It is funny how automotive trends appear seemingly out of nowhere, only to disappear soon thereafter. Take for example the economical mid-engine sports car craze that began in the mid-eighties. While preceded by the Porsche 914 and the Fiat X1/9, mid-engine cars were seldom seen by anyone not living on Rodeo Drive or spending their time on South Beach. Yet this small segment of the market took off with the arrival of the Pontiac Fiero and the Toyota MR2. These two-seat cars were dual-marketed as sports cars and as economy cars. A great example of Toyota’s first-generation MR2 is this 1989 Toyota MR2 for sale on eBay in Red Hook, New York. While this survivor car could use a new paint job and some freshening, it is in very good condition and even comes equipped with T-tops. While nobody has volunteered to begin the festivities with a starting bid of $10,000, this collectible Toyota is appealing and can still be a spirited steed for your next backroad jaunt. Do you think the $10,000 opening bid is too high, or an investment in a future collectible?
The year of 1984 saw some amazing historical events. Prince released “Purple Rain,” the 1984 Olympics were held in Los Angeles, Reagan beat Mondale in a landslide, and Indira Gandhi was assassinated. This was also the year Toyota and Pontiac shocked automobile enthusiasts by producing mid-engine sports cars. The thing to bear in mind is that these cars were also marketed as sporty economy cars. Accounts from the engineers and management that developed both cars have stated that upper management was more agreeable to greenlighting production if these were to be sporty economy cars. It was also beneficial that these cars used off-the-shelf components to the greatest extent possible. While their similarities are evident, the execution of each vehicle was vastly different.
To construct the Pontiac Fiero, designers hatched an ingenious design where composite body panels were attached to a space frame holding the car’s mechanical components. This allowed quick and economical changes to the car’s styling. Toyota took a different, more conventional route with unibody construction with steel body panels, composite bumpers, and composite trim pieces. Both entered the market with a transversely mounted inline-four-cylinder engine with customers having the choice of a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission. Pontiac was forced to use off-the-shelf suspension components to cut costs while Toyota was able to craft a more proper suspension with the technical help of Lotus. Sadly, the Fiero was only offered from 1984 through 1988, while the MR2’s life span over three generations was considerably longer. The 2007 model year was the MR2’s swan song.
The car you see here is a first-generation MR2 made in 1989. By then, Toyota had the low-priced mid-engine sports car market essentially all to itself. The seller tells us that this MR2 is fresh out of long-term storage. From there, it was sent to a “specialty shop” which went through the car. The tires, brakes, and fluids were changed or replaced, and the wheels were sent out to be restored. On the exterior, the car wears an original color repaint with a few issues. The seller was told that the problems are rooted in the car being covered in plastic while in storage and they have some hope that it could be buffed out.
The seller believes that this was a one-family car but unfortunately does not have the documentation to back this up. Whoever purchased it as a new vehicle loaded up on options. The most striking feature is the T-tops. It also has air conditioning, power windows, power door locks, power mirrors, and cruise control. The factory stereo has been replaced with a vintage Clarion AM/FM cassette player. As you can see from the picture above, the interior looks to be in very good condition and reflects the 64,520 miles on the odometer.
In the ad, we are told that the car “runs, drives, and stops as it should.” While we hear this a lot in ads, it means something different with an MR2. With a low center of gravity, an engine amidships, and a sporty chassis, even people who aren’t driving enthusiasts would notice that MR2s are very fun to drive and easy to navigate through either backroads curves or in and out of city traffic. Perhaps the bean counters were right to market these as sporty economy cars just as the true believers developed them to be pure sports cars. Hopefully, this nice example will find yet another home with someone who enjoys it and the whole mid-engine sporty car trend will cycle back soon.
Have you ever owned an MR2 or a mid-engine sports car of any sort? Do you think the engine placement makes a big difference in handling? Please share your memories and thoughts in the comments.
Never owned a “Mister Two” but did buy an ‘85 Fiero new. I got the V6 and a 4-speed, that engine gave it a much higher fun factor than the 4 cylinder base engine. Unfortunately, as my only car with extremely limited trunk space and playing golf at the time, I didn’t keep it long.
My buddy bought a new red over tan Fiat X1-9 in ‘74 when they first came out. They were hardly seen at the time and it was a head turner. He got rid of the cheesy wire hubcaps and added some tasteful aftermarket wheels and wider tires and it looked a lot better. Also got a smoked plexiglass top to replace the targa top. It was a fun car but underpowered. I remember him adding a couple of mods to give it a bit more zip but it was still more looks than performance. Build quality was typical Fiat and it was in the shop a lot.
This MR2 has a lot of potential as nice ones don’t come along too often, hopefully the paint can be revived with a cut and buff.
Buddy of mine had one with a turbo, forgot the year. But he needed either the wiring harness, or computer… Had to pay an arm and a leg for a used one out of Europe. Took a month to find it…
I drive one of these for a time in the nineties. The two things I remember most are the disappointment that it was an automatic, yet even still it was pretty peppy, just less fun to drive and that the T tops leaked so every time it rained the seat got soaked and the car smelled like a wet dog. I couldn’t complain too much since it was given to me for nothing.
I bought a slightly used, low mileage one that was about a year old. Bright blue metallic. Seemed a natural progression after owning two X 1/9s.
Hit a wet spot while accelerating on a curved freeway on ramp. While swapping ends, I hit the guard rail and totaled it. Didn’t counter-steer in time. It was a sad day.
My ’86 was a street-legal go kart. What a fantastic car to drive around the city. I would’ve liked moar power, but the engine revved freely, and I hit redline often.
Currently there’s a ‘93 MR2 with 4 more days to bid on Bring a Trailer. Pretty tempting, but I think it would be pretty expensive to maintain since access to the engine would be so tight. Plus the lack of space could make it difficult to use for road trips, or even grocery shopping trips.
Funny how a golf bag fits but “sorry honey, there’s not enough room in my car for the grocery shopping”.
I have owned these and they are fun, reliable and probably appreciating. The opening bid is probably close to the high-end value for an MR2 in this condition. “Refreshed” after storage probably doesn’t address any dried-out seals, which can manifest a few miles down the road. Not certain, but it is a real risk that should be reflected in the price. Also new paint and the mandatory timing belt, just due to age. $7500 would be a fair price for this car. But of course auctions can appeal to emotions over reason…
The T-top is nice, but $10K is a stretch, especially with a poor repaint, along with not being one of the really rare “Super 2’s”, (obviously with a factory supercharger.)
I owned a 1986 NA MR2, and loved driving it every day. It was like a go-cart on the road. I did wish it had a bit more power, but the smiles per gallon were unbeatable. I had no plans on getting rid of it, but my excessively pushy ex-mother-in-law begged for months and months to sell it to her because she missed the one she had owned. To keep the family peace at the time, I sold it to her. I have regretted it ever since. I will be in the market soon for another “toy”, and the first gen MR2 is at the top of my list, oddly enough with a Fiero as well. It’s hard to top Toyota’s reliability though.
Having owned 181 cars in my lifetime, I can say, hand of heart, the AW11 Toyota MR2 is the best pure drivers car I have ever owned. That includes BMW M cars, Lancia Stratos, Renault R5 Turbo, GR Corolla, C2 Corvette, Mercedes AMG cars, Nissan GTR’s and yes, even the mighty Mazda Miata. The reason the AW11 is so exceptional is visibility. The thin A pilars, steep rake of the front hood and deep door glass makes outward visibility so spectacular that you can place the car exactly where you want it. It will hit the apex. every. single. time. I am currently on my 7th AW11 (an 88′ Supercharged) making about 175hp. It is fully restored to near perfect and every time I get behind the wheel I end up just doing stupid things with it. I can’t keep my foot out of that 4GZE and I find myself turning every opportunity to drive the car into a personal performance driving challenge. And, much like a Porsche 911, it doesn’t compliment you. It makes you earn your hero badge. It is raw, bareback, unbridled mid-engine fun with no safety net in a car that weighs 2600lbs. You learn to master it, especially when you modify the chassis for more grip and more go like mine. I jokingly call my car the F30 because it’s not quite a Ferrari F40. This 89′ model is the last year offered in the US and was one of only 2 years with front and rear roll bars. The rear roll bar really helps keep the understeer at bay. Even with 113hp, this NA model is a lot of fun to drive and a great tool to learn performance driving.
No “hose from hell” on non-turbos?
Toyota did not offer a turbo variant on the original Mk1 AW11 MR2. The turbo’s were only offered on the 2nd gen cars. I prefer the 1st gen cars because they are less serious. The 2nd gen cars are capable of 148mph in turbo form and that’s when things start getting serious. I don’t really want that level of danger in my small, playful mid engine run-a-bout. The one to get is the 1988 or 1989 Supercharged MR2. 145hp in a small, fun, analog package. And the origami styling has aged pretty well on the first gen cars.
I could be wrong, but I think that the Fiero came out first, and had the market to itself for a few months, but when the Toyota came out several months later, it was “Game Over!” for GM, although they didn’t know it yet. I was fresh out of college and looking for my first new car, and test drove both the Fiero and the MR2, and in almost every way, the Toyota was the far superior automobile. The T-Tops offered a more open air experience than the Fiero’s sunroof, and the Fiero’s crude, noisy “Iron Duke” four-cylinder felt like a lawn tractor engine compared to the Toyota’s high-revving jewel, and the Toyota felt like it was on rails, compared to the Fiero’s harsh, jouncy ride. The only area where the Fiero was the clear winner was in styling and interior room, but the problem was that the styling was writing checks that the chassis and engine couldn’t cover! By the time GM got their act together, it was the end of the line for the Fiero. If GM had done the job properly from the outset, things might have been different, but they didn’t, so they weren’t!
Toyota dealers were gouging on price, with “Dealer Availability Charges” or “Additional Dealer Markup” of $3k to $5k over sticker price, so I didn’t buy either one, but bought a VW Jetta GLI instead! I wasn’t going to pay over sticker for any new car, no matter how good it was, so I didn’t, and I never have since!
I owned an 86 and later a 92. Both well-made and fun to drive, hard. Oil changes were easy and done in the driveway.
I was a mechanic at a Toyota dealership in 89, this is one of the worst cars Toyota ever put out and they had a bunch of them. The biggest problem was yes the engine. It had oiling problems, the return holes would clog up and the oil would stay in the head and starve the mains. Toyota has never built a legendary car. They have had legendary marketing.
@Dan K- Your data is anecdotal, and incorrect. A study of 400 million cars just blows away your claim. https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a61864653/longest-lasting-vehicles-2024-toyota/
wat u smokin, daNk?
Every Toyota is legendary, dank!