Toyota MR2 Mk1: '80s poor man's Ferrari that's a lot of fun to drive (5 pics + 1 video)
As the classic car market shifts to the side Japanese cars, it is not surprising that the prices of good examples are growing. One such classic on the rise is the Toyota. MR2 Mk1. 
For Toyota, the MR2 model has become in many ways a landmark. it the first car for the company with a mid-engine layout, moreover this is the first car with a motor in the middle in the history of Japanese auto industry! 
The first generation car was produced from 1984 to 1989. It was small (3925 mm long, 1665 mm wide) two-seater car with wedge-shaped chopped design. The car received a rich line engines, the most powerful of which is a 4-cylinder 16-valve 4A-GE developed 130 hp The legendary motor, known from the cult "hachiroku" (Toyota AE86), had a "twisting" riding character and excellent power-to-weight ratio. In a couple to the motor was offered 5-speed "mechanics" or 4-speed "automatic". And of course torque from the gearbox was transmitted only to the rear axle. 
As befits a sports car, the MR2 received well tuned chassis with independent suspensions of all wheels and disk brakes. Due to the mid-engine layout, the sports car had excellent controllability. Never before has a Toyota car given so many emotions. to their owners! The press of those years constantly praised this unusual car, and the American magazine Car and Driver made the car in the top ten the best in history. 
Due to the light 950 kg body from 0 to 100 km/h the car accelerated in just 8 seconds. However, in 1986 the firm introduced the MR2 with 1.6-liter 4A-GZE engine with a Roots supercharger, rated at 145 hp Thanks to this motor, the dynamic data of the car is seriously increased - up to 100 km / h it accelerated in just 6.5 seconds. For the middle The 1980s is just a great result! 
Given the quite reasonable price, in America they asked for 11-13 for Toyota MR2 thousand $, the car sold pretty well. Only in USA and Canada the Japanese managed to sell 97 thousand units. In 1989 it began production of a second generation model that surpassed the MR2 in many ways first generation. But about her next time.
