Four different engines were available but the most powerful was the Turbocharged 3S-GTE which gave the MR2 a little over 200 hp, more than any competing factory MX-5.
With this model being on sale until 1999, it was stablemates with the iconic fourth-generation Supra, which was released in 1993, these cars took Toyota into the new Millenium and set their design motifs for the years to come. Every rough surface had been smoothed off, just like the Lotus M100 Elan, which launched the same year. This second MR2 was a stark contrast to the previous model, smooth and sleek in its design. This MR2 cost around $12,000, roughly $27,000 in today's money the MX-5 was up for grabs for just shy of $14,000. RELATED: Here's How 'Initial D' Made The Toyota AE86 A Global Drifting Legendĭespite the car being incredibly different from the NA MX-5 when it launched in 1989, the two competed for the same customers. On the twistier European rally stages, the longer Celica models had struggled, so a special MR2 was produced known as 222D however, it never escaped the prototype stage. This first MR2 was planned to race for Toyota's prestige. The contemporary Mark 1 Golf Gti weighed in at 870 kilograms but was down thirty horsepower on the MR2. The engines with forced induction produced a little over 140 horsepower, in a car that weighed a little over 1000 kilograms was a recipe for success. At launch, the MR2 came with a modest 1.5-liter engine, this was quickly replaced in 1986 with the 1.4-liter engines which came with or without a supercharger. This design makes complete sense when compared to Toyota's models at the time, the Corolla shared the same point front fascia but more importantly, so did the AE86, otherwise known as the car from Initial D. The car saw yearly revisions, but the overall design and formula remained the same with a traditional three-box design and aggressive 1980s computer-designed wedge aesthetic, it is a world away from the cars that would follow in the second and third generation.
The first-generation MR2, internally known as the W10, was produced between 19. MR2 stood for "mid-ship run-about 2-seater", referring to the engineer's intentions for the car, it was to be an affordable run around with a sporting twist. Seeing production across three decades and three generations Toyota's mid-engined car came as both a Coupe and a Convertible, with each becoming an icon in its own right. With the engine in the middle and the power being sent to the rear wheels, it gave the driving experience of a Ferrari with the price tag of an MX-5. The Supra nameplate became legendary, with the 2JZ engine being a darling of the tuner scene and its more affordable sibling, the Celica, a giant on the rally scene.Īt the same time, Toyota produced another sports car to complete their holy trinity, the MR2. This era is dominated by those JDM legends, the Skylines, Subaru WRX, Lancer Evolutions, and all those sports cars made by Toyota.
It was a time just before digitization, where cars were safer than before but not too heavy and overly laden with extra precautions, and when engineering progress gave cars adequate power to be fast but be fun under the speed limit. The 1990s, for plenty of reasons, produced some of the best cars ever to be made.