Probably, at some stage of our life, we already regret having disposed of that special car (whether it was our first car, a dream sports car or any other). If saying goodbye to a car can be difficult, we don't even want to imagine how much it costs to give up five Toyota MR2 of the first generation.
But that's exactly what happened in the United States of America, where a retired university professor decided to exchange the Toyota MR2 collection he had been building over 30 years for a… 2016 Mazda MX-5 with 10,000 miles (about 16,000 miles) km).
Although it seems crazy to swap a collection that took so much work to create, there is a reason behind this peculiar exchange. The Toyota owner was widowed about two years ago and eventually decided that keeping five classics was just too much, so he chose to look for someone who would take good care of them.
The Toyota MR2 from the collection
The story came to us through the Japanese Nostalgic Car website, which interviewed the sales manager of the stand where the cars were delivered for exchange and he said that “the collection even had six copies, as he had another Toyota MR2 that he delivered. last year together with a pickup truck to exchange for a new Toyota Tacoma”.
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The collection consisted of copies from 1985 to 1989, all of which were in excellent condition. In such good condition that the stand manager said that just two days after announcing that the cars were for sale, four of them had already been sold (only yellow does not have a new owner). These are the characteristics of the five MR2 delivered for exchange:
- Toyota MR2 (AW11) from 1985: the oldest in the collection is the only one that has undergone alterations. It has a fixed roof, manual gearbox and is painted yellow, which was originally grey. Another modification that stands out are the aftermarket wheels. This specimen has covered 207 000 miles (approximately 333 000 km).
- Toyota MR2 (AW11) from 1986: This copy was, according to the stand sales manager, a collector's favourite. It also had a fixed roof and manual gearbox. It is painted red and was a constant presence at classic meetings and events. Altogether it covered 140,000 miles (about 224,000 km).
- 1987 Toyota MR2 (AW11): The 1987 model is a white targa and has covered 80,500 miles (approximately 130,000 km) over nearly 30 years. It is equipped with OEM three-spoke wheels and automatic transmission.
- Toyota MR2 (AW11) from 1988: also painted white and with a targa roof, this model was the only one in the collection equipped with a turbo. It has an automatic transmission and has covered 78,500 miles (approximately 126,000 km).
- Toyota MR2 (AW11) 1989: The latest model in the collection belongs to the last year of production of the first generation MR2 and is painted blue. It is also a targa and is equipped with a manual transmission. Altogether it only covered 28 000 miles (about 45 000 km).
Sources: Japanese Nostalgic Car and Road & Track
Images: Facebook (Ben Brotherton)