Most people think the Toyota MR2 Spyder is like the Porsche Boxster but for less money. Toyota’s mid-engined sports car didn’t have as much power as it should have because it had an automatic drive. Few people know that its better-known cousin, the SW20, was also made by Toyota as a convertible, though only in tiny numbers. One of them is for sale in the United States right now. A 1996 Toyota MR2 Spider, a rare vehicle made by Toyota Technocraft, is for sale on Cars & Bids. One of Toyota’s specialized production teams, Technocraft, made the widebody MR2 and Supra, as well as some unusual cars like the Toyota Classic. The name of the company right now is Toyota Customizing & Development. Only 88 or 91 of these MR2s with the most choices were made. Most of them had automatic transmissions, and only two had turbo engines. This one goes into the first group, which could be better, but it does have some good points. First, it’s a 1996 model, so it has the better handling that came out in 1993 and later. This makes it easier to drive. There are also the more famous kouki taillights, which were first seen in 1994. Also, Japan got the more current 2.0-liter 3S-GE, while US SW20s with naturally aspirated engines used the 2.2-liter 5S-FE from the Camry. Even though the BEAMS version doesn’t rev, the 168 horsepower is still fun. There are also a lot of engine swap choices (options) if you want this Spider to have the power to match its look of a copy of the Ferrari 348. Some use the 3.5-liter 2GR-FE V6, while others use the 3S-GTE engine from the later-generation Caldina MR2 Turbo. My car has a 2.2 stroker. They were used in many vehicles, including the Lotus Emira and Evora, which have great-sounding names. (Some people use Honda K-series, but it’s not a good idea. Rightly so.) After the Cars & Bids sale ends on Friday at 4:10 p.m. Eastern, the buyer of this Toyota will, of course, choose what it drives. This rare MR2 is already worth more than $8,000, and it’s easy to imagine it will increase even more.
