1988 Toyota Supercharged MR2, Owned since April 3, 1992
Where to begin? I bought my first MR2 in 1989, and except for a short
stint where I couldn't afford it due to school expenses, I've owned
one flavor or another ever since. I'd always lusted after a
mid-engine sports car, first the X1/9 (not enough power) and then the
MR2. I drove an MR2 when they first came out, and absolutely loved
it. The steering felt absolutely surgical in it's precision. But
there was no way I could afford one new (no degree yet). When I
bought my first one (a used '86), I immediately began autocrossing it
on a regular basis. The car was very easy to drive fast, even with
minimal modifications. All I did to mine was install slightly wider
wheels, good sticky autocross rubber, and get an aggressive alignment.
With this setup, the car was surprisingly quick at autocrosses. At
one autocross in Spokane, I was asked by a new guy in a Porsche 930
(who I'd beaten by 5 seconds or so) if mine was one of the
Supercharged MR2's. When I replied in the negative, the look on his
face was priceless as he walked away shaking his head. I had to sell
my car when I began going to Gonzaga University. I couldn't afford
the tuition and the car. I went back to daily driving my Datsun 510.
When I was dating my future wife, she bought a 1984 Corolla. After I'd ridden in that several times, I became irritated by the fact that I was the car freak, and she was the one who had the nicer car. So I went out and bought another '86 MR2. This one wasn't nearly as nice as the first, and I was not as attached to it. I didn't autocross it much.
All this time, I'd been aware of the Supercharged variant of the MR2. I'd driven one at the dealer when they were new. When I drove it, I couldn't believe the V8 punch out of such a small motor, from very low engine speeds. Again, I couldn't afford a new one when they came out. But now, I started keeping my eye out for a used one.
Used Supercharged cars didn't come on the market very often in Spokane, in fact I'd seen just a handfull on the street in the 4 years since they'd come out. But the "Auto Trader" magazine eventually showed an '88 SC for sale at the local Toyota dealership, so I went down "just for a look". It didn't take much of a look. The car, though not perfect, was a gorgeous color I'd never seen before, and only had 37 thousand miles on it. After making a pretense of bargaining, I bought it, trading in my '86. I paid too much for it, and have never regretted it for a moment.
This car has been a fast, fun, reliable rocket ever since I've owned
it. I had to learn to drive all over again at autocrosses because of
the huge difference in power between this car and my non supercharged
'86. If I tried to just hold my foot down and steer around the cones
in this car, I left destruction and obliterated cones in my wake. I
had to learn to "squeeeeze" the power on in order to go fast.
I've driven this car cross country 2000+ miles twice on vacations, and I still drive it on the street 3 or 4 days a week. I don't drive it much in the rain any more, I tend to use the Miata for that, so I can keep the MR2 clean. I never intend to sell it. Where could I get a car with an equally interesting mechanical specification today? Supercharged, four valves per cylinder, mid engine, four wheel disc brakes, all independent suspension. They've literally made nothing like it since.
At the track, it can and does totally humiliate cars that are much newer and more expensive. A pretentious pedigree is no match for the realities of physics. Having the engine in the right place really does make a difference!
To see what modifications I've made to this car in the twelve years I've owned it, check out my projects page, accesible on the navigation bar to the left.