How old does a car have to be to be considered a classic? When Eric Clapton sang about ’57 Chevys in his song “I’ve Got a Rock and Roll Heart,” he was singing about a car that was, at the time, 26 years old. This 1988 Toyota MR2 is 34. Located in Englewood, Colorado, and up for auction here on eBay, the bid on this Japanese sports car currently rests at $17,100, with an unmet reserve.
Does design play a role in classic status? If so, the MR2 checks this box as well. One of several mid-engined cars to emerge in the Eighties, the MR2 would face stiff competition– primarily in the form of the Mazda MX5/Miata. Though the car suffered from a lack of cargo space and the engine access issues that plague all mid-engined designs, the first-generation MR2 caught the very tail end of the wedge design trend. It may be the best example: the body flows in a way that the Fiat X 1/9, for example, does not, and the vents on the rear fenders evoke a Ferrari aesthetic without blatantly aping the Italian design.
What about performance? Here the MR2 really starts to shine. Suspension and handling were developed in consultation with Lotus, with substantial input from Lotus engineer Roger Becker. The near-perfect weight distribution contributes to the its reputation as a driver’s car. Not that there is too much weight to distribute: the heaviest of these has a curb weight of under 2,500 lbs. This particular car is a supercharged example, the 1.6L inline-4 producing 145 horsepower at 6800 RPM, and 137 lb.ft. of torque. The seller reports a top speed of 135 mph; when they tested it, Road and Track reported a zero to sixty of 7 seconds flat.
From the photo evidence, this low-miles example might be one of the best MR2s currently on the market, and that’s without taking into account the rare supercharged engine. In fact, aside from some road grime on the exhaust and wear on the sticker showing the shift pattern, you might mistake this for a new car. It shows virtually none of its three decades of history. Can you get one cheaper? Absolutely. But this may be a textbook case of getting what you pay for. Assuming the reserve isn’t astronomical, this could be a great opportunity for someone to pick up an immaculate example of what is, definitely, a classic.
This content was originally published here.
