Toyota MR2-Coupés and Spyders: Toyota's Mid-Engined Sports Car [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

For an entertaining read, and a thorough history of the Toyota MR2, we recommend you take a look at Toyota MR2 Coupés & Spyders by Automotive Publishing house Veloce. First published in 2002, Veloce's impressive volume is written by prolific motoring writer Brian Long. In common with the Author's other motoring books it provides a coverage of its subject that is both interesting and detailed. A quick scan through the book reveals that most pages feature more than one interesting picture or diagram. These include designers' sketches, photos of development and production models, as well as a substantial amount of Toyota marketing material. The latter includes (on page 127) a half page reproduction of the company's 1996 marketing poster which featured the impressive line up of Toyota's Supra, MR2 MkII and a pair of 6th generation Celicas (a coupe and a convertible). This can be compared against the not dissimilar 1989 poster featuring the MR2 MkI alongside the previous generation Celica and Supra. The scene for the book is set in the interesting foreword by Tadashi Nakagawa - Chief Engineer on the MR2 project from 1992.The first section of the book then provides a brief history of Toyota from its origins as 'The Toyota Loom Company' in 1926 through to the early 80's when the MR2 project began. Having explained the circumstances within Toyota, Long then covers the wider automotive world, and considers the attributes of the other sports cars of the 80s that the MR2 would be competing against at its launch. Having set the scene, Long then covers each phase of the car's evolution. At each stage, he covers the development process in great detail, including lots of material on the alternative concepts that were considered at the time. Information on Toyota's other sports cars - the Celica and the Supra - is also included, as is relevant information about the companys participation in motor sports. Each of the 3 major sections - covering the MR2 MkI, MkII and MkIII will be of interest to most MR2 and MR-S owners, no matter which version they currently own. You can either dip into the book and read it piecemeal, read it cover to cover, or just scan through the wealth of interesting pictures and diagrams. The section covering the MkIII MR2 starts with some great pictures of the Toyota MRJ concept car, before covering the rather more well known MR-S concept. This section also features an even larger number of designer sketches including some which are very Porsche Boxster like (in our opinion). This chapter particularly features the development of the Mk III and the earlier production models; it doesn't cover the minor revisions introduced to later models - though these will be well known to buyers of these vehicles. The book provides a brief buyers guide to the car for prospective buyers of the MkI MR2. Similar information on the later models isn't provided, an while this doesnt detract from the value of this publication as whole, we would have liked to have seen some information about the Mk II and Mk III in this short chapter. The book ends with technical specifications for each generation of MR2 and production figures for the vehicle from 1984 through to 1999. In summary, this is a very interesting book which authoritatively covers the car's entire history from the early 80s through to the early years of the 21st century. --Review by Tony Straughan at Pictures-of-cars.com

- The definitive history of the three generations of MR2 sportscar since 1984. - Critically acclaimed and very popular, more than 300,000 of the mid-engined MR2 coupés and spyders (convertibles) have been sold around the world. - Foreword by MR2 Chief Engineer, Tadashi Nakagawa. - 192 artpaper pages and over 300 contemporary pictures, mostly in colour. - Includes rare illustrations of the prototypes of each generation. - The author is an acknowledged Toyota expert, living in Japan.