My MR2 Love Affair

My love affair with the MR2 began 13 years ago when having seen pictures in magazines I finally saw an MR2 in the flesh. Now being a pimply young teenager and hormonal and all, I got rather excited at the sight of this silver AW11. Possibly because silver was the first colour I saw, this is the reason why I now get all emotional when I see Malcolm’s car (dont worry Malcolm I don’t want to fornicate with your car). I’ve tried to explain to my wife the difference of feelings between seeing her and seeing a car that makes you feel funny, but she thinks its all a bit strange - is it a guy thing? Anyway I managed to get a drive of this MR2, out to the country I went. My impressions? The torque down low was good, surprisingly so - I was travelling reasonably quickly without going above 4000rpm and when giving it its head I was greeted with not only a bark as the TVIS came into play but a considerable increase in speed as well - hey this is pretty quick (of course times have changed, this was 1985). Into a couple of corners at a fair speed and it just went around them, wow - increasing speed it would eventually understeer slightly and it wasn’t untill I came into a tightening 90 degree corner that I discovered how quickly MR2s swap ends, whoops. Stupid I know, but in defence it was an empty road in the middle of nowhere, the weather conditions were fine and the MR2 spun in its own length on its own side of the road. Despite this, the MR2 bug had bitten and bitten bad, one day I would own one. The next time I drove one was a couple of years later when I went to Hawaii. Now still a pimply teenager I wasn’t allowed to hire the desired Ferrari but I was allowed to hire a metallic blue Auto MR2!

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Being the 1980’s, I had my blue blockers on and my hair looked like Simon le Bon from Duran Duran. I had a sportscar - lookout babes here I come (the only babes I met were mormons from Utah who wanted to sell me their "graaass"). I didn’t purchase and what else happened is another story and unprintable here). Even allowing for being an auto this MR2 didn’t have anywhere near the same power as the one I had driven two years previously. As for the handling - body roll and understeer galore. It was only later that I found out that untill 1989 the US cars lacked the rear swaybar standard on the NZ MR2s. The next time I drove an MR2 was in Austria when the SW20 had just been released. After wandering around the Habsbourg palace and gardens I thought what else can I do? That’s it, I’ll test drive some cars. First up was the also new V-Tec CRX, what a great engine! What a pity it’s front wheel drive. Next the real car, the MR2. Driving down the autobahn again, despite being fast it didn’t have the same acceleration as the CRX, but down the same long downhill stretch they had both indicated 240 kph - the CRX at 8000rpm!! Through a twisty road the MR2 still didn’t feel as well balanced as that first silver MR2 back in 1985, feeling unsettled when pushed. Despite these misgivings I still wanted my own MR2 badly and a year or so later I was finally able to buy one after selling my Peugeot 205 GTI to fund it. Since that first drive in 1985 I had owned a succession of cars which in one way or another had character but had been unable to live up to that silver MR2 of 1985. These had included several Fiats (one was a 130 Abarth, great in the dry, undriveable in the wet) Alfa Romeos, Lancias (including a couple of Volumex’s, one with a pulley for the blower - more power, but only 12 mpg), a Mini Cooper S and a Porsche 356C with questionable heat exchangers - the heater gave more exhaust fumes than heat. I was the now proud owner of my own MR2. Green and gold with bright yellow seats (this whole colour scheme was rather akin to going out with an essentially pretty girl with really bad dress sense), a factory sunroof, HKS exhaust and air filter and Tokico springs and shocks. After giving it an oil change (probably it’s 1st), disconnecting the speedo for the speed cut, storing the sunroof under the front boot and filling up with gas, a friend and I headed off to Palmerston North to see his sister as he was going to live in America. He drove as it was 3am when we left Auckland and I slept, awakening only once to see the revcounter sitting on about 6800rpm in fifth (this was the days before speed cameras and he was going to live in America). Shortly after 6am we arrived in Palmerston North - average fuel consumption 20mpg (normally it averaged 30 mpg). Over the two and a half years that I had the car it performed admirably only letting me down once in Paunui when the gearbox broke a pin in the selectors and left me with only first and reverse gears! The only other problem it had was when I tried to do a burnout and it broke two engine mounts (the engine and gearbox were very close to falling out) - no more Meremere for me thankyou. Camber plates were installed at the front along with nolathane bushes to give 2.5 degrees-camber and combined with 16 inch wheels and 205/40/16 tyres it had oustanding handling. However the quest for more power had come and as supercharged MR2s had just started to be imported, that became the next natural choice. Off to the local car dealer I went. Do you have any supercharged MR2s I asked? "Why yes" replied the dealer and promptly showed me a dark blue auto - nice colour, shame about the auto gearbox. "Hop in" he said, "we have a manual at our other yard". We jumped in the auto MR2 and with a dead cold engine he floored this poor little car, the auto box changing at about 6500 rpm "they go well" he says. "But not for long if you drive like that with a cold engine" says I. Says he, "modern engines don’t need warming up!" We picked up the manual and apart from the worn shocks and synchros it drove ok - a lot more torque than the 4AGE but not as much power up top, flattening off above 6500rpm. The dealer wanted me to stop off at his friends place to pick something up. The something turned out to be some grass which he promptly rolled into a joint and lit up - I declined his offer. Despite the dealer also showing me naked photos of his girlfriend I didn’t buy a car from him and not surprisingly he didn’t stay in business long.

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Not long after this I changed jobs and became more financial so I started looking at SW20s. The imports I drove didn’t have the same power as the European one I had driven in Austria and the turbo’s were too expensive, as was the 13000km 1993 NZ new one I looked at which was fast but had horribly vague, heavy manual steering and it was also too expensive ($46000!). My MR2 was about to die, something had to be bought, so I started looking at MX5’s also. And an MX5 it was, which also makes me excited when I see one and I’m now to on my third MX5(that first import then a NZ new 1600 and a NZ new 1800) I still love MX5’s for the same reason’s I love AW11s - namely the handling and the whole balance of the car. The MR2 saga continues, for about two years ago I spotted an original NZ new AW11 for sale. It was virtually like a new car, even the spare wheel was unused! And it had a full service history, I couldn’t resist it and bought it. About 6 month’s after purchase, a friend was going to Pukekohe on a track day to test his race car and he asked if I’d like to go along. Now that I’m old and married and responsible and don’t drive fast on the road anymore I thought it would be ideal to let off some steam. I was warned that it can become addictive. With a borrowed race suit and helmet I started doing some laps. My times were about 1min 28 sec, which over several months I eventually managed to get down to 1 min 21.58 sec. On consultation with the friend I had borrowed the suit off (whose SS2000 Datsun 1200 coupe would lap Pukekohe at 1 min 05sec) I should be able to get under 1 min 20sec. His advice - if you have a GOOD car,don’t lift off for Mobil and don’t brake for the sweeper, just let off for the bump before the sweeper then get back on the gas before braking for the essess. MR2s are GOOD cars aren’t they? Adjusting the Koni’s, off I went yet again, down the back straight pulling 7700 rpm in 4th at just over 190kph (I always wondered, why did Toyota put a 240kph speedo in the NZ MR2s when they won’t get near it?) brake at 100metres, down to 3rd, then 2nd, out of the hairpin, 7800 rpm in second and third, into 4th and here comes the heart in mouth bit - holding it flat into and through Mobil. The whole car feeling very tip toey through the corner, but it made it. On to the front straight, flat in 4th, at the end of the staight I didn’t brake I just let off for a fraction for the bump, then foot flat down again for the sweeper. Phew, made it, now brake really hard for the essess. Oh shit, the weight has transferred to the back and it starting to come around, wind on some opposite lock and straight line it through the essess, into 3rd and onto the back straight and do it all over again. My time? 1min 20.00 sec!

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After all that effort and change of underwear, I would have been happy with a time of at least 1 min 19.99 sec. Well racing is addictive (just ask Ade, Steve and Donnel from the last newsletter), and to save my nice straight road car from the inevitable altercation with such things as armcos, it has very regretfully been recently sold. Once again I’m without an MR2, but not for long as a supercharged 5 speed will be purchased in to which a cage and bits will be installed and some bits will be removed. One thing I have learned from Ade and Steve is that I won’t remove my heater. My love affair with Mister two will continue.........

Matt Halliday