Toyota MR2 Mk1 

The Mk1 MR2 development originally started in the mid 70s but work was delayed by the petrol prices of the time.  The project was given the green light in 1980.  At that time Japan was already building on its growing reputation in the automobile sector.

Porsche and VW were having some success with their mid engine sports car project and from Italy we had the Fiat X-19.  We also had the MG and Triumph sports cars, though these had their engines at the front, and a host of exotic, but very expensive mid engine supercars.

Toyota's ambitious project was to create a new, relatively low cost, mid engine performance car that would have a big impact on the sports car market.   Production of the first MR2s commenced in early 1984 and continued until the early 1990s when they were replaced by the MkII.

Almost "new" Toyota MR2 Mk1 Now Sold

Impossible, you're probably thinking - the MR2 MkI was replaced by the Mk 2 in the early 90's so how can you buy a nearly new one 16 years later?  Well, the car below, had what you would have to describe as delivery mileage when it was sold in 2007.

   More pictures of this fantastic MR2 here.

Specification of MR2 Mk1

Two engine sizes were available at launch.  One of these, fitted to 1500s cars, was a 1452cc engine with a power output of just 83bhp, though by the standards of the time that was sufficient to make the car a reasonable performance thanks to its low kerb weight of under 1000Kg.

The other engine option was the 1.6 unit, available in the 1600G and 1600G-Limited vehicles.  This used the 4A-GELU engine from the Celicas of the day and produced 130bhp at nearly 7000 rpm. Clearly the performance of the G cars was considerably better than that of the 1500s model.

In the UK the 1600 MR2 was released in 1985 to a very excited press who hailed the new car.    The basic price was a shade over £9,000 which was considered great value even then for such a capable car, especially as it included a generous helping of equipment, including alloy wheels, central locking, electric windows etc.  Twenty years on, there is still a good number of Mk1 MR2s on the UK roads, though many are suffering from some corrosion now.  However, the very best well cared for examples are increasingly sought after and it probably won't be long before the best early MR2s are worth more than their initial purchase price.

In the UK, the MR2 1600 was rated at 122bhp and had an official 0-60 time of 8.2 seconds, though many claimed that they had timed the car at less than 8 seconds.  That's a pretty good time by today's standards, and an even better one compared to the competition of the day.

Supercharged Mk1 MR2s

It wasn't long before Toyota looked to improve the capabilities of the car.  They opted to fit a supercharger rather than a turbocharger to the 4A-GZE engine in order to boost performance without affecting its fuel consumption any more than necessary.  The supercharger is tuned to boost maximum power by just 22bhp, but it also improves the car's abilities across the rev range. 

Although the supercharged version wasn't officially available in the UK, reasonable numbers have been imported from Japan.  The car has always needed to be run on unleaded petrol and in 1985, believe it or not, this wasn't widely available in the UK.

MR2 T Bars

The supercharged MR2s also featured a new TBar roof to broaden the car's appeal.  Although not quite as rigid as the original hard top versions the TBar provides open air motoring with much greater chassis strength than a conventional soft top car. 

Although the supercharged versions weren't officially available in the UK, the TBar roof was available on UK models from 1986 onwards.  By this time, the price of the standard UK car had risen to £10,600 and the TBar model had a price premium of just over £500.

MR2 Evolution

For the next few years, the specification of the MR2 Mk1 was increased year by year, and prices rose accordingly.  By 1989 the car was still a huge success, despite a list price of about £13,000 for the coupe and more than £14,500 for the TBar.  The only serious rival that the car would face was the new MR2 MkII which was released in Japan in late 89, and which finally replaced the Mk1 in the UK in the summer of 1990.