A Trip Through Time Looking at Toyota / Lexus Sports Cars
Toyota, the parent brand to Lexus, has over the years created so many vehicles for so many various roads in life. Unfortunately, the majority of those roads were more sedate than others. Let's take a look at and celebrate all of the times the brand has reached out for the brass ring of performance with these cars.
Toyota S800
The S800 or Sports 800 was the car that started it all. It made its debut at the 1962 Tokyo Auto Show known then as the Publica Sports. When the car hit the market it had a 0.8-liter two cylinder engine that was horizontally opposed. The car was light thanks to the use of aluminum on panels and a thin steel on unibody construction giving the car a weight of fewer than 1,300 pounds. This may not look like much to the average person but remember that this is the car that set everything into motion.
AE86 Corolla
Achieving cult status in the import community thanks in part to its starring role in the anime Initial D, comes the AE86. The compact car has the versatility to serve as the basis for many racing orientations depending on how you mod it. Do you want a drift car? It can do that. Do you need a time attack car? A simple engine swap or tuning and you can do that. From the factory, the car came with a 1.6-liter 4 banger that made anywhere from 112 to 128 horsepower depending on the year of release and the territory. The car could be had as either a coupe or hatchback and doled out fun by the mile in the 1980's.
Celica AWD Turbos
Some people knew that the Celica could be had in either front or rear wheel drive depending on the generation but not a lot of people knew that you could get the spunky car in all wheel drive for a span of time. That version of the car, known as the GT-Four, was the first all-wheel drive Celica that had a 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder for the power plant. In 1987 that car came to the United States wearing the name plate as the Turbo All-Trac.
MR2
Take a mid-engined turbo four cylinder 2.0-liter engine and put that inside a compact sports car and you have the cult favorite MR2. At first, the car was offered sans boost but then those at Toyota decided to add a bolt on a supercharger to consumers who desired a little more chest hair on with their Toyota. However, when the second gen of the of the car came along it could be optioned to have a turbo that pushed out 200 horsepower for North America and 241 horsepower in Japan.
2000 GT
Originally designed to be used as the body for the Nissan Fairlady, this beautiful vehicle became the limited production front engined Toyota 2000GT. The 2000, in the name, refers to the 2000 cc longitudinally mounted six cylinder engine that made 150 horsepower and was based on the model from the Toyota Crown sedan. The car is widely considered to be a classic grand tourer with the curb weight placing just a hair under 2,500 pounds. The car is often seen as the first collectible Japanese car with one going for $1,200,000 at auction.
RC F
The Radical Coupe F sport began life as the LF-CC concept before being greenlit and sent off to production. The car uses a 5.0-liter V8 to send power to the rear wheels by way of an eight-speed transmission to get things off to a quick start. The naturally aspirated engine will get you from zero to sixty in just 4.4 seconds. We can't help but wonder if the car was neutered purposely in order not to cannibalize sales of the upcoming LC F halo car.
LFA
The limited run supercar had to make an appearance on our list or it would lose all validation. With a 4.8-liter front mid-engined V10 the car was more than a handful back in 2009 with 552 horsepower. In 2010 Toyota put out a Nürburgring Package that gave the car another 10 horsepower and more go fast pieces such as a recalibrated transmission, a more adjustable suspension and added aero parts. The LFA was not long for this world as Toyota actually lost money on every car that they produced it stands out as a feat of what the brand is still capable of given the necessary nudge.
Supra
The Supra far and away one of Toyota's crowning automotive achievements for feats of performance. The Supra nameplate goes all the way back to 1978 as an option on Celica's before splitting off to have its own identity. That move came in 1986 when the car also got a more powerful six cylinder engine that you could have in either NA or boosted flavors depending on your predilection to smashing the throttle. However, it is the Mark 4 Supra that has captured imaginations and been the subject of many tuner fantasies with its 3.0-liter twin-turbo six cylinder 2JZ engine that out performed many cars double its price tag.
With that being said we here at ClubLexus are buying as many lottery tickets as possible so that we can get our hands on the pricey LF C or the rumored new gen Supra that is being developed in co with BMW.