The owner of a rarer car is more likely to think it is too special to drive. Too many strange things sit in museums or get thrown away as “assets” in some Gollum’s locker. Not the SARD MC8, though. This one-of-a-kind GT1 homologation car, built on a Toyota MR2, got out of prison years ago and is now spending its last years on the road, where it belongs. Manufacturers had to make at least one road vehicle to participate in the top GT class during the GT1 era, which is where the SARD MC8 comes from. As a result of this rule, race cars like the Nissan R390, Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion, and others were made that looked like regular cars but were more like purpose-built prototypes—one more thing, though: it’s not the SARD MC8. Sigma Advanced Research Development made the MC8. Its chassis was based on a second-generation Toyota MR2 (or SW20) from one of Toyota’s factory-affiliated race teams. Instead of the 2-liter transverse turbo in the road car, it used a 4-liter 1UZ-FE V8 from the Lexus LS400 with two turbochargers to make 590 hp and 506 lb-ft of torque. A tubular back subframe was needed to make the wheelbase longer because it was attached longitudinally. Because of this, its suspension was significantly changed, and its strange appearance relied on composite materials. The MR2 won the titles of 2018 and 2019 GT300 constructors and drivers. The SARD MC8-R could have done better in the Japanese Grand Touring Championship. It stopped after only 14 runs in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even though its first release in 1996 did not fail as severely, its results cannot be considered positive. It came last in class, 97 laps behind the winning Porsche GT1, even though it went around 256 circuits. SARD kept working on the car, but the 1997 model didn’t meet the standards, and in 1998, the Toyota GT-One took its place. (It looks like it also got a homologation car, even though it may be rotting in a dump.) Even though it failed in racing, the MC8-R made an MR2 that is now thought to be the best, even better than the first widebody TRD-2000GT. The one MC8 built to specs from 1995 was sold to someone never seen again. It suddenly appeared on the market again in early 2015, and its secret owner was eager for it to go to someone who would love it. Instagram user @mc8_channel was given the MC8. He has been driving the rare GT1 road car around Japan for years. No one knows how far it has moved, but it’s likely been farther than many more famous works of art. People enjoy it the way it was meant to be, which means it will last longer and make more people happy. None of the other GT1 homologation cars can say everything works well for everyone.
