Originally, the MR2 was never meant to be a sports car. It first emerged in 1976 as a design project aimed at producing a fun to drive, economical car - a description wide enough to fit a fair number of cars both then and now.
The car that Toyota's Akio Yoshida finally produced wasn't unveiled until much later in1983 at the Tokyo Motor Show, where it was received enthusiastically by press and public alike in the guise of the concept car, SV-3 - but this slow gestation was well worth the wait. From rather everyman beginnings, a car had evolved that was to become the first mass-produced, mid-engined sports car out of Japan. Arriving in the UK in March 1985, the MR2 was indeed economical and fun to drive - for which some recognition must be given to the fruitful collaboration between Toyota and Lotus suspension engineer Roger Becker. But it was also exciting and a far cry from the rather sensible cars people had come to expect from Toyota at the time. A lot of race track development had gone into the car with Formula One driver Dan Gurney behind the wheel providing expert feedback to Toyota engineers. The acronym MR2 (referring to the mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat arrangement) was affectionately re-christened 'Mister Two' by the car's many English fans. The design saw three distinct generations which carried it up to July 2007 when production of what was by then the MR2 Roadster, stopped.
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