Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about TOYOTA MR2!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: the Toyota MR2 is a two-seat, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car manufactured in japan . it is Japan’s first mid engined production car marketed globally by Toyota from 1984 Toyota called the 1981 prototype SA-X . from its original design, the car evolved into a sports car . the MR2 appeared around the same time as the Honda CR-X and Nissan EXA . the SV-3 concept car was scheduled for a Japanese launch in the second quarter of 1984 . when fitted with the 1.5-liter 3A engine, it was known as the “AW10” the 1.6-liter 4A version at its introduction in 1984, the MR2 won the Car of the Year Japan . the car is often referred to as the AW11, referring to the chassis code of the most common 1.6-liter, A- the MR2 was quite heavy for a two-seater of its size . Toyota employed the naturally aspirated 4A-GE 1,587 cc (1.6 L; 96.8 cu in) inline road tests delivered 0–60 mph (97 km/h) times in the mid- to high-8 second range . Toyota introduced a supercharged engine for the MR2 in 1986 . T-VIS was eliminated the MR2 SC produced 145 hp (147 PS; 108 kW) at 6,400 rpm . it produced 186 Nm; 137 lbft (19 kgm) engine cover had two raised vents (only one of which was functional) that visually distinguished it from the naturally aspirated models . it was labeled “SUPER CHARGER” on the rear trunk and body mouldings intake camshaft valve cover now has the “16 Valve” portion in red instead of blue . EGR port repositioned on exhaust manifold to prevent cracking Revised manual transmission internals . air filter some early MY 1987 7-rib engines came with the earlier blue top valve cover . this was noticed in the rear sway bar removal for the MY 1986 . the Australian Wheels magazine chose the 1988 MR2 as the MR2 was Motor Trend’s Import Car of the Year for 1985 . it was also on Car and Driver magazine’s Ten Best list for 1986 and 1987 . in 2004, Sports Car International ranked it number eight on the 1989 model, a run of 270 units, featured a special Midnight Blue paint . in 1985 Toyota Team Europe started a rally project codenamed “222D” based on the MR2 . the 222D race-ready car weighed around 750 kg (1,650 lb) and its transverse-mounted, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine produced as much as 750 hp (559 kW the MR2 SW20 received more rounded, streamlined styling . some called the car a “baby Ferrari” or “poor man’s Ferrari” Toyota spent countless hours fine-tuning the handling capabilities the G-Limited was the higher-specification naturally aspirated SW20 . additional standard features: electric folding mirrors, steering fog lamps, and rear spoiler . GT-S with a turbocharged 2.0 GT with the turbocharged 2.0L 3S-GTE engine and manual transmission . GT was considered as the luxury specification in the SW20 line-up . all Japanese market cars came equipped with electronic climate control . there were no turbo models officially offered to the European market; however, many Japanese models were sold via the grey market . differences between the normally aspirated and turbocharged models include the “Turbo” emblem (US) the stock US market MR2 Turbo model was able to accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 6.1 seconds and finish the 1/4 mile in 14.7 seconds . the Revision 1 Turbo SW20 in the rankings of personal bests, a Rev 2 GT-S clocks 1:08.00 at Tsukuba Circuit . the car is now only sold with T-bar roof (except for a few sold in early journalist reports that the MR2 was prone to “snap-oversteer” in 1992 . a change to the driver’s response to oversteer is really the solution, he says . Toyota changed the MR2 suspension and tires to reduce the likelihood that this would occur . many drivers would lament the change and claim that it “neutered” the sharp edge . this was to pay homage to the TRD only 35 factory car conversions were completed by Toyota Technocraft Ltd . each official Technocraft-converted car was made using lightweight fiberglass components . the TRD2000GT had a 60 mm (2.4 in) wider front and some cars left the factory boasting up to 500 PS (368 kW; 493 hp) and less than 1100 kg (2425 lb) for a very impressive power-to-weight ratio . while the “T020” as it was called, was powered by a naturally aspirated 2.2L stroked 3S-GE . it produced 175 kW (235 bhp) at 6,800 r TOM’S produced equipment for turbocharged vehicles . some of these modification parts may still be procured as second-hand items . despite the fact that these products are no longer purchasable brand new, some Toyota decided against putting its name or logo on these cars as a result of its desire to distance itself from cars that featured leaky roofs . Several teams fielded the MR2 in the Swiss Touring Car Championship the MC8-R housed a twin-turbo version of the 4.0-liter 1UZ-FE V8 producing 600 bhp (447 kW) Currently both the SW20 and ZZ the car disappeared from public eye within a year of its construction . it surfaced again on the Japanese collector car website SEiyaa in 2015 . the car is assumed to be in the possession of a private collector one MC8-R was entered in the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans, piloted by Masanori Sekiya, Hidetoshi Mitsusada, and Masami Kageyama the MR2 JGTC shared more qualities chassis wise to the road-going production car . it had a lower ride height than the standard SW20s, was wider and featured advanced aerodynamics . the standard E153 1998 Team Taisan Jr. with Tsuchiya campaigned a MR2 #25 powered by the factory 3S-GTE powerplant . Keiichi Suzuki and Shingo Tachi drove an amazing the car posted 326.697 and 352.068 km/h (203 and 218.765 mph) on the opposing runs required for the record . the car ran with a boost of 16 psi ( a large rear wing reminiscent of the 911 (993) GT2 for massive downforce at high speeds . the Phoenix Power MR2 also featured a reworked suspension set up with hlin MR layouts handle very differently in comparison to the common FF or even FR layouts . despite its revised state the SW20 still has a large enough following . some label it “the most dangerous car that you the newest MR2 took a different approach than its predecessor . the first prototype of MR-S appeared in 1997 at the Tokyo motor show . a mid-engine design created excellent handling and steering without the weight of the only engine available for the ZZW30 was the all-aluminium alloy 1ZZ-FED . the maximum power of 138 bhp (140 PS; 103 kW) at 6,400 Curb weight is 996 kg (2,195 lb) for manual transmission models . in addition to the 5-speed manual transmission, a 6-speed manual or 5-speed Sequential Manual Transmission (SMT) was also available starting the electrohydraulic clutch engagement is automatic, and the car will automatically shift to second and then first gear when stopping . cruise control was never offered with the manual transmission, but was standard for SMT-equipped cars . the the “S” trim level included power windows, locks, mirrors, AM/FM/CD radio, cloth seats, tilt steering wheel, and alloy wheels . in march 2000, the car was introduced into the us and Europe as the ZZW30 is considered to be the best-handling MR2 in both overall limit and controllability . many owners have opted to switch out the 1ZZ-FE engine in exchange for the 2ZZ production of the MR2 Spyder ceased permanently in 2007 . team reckless’s MR-S won both drivers’ and teams’ championships in 2005 . for 2007, Kazuya Oshima and Hiroaki Ishiura shared the drivers’ championship in the Toy Story APR MR-S . but lost the teams’ championship by six points to the Mooncraft the 1997 MR2 GT-S was introduced as part of Update 1.13, released on February 28, 2018 . the first and third generations are available in every game starting from Gran Turismo 2, with the exception of Sport. this includes a lightweight mid-engined sports car, rumored to be a spiritual, if not direct, successor to the MR2. Consumer Guide Automotive. Archived from the original on 2012-04-22. Retrieved