Car Of The Day: January 8, 2012

Today's car of the day is Zylmex's 1985 Toyota MR2.

The Toyota MR2 is a two-seat, mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car produced by Central Motors, a part of Toyota, from 1984 until July 2007 when production stopped in Japan. There are three different generations of the MR2: 1984–1989, with angular, origami-like lines, 1990–1999, which had styling that some compared to Ferrari sports cars, and 2000–2007, which somewhat resembled the Porsche Boxster. It was designed to be small, with an economical powerplant, but sporty in style and handling. Basic design elements, such as MacPherson strut front and rear suspensions and transverse-mounted inline-four engines, are common to all three generations of MR2, though each generation differs greatly from the next in particulars.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Toyota MR2

This is a recent purchase from Pegers (thanks Dan!).  I have one of these from my childhood, and it's actually in really good shape and didn't need to be replaced.  However, the one I had as a child came as part of a belt, and there's a big piece of velcro glued to the bottom of the car.  I've never removed it and really don't plan to do so.  It's not often you can point to a car in your collection and say 'I got that one for Christmas...attached to a belt!'

The small and light MR2 was something no one had expected from Toyota, known for their economical and practical family cars. The two-seat MR2 was definitely not practical as a family car and nor was it intended to be, having been designed instead with style and sport as priorities. The moniker 'Mid-engined Runabout, 2 Seater' was more than a marketing tool - it was the fundamental design philosophy. The folded angular lines evoked origami paper sculpture. Other cars with a similar design concept including the Lancia Beta Montecarlo, Fiat X 1/9 and the exotic Lancia Stratos were all produced in the 70s and early 80s. The most important features of the MR2 were its light body (as low as 2,095 lb (950 kg) in Japan and 2,350 lb (1066 kg) in the US), superior handling and lightly powered, small-displacement engine. The car is often referred to as the AW11, referring to the chassis code of the most common 1.6-litre, A-engined versions.

Some rumors have persisted that the MR2 was designed by Lotus. This is a reference to the Lotus M90 (a.k.a. the X100) project, but this was scrapped after a single prototype was built. This used the same engine and gearbox as the MR2. At the time, Toyota, along with the Chapman family was a major share holder in Lotus, but General Motors later acquired majority control. However, the MR2's suspension and handling were designed by Toyota with the help of Lotus engineer Roger Becker. Toyota's cooperation with Lotus during the prototype phase can be seen in the AW11, and it owes much to Lotus's legendary sports cars of the 1960s and 1970s.

As a power plant, Toyota chose to use the naturally aspirated 4A-GE 1,587 cc straight-4 engine, a dual overhead-cam, four-valve-per-cylinder motor. This engine was also equipped with DENSO electronic port fuel injection and a variable intake geometry ("T-VIS"), giving the engine a maximum power output of 112 hp (84 kW) in the US, 128 hp (95 kW) in the UK, 116 or 124 PS (85 or 91 kW; 114 or 122 hp) in Europe (with or without catalytic converter), 118 hp (88 kW) in Australia and 130 PS (96 kW; 128 hp) in Japan. Japanese models were later downrated to 120 PS (88 kW; 118 hp). The engine had already been introduced earlier on the AE86 Corolla, gathering a lot of positive publicity. A five-speed manual transmission was standard and a four-speed automatic was optional. Road tests delivered 0-60 mph times in the mid- to high-8 second range, and 1/4 mile times in the mid- to high-16 second range, significantly faster than the four-cylinder Pontiac Fiero or Fiat X1/9. In the home market, the AW10 base model was offered, which used the more economical 1452 cc 3A-U engine rated at 61 kilowatts (82 hp), but it attracted few buyers.

In 1987 (1988 for the US market), Toyota introduced a supercharged engine for the MR2. Based on the same block and head, the 4A-GZE was equipped with a small Roots-type supercharger and a Denso intercooler. T-VIS was eliminated and the compression ratio was lowered to 8:1. It produced 145 horsepower (108 kW) and 140 foot-pounds (190 N·m) and accelerated the small car from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 6.5 to 7.0s. The supercharger was belt-driven but actuated by an electromagnetic clutch, so that it would not be driven except when needed, increasing fuel economy. Curb weight increased to as much as 2,494 pounds (1,131 kg) for supercharged models, due to the weight of the supercharger equipment and a new, stronger transmission. A fuel selector switch was also added in some markets, to allow the car to run on regular unleaded if required to. In addition to the new engine, the MR2 SC was also equipped with stiffer springs, and received special "tear-drop" aluminium wheels. The engine cover had two raised vents (only one of which was functional) that visually distinguished it from the normally aspirated models. It was also labeled "Supercharged" on the rear trunk and body mouldings behind both doors. This model was never offered in European or Australian markets, although some cars were privately imported.

The Two Seat Commuter Car Phenomenon

In the 1980s, the US auto industry was still recovering from the fuel crises of the 1970s.  A lot of planning went into making cars smaller, just as gas prices hit all time lows.  One of the more interesting phenomena to hit dealerships of the 1980s was the two-seater commuter car.  There had been two seat cars before (the original Thunderbird, the Corvette, the Shelby Mustangs), and there had even been two seat economy cars before (the AMC Gremlin offered this as an option- to very few takers), but this was different.  From the onset, these cars were purpose designed to be two seat economy cars.

The Ford EXP & Mercury LN7 were the first to hit the market in 1981 (as 1982 models), and the bizarre frog’s eye headlights ensured that these cars looked like absolutely nothing else on the road.  The LN7 was dropped after two model years and approximately 40,000 sales.  While the EXP would soldier on through 1988 (eventually being replaced by the all new Ford Probe in 1989), and sales did recover a bit with the 1986 restyle that eliminated the frog’s eye headlight treatment, the EXP never met sales expectations, selling a mere 225,000 examples in seven model years (this total includes the 40,000 LN7s).  Ertl and Zylmex offered the first generation EXP in small scale- the only examples of this car in 1/64.

The Pontiac Fiero was Pontiac’s way of getting around management’s refusal to grant the division a true sports car (for fear it would cannibalize sales from the Corvette).  So they decided to develop a sporty two-seater economy car instead.  And the futuristic styling proved to be a hit with car buyers, as almost 400,000 were sold in the five years the car was available.  The real problem was the car could not deliver the performance to match its looks.  With the Iron Duke 2.5 liter motor the Fiero was a sloth, and the car’s handling won very little praise due to the fact most of it was made from off the shelf parts used in the Citation and Chevette to save money.  By the time Pontiac corrected the performance and handling issues, GM had already decided to pull the plug on the project.  This was a very popular subject for diecast manufacturers with Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Majorette, Welly, Zylmex, Rhino, Road Champs (opening rear hood/trunk), Blue Box, Faie, and others offering models of the car when new, and lastly, a model from the MotorMax Fresh Cherries line issued long after the real car’s expiration date.

The Honda CR-X was a Civic based two-seat hatchback launched for the 1984 model year.  Sportier styling and better performance than the regular Civic helped the reputation of this car and it’s slowly approaching cult status.  This is likely the most collectible of the cars listed.  That said, real examples of the car often trade for less than $500 as evidenced by the frequency they are raced on the LeMons racing circuit (a race series designed for any car costing the drivers less than $500).  Perhaps most importantly to this article, this is also the model that achieved the best gas mileage- published claims of 57 MPG (highway) have been recorded for this car.

In the mid 1990s Honda replaced the CR-X with the Civic del Sol, a two-seat roadster based on the Civic.  This was not an overly successful model for Honda, but a modifiable small-scale example exists by X-Concepts.

The Toyota MR2 deserves an honorable mention as the original intent was to provide a sporty car that delivered great gas mileage.  Somewhere along the way Toyota turned the MR2 into a true sports car before its introduction, but considering it is a two-seater and delivers great gas mileage, we’re including it in this article as well.  This was by far the longest lasting car of the bunch, lasting through three generations and only being discontinued for good in 2007 and more than twenty years on the market.  Replicas were made in small scale by Matchbox, Zylmex, Road Champs, Tomica, and others.  The second generation was made by Hot Wheels, and the final generation was replicated by Yat Ming, Jada, Muscle Machines and others.

Ford EXP:

Ertl
Zylmex


Pontiac Fiero:

Hot Wheels

Matchbox
Majorette
MotorMax Fresh Cherries

Blue Box

Welly
Road Champs
Soma
Zylmex
Rhino

The Fiero GT was only modeled by Hot Wheels, and only as the generic “Camo” armored, well-armed, and lifted 4x4 military vehicle.  A fiberglass sports car would be an absurd choice of vehicle for armoring, and an even more bizarre choice for combat.

Honda CRX:

Zylmex
Johnny Lightning
Tomica Limited Vintage Neo
Summer
Mega Toys


Honda Civic del Sol:

X-Concepts


Toyota MR2 (1st generation):

Matchbox
Tomica
Road Champs
Zylmex


Toyota MR2 (2nd generation):

Hot Wheels
Summer


Toyota MR2 (3rd generation):

Yat Ming

Jada
Muscle Machines