268-horsepower V-6 out of a RAV4. “It’s funny,” he says, “Whenever we go on cruises, I’m the only one who pulls up and fills up with regular.”
Across the way, Matt Bailey’s collector-plated 1989 Supercharged MR2 is just as the factory intended — for the most part. “There’s a lot of TRD parts on it,” he says, referring to the company’s in-house Toyota Racing Development team. “And the exhaust is full stainless steel. You can’t buy the factory muffler anymore.” A badge on the nose bears a stylized eagle emblem, the MR2’s spirit animal.
If there’s a theme here discussed among the groups of owners, it’s the scarcity of parts. They speak of gaming the system with bulk orders to provoke the Toyota mother ship to start producing OEM pieces. They’re on a first-name basis with enthusiast-oriented parts managers, “Who’s your guy, Ken?” and note that replacement wear items are so expensive in Canada, even the dealership guys bring them up out of the U.S.
Despite the typically bulletproof nature of ’80s and ’90s Toyota products, an MR2 isn’t an easy car to own. Enthusiasts have a limited aftermarket to draw on, particularly owners of the firstgeneration cars, and much effort seems to be put into hoarding parts against some potential future calamity. Compared to other import car meets, which can sometimes be equal parts standoffishness and rev-happy braggadocio, the gathered MR2 owners are a community. Discussions revolve around who’s on the latest bulk-buy order, commiseration over the price of oil changes for the superchargers, and speculation about just how much involvement Lotus actually had in the development of the first MR2.
The MR2 was born from the same crucible that gave rise to efficient, lightweight giant-killers like the Honda CRX: the fuel crisis of the 1970s. Never originally intended to be a sports car, per se, the design brief was for a fun little runabout built around the bones of the Corolla.
First conceived of in 1976, the design of the MR2 didn’t really kick off until 1979, and a working prototype didn’t appear until 1981. By that time, various engine placements and drivelines had been considered. Anyone familiar with the development of the Miata will know that Mazda took a similar route in that car’s genesis, and even produced an early concept that looked extremely similar to the MR2.
Toyota’s plan was a commuter vehicle for the single driver, with an efficient fourcylinder engine and light weight.
When the concept first bowed at the Tokyo auto show in 1983, it was called the SA-3, and it looked almost exactly like the production version that would follow one year later. The styling was sharp, angular and compact, a Star Wars Rebel A-Wing compared to the lumbering Imperial Star Destroyers seen elsewhere on the road. In production form, the car would take the name MR2: “M” for midengine, “R” for rear-wheeldrive (or Runabout, depending who you ask), and “2” for two-seater.