Series production of the MR2 started in earnest in June 1984 as a 1985 model, and this cracking little thing received tons of praise for the 4A-GE powerplant developed in collaboration with Yamaha. Considering that Gurney was on Toyota’s payroll in 1983, this collaboration shouldn’t come as a surprise. He also drove the vehicle on the Angeles Crest Highway to see how it fares on public roads, then Gurney followed up with five months of consultancy in Japan. None other than Dan Gurney, a motorsport legend we all know and love, tested the SV-3 as a consultant at the Willow Springs racetrack in California. Tested intensely in the Land of the Rising Sun and the United States of America, the MR2 was known as the SV-3 when it was publicly revealed at the 1983 Tokyo Motor Show. As for the frunk, a spare wheel and a jack can be stored in there. Going transverse was the right call, as it freed up valuable space for the rear trunk. Put on hold until 1979, the project subsequently morphed into the SA-X concept in 1981.Īkio Yoshida, the chief development engineer of the MR2, decided that a transverse-mounted engine would be preferable to a longitudinal mill. 1976 is the year a design project was launched with a rather simple goal: develop a car that would be a thriller to drive yet provide fairly decent fuel economy. The Midship Runabout 2-seater sports car is the first mass-produced midship from a Japanese manufacturer, and Toyota spent a lot of pondering if such a vehicle would be financially viable. Speaking of which, did you know the Pontiac Fiero was the last series-production midship from General Motors before the introduction of the eighth-gen Chevrolet Corvette? Revealed in October 1983 in Tokyo, the MR2 dates back long before General Motors decided to embrace midships.
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