Japanese automaker, Toyota, is famous for producing ultra reliable family sedans but every few years Toyota tries its hand on sports cars as well. As a result of which the world has witnessed and tested some of the most efficient, economical and reliable sports cars like Celica, Supra and MR2. Unfortunately, Toyota produced these models for shorter duration and in limited quantities as the company itself wants to focus more on mass produced family and every day use cars. Regardless of the profit that Toyota’s sports cars bring, they do prove to the world that high performance, fun to drive cars don’t have to break down every few hundred miles and they can be made reliable.
MR2 was one such masterpiece; it was launched with Ferrari and Porsche like styling, but with typical Toyota like reliability. MR2 was produced from 1984 till 2007, Toyota launched only three generations during this time frame. Each generation was massively different from the next, first and second generations seemed inspired from Ferrari 308 design whereas third generation looked like nimble Porsche Boxter. However throughout its production MR2 remained a rear wheel drive, two-seater. First generation MR2, W10, was built from 1984 till 1989. It was launched with 1.5, 1.6 litre basic petrol and 1.6 litre supercharged petrol engine. Toyota introduced options for five speed manual or 4 speed automatic transmission in first generation MR2.
Second generation MR2, W20, was produced from 1989 till 1999, it was launched with the T-top along with traditional coupe body style. Toyota increased engine sizes and launched 2.0, 2.2 litre basic petrol engines along with a 2.0 litre turbo charged one. Similar, to its preceding generation, four speed auto and five speed manual gearbox options were offered in this generation as well. Third generation MR2, W30, was produced from1999 till 2007 as a convertible with only one, 1.8 litre petrol engine option. Toyota however introduced options for five and six speed manual gearboxes along with a six speed sequential (manual) gearbox.
Some Famous Toyota MR2 Engines Used Are As Follows:
4AGE Engine; this 1.6 litre petrol, 16 valve, DOHC EFI engine was used from 1984 till 1989. Its supercharged imported version was also used in MR2 during same time frame.
3SFE Engine; this 2.0 litre petrol engine with 16 valves was produced from 1989 till 1994. It employed Injection based Single Cam technology. Toyota produced another variant of this engine with DOHC EFI technology from 1989 till 2000.
