Toyota MR2

The first MR2, the AW11, arrived in 1984: small, sharp-edged and powered by the 4A-GE twin-cam four. A supercharged version followed.

The second generation, the SW20, came in 1989 and is the one most people picture. It was larger and rounder, and in turbo form it used the 3S-GTE. Toyota revised it several times over ten years, and the revisions matter: suspension and tyre changes altered how the car behaves at the limit.

The third generation, the ZZW30, went on sale in 1999 as an open-top car, sold in Japan as the MR-S. It dropped the turbo for a lighter, simpler approach and ran until 2007.

The SW20 Turbo's 3S-GTE is the centre of most MR2 tuning, and it shares a family with the engines in the Celica GT-Four, so parts and knowledge cross over. The mid-engine layout brings its own questions: heat, access and what the chassis does when you add power. The AW11 and ZZW30 have their own well-trodden engine swap routes.

Most of what follows comes from tuners, parts makers and magazines rather than the carmakers, and several of those sources sell the parts they describe. Each point names its source. Power is given in the unit the source uses, and figures "at the wheels" are lower than figures at the engine.

• SW20: know the revision. CarThrottle, quoting MR2 specialist Fensport, counts three: Rev 1; Rev 2, from December 1991 to November 1993, with chassis changes that made the car friendlier; and Rev 3, from November 1993 to June 1996, with rear bracing, revised engines and 550 cc injectors in place of 440 cc. Retro Rides adds that the early rear tie rods were too short, and a 1992 update lengthened them by 90 mm and changed the rear toe. A second CarThrottle guide, written for the US market, dates the main change to late 1993: retuned rear suspension, a thicker front anti-roll bar and wider rear tyres. (sources 1, 2, 3)
• Snap oversteer is real. Fensport confirms the reputation, especially for Rev 1 turbo cars. Retro Rides puts about 56 percent of the weight over the rear wheels. (sources 1, 3)
• Turbo and boost. The 1990 to 1993 cars have the second-generation 3S-GTE, the 1994 to 1999 cars the third. (source 4) The early CT26 turbo is good for about 16 psi (1.1 bar), around 280 bhp; the later CT20b spools faster and takes about 19 psi (1.3 bar), with up to 300 bhp possible. (source 2) Fensport puts the stock turbo and internals at 280 to 300 bhp on a safe 1 bar, and says the injectors run out quickly; beyond that, forged internals and a hybrid turbo take the car to 350 to 400 bhp. (source 1) The factory overboost fuel cut is set low, so it has to be dealt with before boost goes up, and Drifted advises against running leaner than 12.0:1. (source 4)
• Heat. The cooling system holds 15 litres and has four bleed points, and trapped air leads to overheating and a failed head gasket. The catalytic converter sits in the turbo downpipe and can cook at sustained high speed. After hard driving, let the engine idle for three minutes. (source 2) The coolant hose owners call the "Hose From Hell" can burst at around 160,000 km (100,000 miles), and the heater hoses above the fuel tank crack at their brackets. (source 1)
• Ride height and alignment. The standard car sits high. Fensport fits Tein springs, 37 mm lower at the front and 38 mm at the rear, with polyurethane bushes, and keeps the standard dampers. The cars go out of alignment easily. (sources 1, 2)
• AW11: the supercharger. The 4A-GZE uses a Roots-type SC12 blower with an electromagnetic clutch. Its efficiency falls to the low 50 percent range at higher boost, and the factory intercooler holds it back. The usual way to more boost is an oversized crank pulley or a smaller blower pulley, after which the engine runs lean at low rpm unless the fuelling is changed. (source 5)
• Swap routes. AW11: the 20-valve 4A-GE from overseas Corollas of 1992 to 1998, practical only in this chassis and needing revs to make power, or the 3S-GTE turbo engine, a swap known as the "Mk 1.5". SW20: fitting a turbo engine to a non-turbo car is relatively easy. ZZW30: the 2ZZ-GE fits directly, and the mechanical and electrical work is relatively easy. (source 6)

The SW20's shape drew a wide range of kits, from subtle lip-and-skirt sets to wide-body conversions that change the car's whole outline.

Documented builds, each credited and linked to where it was first shown. We describe them; the photos and the full story stay with the people who made them.

The ones that don't fit anywhere else. Engine swaps nobody asked for, body conversions, and ideas that should not have worked.