By Matt Nelson
Toyota's know-how when it comes to building well-sorted cars is up there with the best of them. Back during the 1980s, when small sports cars were gaining popularity at lightning speed, Toyota introduced the MR2. It was the first mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car introduced to the US from Japan, and it quickly gained fame for both its great handling and a cutesy look. Not to mention, a pair of pop-up headlights upped its cool factor, too.
Thousands of MR2s were produced over the course of the nameplate's production, with a grand total coming in at just under 300,000. The second-gen MR2 was the most popular. However, one of the least common MR2 iterations also came from the second generation: the Spider. Less than 100 were ever produced, and they were only for the Japanese market. The folks behind the transformation weren't part of the MR2's original production process, although their influence was felt heavily in Toyota motorsports.
The Rarest Production Convertible MR2
The second-gen MR2, also referred to as the SW20, first hit the market in late 1989 as a 1990 model. However, it wouldn't be until 1996 that the world would be introduced to the MR2 Spider (not to be confused with the later MR2 Spyder).
The changing scope of the sports car market during the 1990s had Toyota thinking it needed to branch out a little bit. Convertible sports cars were popular at the time, and while the MR2 offered removable roof panels as an option, it was not available as a true convertible. To test the waters without retooling an entire production line, Toyota reached out to its arm, Toyota Technocraft (TTC). TTC took a handful of MR2s straight off the assembly line and went to work removing the roof and converting them into convertibles.
How TTC Did It & Why
Converting a car into a convertible isn't as simple as taking a reciprocating saw to its roof and calling it a day. In reality, numerous changes need to be made to the vehicle's bones to make it happen. When it came to TTC's convertible MR2, the company needed to shore up the car's structural rigidity once the roof was gone. This was done by strengthening the chassis with extra welds and adding heavy reinforcement brackets and beams. Because of this, the MR2 Spider's overall curb weight likely increased with the extra bolstering.
Something Toyota was keen on when it came to having TTC take care of the conversion was the partial avoidance of liability. Because this was an exercise in testing the waters, Toyota didn't want to take full responsibility for possible issues that could crop up with a convertible MR2. The blame for issues such as poor handling, fit-and-finish problems, and convertible-top failures could be placed on TTC. Of course, TTC is part of Toyota proper, which left the Japanese brand without a direct tie to the MR2 Spider, despite the MR2 Spider being an officially sponsored project.
Another key reason behind the MR2 Spider's creation was the upcoming third-gen MR2. During the mid-1990s, Toyota was still in the early stages of developing the model, and, as with any new project, ideas were constantly thrown around. Creating a small batch of fully convertible MR2s was a great way to test the proverbial waters. If the few folks who bought one loved it, Toyota would be more apt to fully commit to a droptop third-gen MR2 variation when the time came.
The MR2 Spider's Bones
While the second-gen MR2 normally offered both a naturally aspirated and a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four, the Spider came equipped only with the former. The engine itself was Toyota's transverse-mounted 3S-GE mill, which belonged to the brand's "S" engine family. It was built with help from Yamaha and came with an aluminum cylinder head, while the rest of the motor was made of cast iron. One of the hallmarks of the 3S-GE was its forged crankshaft and specially designed oil passages that supply oil directly to the crank's main bearings, as well as to the connecting rods and piston heads.
Backing up the sturdy little engine is either a four-speed automatic or a five-speed manual transmission, the latter of which is an extremely rare sight on the MR2 Spider. Of course, rear-wheel drive is the sole drivetrain configuration. The MR2 Spider's suspension was largely the same as the standard model, featuring a MacPherson strut setup at the front and a multi-link setup at the rear.
Sources: Toyota, MR2Wiki.com, Cars & Bids, MR2Forum.com
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This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.
