RE: Shed Of The Week: Toyota MR2 GT

[Ved]

I approve! Great cars but this one does seem to beyond the point of resurrection. Still good for a warm Easter before bouncing it to the next owner. £700 though.

[Erudite geezer]

All things considered, the Erudite Geezer has a preference for the F355 over the MR2.

[VolvoT5]

I've always fancied one of these.... this one seems quite cheap but maybe they have come down in price?

[slipstream 1985]

kambites said:

J4CKO said:

I just looked about the turbo models performance, the only figure I can find is 0-100 mph in 16.7 seconds, that doesn't really seem all that quick these days, thought they would be quicker than that or are most of them generally fiddled with ?

220bhp and 1300kg is only about 170bhp/tonne. 17 seconds to 100 sounds believable.

none of them put out 220bhp it was considerably more. from rev they were standard 245bhp but had more.

[LasseV]

PHMatt said:

It's comments like this that eased the pain of selling mine.

Just no.

Errr? Sometimes challenging is fun. Most modern performance cars are just so stupidly automated machines. You just turn the steering wheel and press pedal to the metal. Car does almost everything by itself, not the driver.

[MikeyMike]

kambites said:

J4CKO said:

I just looked about the turbo models performance, the only figure I can find is 0-100 mph in 16.7 seconds, that doesn't really seem all that quick these days, thought they would be quicker than that or are most of them generally fiddled with ?

220bhp and 1300kg is only about 170bhp/tonne. 17 seconds to 100 sounds believable.

Goodness knows where that 16.7sec figure came from?! Even the first and second revisions with the 220hp engine were capable of sub 14 second 1/4 miles. 14 seconds for the 0-100 is the accepted figure. Acceleration off the mark was the MR2 Turbo's forte.
16.7may apply to the naturally aspirated versions or perhaps the USDM Turbo which was 200hp.

This is a standard 220hp Rev 2 posting mid 13sec 1/4s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiBnGrf5-IM

[LasseV]

MikeyMike said:

Goodness knows where that 16.7sec figure came from?! Even the first and second revisions with the 220hp engine were capable of sub 14 second 1/4 miles. 14 seconds for the 0-100 is the accepted figure. Acceleration off the mark was the MR2 Turbo's forte.
16.7may apply to the naturally aspirated versions or perhaps the USDM Turbo which was 200hp.

This is a standard 220hp Rev 2 posting mid 13sec 1/4s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiBnGrf5-IM

Yup. JDM Supra Turbo and Mr2 Turbo are equally fast in 1/4 mile. Same goes to n/a variants. After that Supra is faster, but MR2 goes very well from standstill.

[mikey P 500]

Not sure on this example for sale (rust) but in general a mk2 mr2 makes a great sub 1k buy and i doubt there are that many years of so many cheap ones being around. I have had 3 in total, the last a few years ago was a rev 3 turbo. I fitted a cheap boost controller that removed the toyota imposed limited 1st and 2nd gear boost and took it to 17psi (more in line with what imprezas and evos run stock anyway) after this it really was fast 12.9 sec qtr mile at about 110mph. Prob sub 5 seconds to 60. Most now will already have similar done so factory figures not really relevant.

[thenomis]

Good shed. Always liked these and I think as they are becoming a less common sight the attraction is growing. I could see MR2s, Celicas, MX5s, Fiat Coupes and Alfa GTVs being the next generation of modern classics, as the 205 GTI, Golf GTI and even fast Fords and Vauxhalls are becoming now.

Still as has been mentioned a 20 year old one grand car can soon turn into a money pit.

Great looking cars though.

[MadDog1962]

Hard to believe that this now a 20 year old design. It still looks fabulous to my eyes. I guess the major common problem for cars of this vintage (at least far as the UK is concerned) is corrosion due to the use of salt on the roads in winter. As at least one of us has pointed out the repairs to the sills and arches could easily cost £900 to put right. But that's just normal shedding, that's why it's on offer for a grand or less. If there's still 6 months on the MoT logic would be to enjoy it until October and then either fix it or (sadly) scrap it.

15 years ago I had a colleague in NZ running a good secondhand JDM import version of this model MR2 (not the T-top) and I remember it being a very quick car from A to B driving from Taupo to Auckland at somewhat illegal speeds.

[magicalex]

Shame this one seems to have lost its Rev5 alloys they suited the car so much better than the older ones it has on now.

Had one of these a few years back and Im desperate to find another one before summer - always wanted a Turbo but the Insurance Companies are doing everything in their power to prevent this from happening!

[bencollins]

danjama said:

Hi all, MR2 owner here.
Not sure what else to say really. They are fantastic cars and can be enjoyed in standard form or mildly modified or extremely modified.
MR2 Turbo T-bar by danjama, on Flickr
If anybody would like info/advice feel free to message me

fab looking, fresh air and in those jap vid links posted beating NSX's etc is impressive.
all round fantastic

[danjama]

bencollins said:

fab looking, fresh air and in those jap vid links posted beating NSX's etc is impressive.
all round fantastic

On the subject of insurance, classic policy is the way to go.

Classic line have done be a good quote every year, and don't bat an eyelid at mods. You don't require another car on a main policy or other silly conditions

My turbo was £50 more to insure than my NA, so should be similar for others depending on other factors.

[PHMatt]

LasseV said:

Errr? Sometimes challenging is fun. Most modern performance cars are just so stupidly automated machines. You just turn the steering wheel and press pedal to the metal. Car does almost everything by itself, not the driver.

"Most" modern supercars do have an off button for driver aids. If of course you're daft enough to unleash some insane power in those kinds of cars.
My Tubbie was around 320 fwp so I know all about how hard they could be to tame.

But never convince yourself a car like that is in the same league as the current McLaren's.

[gavsdavs]

PHMatt said:

But never convince yourself a car like that is in the same league as the current McLaren's.

I don't think that's whats being suggested. Its just that they can bite the exuberant/uninitiated/unfamiliar as there aren't (m)any driver aids on them and they can be quite pokey. Drive one of these with lead boots on and they can be unforgiving.

[kambites]

MikeyMike said:

14 seconds for the 0-100 is the accepted figure.

If true, that's astonishingly fast for such a heavy car with that power output; even one with a significantly rear-biased weight distribution. Can it do 100 in third?

Or were they putting out well over the quoted power figure in practice?

Edited by kambites on Saturday 28th March 11:43

[TheJimi]

LasseV said:

Errr? Sometimes challenging is fun. Most modern performance cars are just so stupidly automated machines. You just turn the steering wheel and press pedal to the metal. Car does almost everything by itself, not the driver.

So, what "modern supercars" have you driven? and by driven, I mean, properly driven.

Here's a GTR, which, while not a "supercar" per-se, a lot of people think it that the "car does almost everything by itself" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgtBEoDXGuE

Still think so?

Have a look at the recent LaFerrari vs 918 at Spa, which still didn't have all safety systems turned off, and tell me that the car did eveything by itself.

EDIT: LaF vid - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVy6tPGVRUI

and that's WITH wide parameters left in the systems.

Yep, car practically drove itself

Edited by TheJimi on Saturday 28th March 12:00

[danjama]

kambites said:

If true, that's astonishingly fast for such a heavy car with that power output; even one with a significantly rear-biased weight distribution. Can it do 100 in third?

Or were they putting out well over the quoted power figure in practice?

Edited by kambites on Saturday 28th March 11:43

They really are astonishingly fast to 100mph, considering.

It's silly to compare it to modern supercars, better to just accept it for what it is, because there isn't much else you can buy for the same money and same performance.

[danjama]

Here's a video i enjoy of the mr2 on track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gk15m-kdE0

[gavsdavs]

Comparing a laferrari and a 'modern' maclaren to a 25 year old shopping toyota which was affordable to the masses and now available for shed money. Sounds fair enough to me.

TheJimi said:

Here's a GTR, which, while not a "supercar" per-se, a lot of people think it that the "car does almost everything by itself" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgtBEoDXGuE

Still think so?

How about this old chestnut then. Same car, same track
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHeKOEN_0sM

Edited by gavsdavs on Saturday 28th March 12:30