Of course, this has become an ongoing joke among MR2 owners – here are a few humorous ideas found online: People seem to have a hard time accepting Toyota’s answer as fact and continue to come up with their own ideas. Others believe it stands for “Mid-Engine, Rear Wheel Drive, 2-seater”. The official answer from Toyota is that the name MR2 stands for “Midship, Runabout, 2-seater”. Want to read more about my Toyota MR2? Check out the feature article here: What does “MR2” stand for? Because of this, the MR2 absolutely lives up to its nickname as the “poor man’s Ferrari”. The difference is that the MR2 was built with Toyota’s legendary reliability in mind and at a fraction of the price. These are the specs of an older Italian supercar. Just take a look at the stats: Lightweight, mid-engine, rear wheel drive, exotic styling (flip up headlights!), race-bred engine and chassis… the MR2 has it all. The Toyota MR2 Turbo is quite possibly the most underrated car out of the bunch. Buyers will have no choice but to settle for their 2nd choice once the supply of the really popular cars dries up. NSXs and Supras are considered nearly unattainable for most, selling for over $100k for clean and documented examples. We’re seeing GTRs and RX7s sell for upwards of $50k. Values of the Tier 1 hero cars have skyrocketed in recent years. I think people are starting to realize that now. But the fact is, these Tier 2 cars are awesome too. Their posters didn’t end up on nearly as many walls. These weren’t the dream cars for most kids in the ’90s. They just happened to cost less and be talked about less because of their siblings’ popularity. These are cars like the Nissan 300ZX (and maybe the 240sx?), Mazda Miata, Mitsubishi Eclipse, and towards the end of the era, the Honda S2000. Many of the other cars in Tier 2 have something in common – a sibling in Tier 1. If the aforementioned hero cars are considered the top tier of Japanese sports cars, that means the Toyota MR2 belongs in “Tier 2”. It wasn’t the only car that suffered from this either. The MR2 always seemed to live in the shadow of the Supra. Despite that, it was never hugely popular. It was engineered and built at the same time, by the same company. How does the Toyota MR2 fit into the mix? Well, think of it as the Toyota Supra’s little brother. The Japanese automakers also added one trait to their sports cars that many American and European rivals hadn’t necessarily been known for – reliability. They combined great performance with beautifully simple styling. Hero cars like the Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline, Mazda RX7, Acura NSX, and Mitsubishi 3000GT were the superstars of this era and for good reason. ![]() The ’90s were a fantastic time for Japanese sports cars. The 2nd generation Toyota MR2 is a car that seems to have slipped through the cracks in the world of collector cars. I’ve scoured the internet (as well as my own brain) in an effort to compile all of the info you’ll need to know. If you’re considering buying a 2nd generation SW20 Toyota MR2, this buyers guide should help you out. Spring is here and this tends to be the time of year that most people start shopping for their next sports car or motorcycle.
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