[Minty AW11SC]

The SW20 was a damn nice MR2. I remember it well and wish I still owned one. As always, it was Dan Gurney working behind the scenes with Toyota that so greatly influenced the handling of the car.......

Here is a pic of a former SW20 I use to own....... ...... Yes, it was a write off, mea culpa.

 

[arthursc2]

I wish I had been born 20yrs earlier than I was, so I could own the cars I love when they were new, instead of after they have been run through by 1 or 5 owners before me

Edit: 20k in 1990 is 45k in 2022

 

[Minty AW11SC]

The problem then was coping with Toyota Dealership greed when buying...... 😡


Minty AW11SC

 

[xxxboosted2xxx]

I wish I had been born 20yrs earlier than I was, so I could own the cars I love when they were new, instead of after they have been run through by 1 or 5 owners before me

Edit: 20k in 1990 is 45k in 2022

I started reading your response and was going to ask your age... but then you sort of come to what I was going to say.
Twenty grand thirty years ago was a lot of money. But you put the comparison in already, a $45k car (and they went up from there in the following years) - that's not chump change, especially hard if youre only 20 at the time or something.

And that price point is why we lost many of the 'jdm sportscars' - they just got so dang expensive.
For comparison, in 1991 you could get a base 911 for 26k

 

[xxxboosted2xxx]

Also, not seen the wheels on the white one in the article before

 

[JimKing]

Also, not seen the wheels on the white one in the article before

Ha! Those are the plastic wheel covers the base model NA cars with steelies got.

Was a base 911 really only $26k in 1991 ?

 

[Minty AW11SC]

Was a base 911 really only $26k in 1991 ?

I doubt it very much. List price for a 911 Speedster in the same February 1990 magazine was $ 65,480 USD.


Minty AW11SC

 

[arthursc2]

I doubt it very much. List price for a 911 Speedster in the same February 1990 magazine was $ 65,480 USD.


Minty AW11SC

Almost $147k in 2022 money. Oof

 

[Rocket3004]

Speedster is quite a bit different/more rare than a base 911

 

[Minty AW11SC]

According to JD Power, the base price of a 1991 Porsche 911 C2 was $62,200 USD.....

I remember when you could buy a brand new 1979 930 Turbo for $45K USD off the showroom floor. During that same era, I also recall when I could have bought a used Toyota 2000 GT for $85K USD. I laughed at the offer. Used Ferrari Daytona Spider's during this time sold for $100K USD and 427 AC Cobra's sold for $75K USD.

I remember seeing a brand new Ford GT40 with a 289 parked on a Ford Dealership showroom when I was a very young kid. Sticker price was $10K CDN. That same Ford Dealership years later had a secret stash of Shelby Mustang's and AC Cobra's hidden away in an underground bunker that the son of the deceased owner had no interest in. He sold them all, but I still recall an immaculate GT40 going for $100K CDN, which was a very tidy sum of money back then. Today that same money would be a tune up and maintenance.
.

Minty AW11SC

 

[Minty AW11SC]

The new and much improved MR2 - SW20 - was such a good car that it very much overshadowed the AW11 in a big way. Toyota doesn't promote cars they use to sell, only the ones that they currently sell.

Recently it seems that the first gen original MR2 - AW11 - has made a resurgence in popularity, as it should....

MR2


Minty AW11SC

 

[xxxboosted2xxx]

I was basing on this

Porsche 911 1991 Price & Specs | CarsGuide

Prices for the 1991 Porsche 911 range from $26,900 to $58,410. Compare prices of all Porsche 911's sold on CarsGuide over the last 6 months. Use our free online car valuation tool to find out exactly how much your car is worth today. Based on thousands of real life sales we can give you the most...

www.carsguide.com.au

If I was incorrect on my number I apologize.
Here's another I just found, 1990 Carrera 2, 59k

Tested: 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 2

From the Archive: Enthusiasts, rejoice: the "2" means twice the fun.

www.caranddriver.com

So maybe the first was incorrect. Oh, it happens.

 

[RePete]

I used to devour those articles in pubic libraries, especially the 'shootouts' when the editors took 10 sports cars and had it out at a track measuring everything. Motor Trend did that a lot too.

If you go back over some "Motoring Week" videos, you'll see that a fully equipped '93/'94 turbo could go as high as $33K or so - one of the reasons it died out. That's almost $70K today. I know that's how much a friend of my father's paid for his, $33K in 1993 for a fully equipped black SW20 turbo.

 

[JimKing]

Yep. The yen appreciated roughly 33% during the MK2s run in the states.

 

[Minty AW11SC]

They were pricey as hell in Canada as well. A fully loaded SW20 in '91 was well over $30K CDN.

$33K USD for a '93-'94 SW20.....wow.... ...... I'm not surprised.

I was able to get a sweetheart deal on my first SW20 in '91 and still paid $25K CDN. It's MSRP sticker was $32K Cdn.

Here is some kind of factory inspection sheet all in Japanese with the VIN # and installed options that came with the car. This MR2 was designated as a SW22 , meaning a fully loaded MR2 Turbo.

To try and place all these prices in perspective my very first AW11 in '85 cost me $16K CDN and I had to fly to Vancouver to get that price. All the local dealers where I lived refused to sell an MR2 for that cheap.

When they were first introduced in March 1985, most dealerships only received a single MR2 and never saw another one for 6 months. Such was the initial demand.


Minty AW11SC

 

[number_twelve]

In the early 90's, I remember seeing two MK1s in my tiny town in central Iowa. Both were owned by doctors, and ever since the first time seeing one, I was in love. I was 10 or 11 years old. I had no idea how much they cost, but it seemed like a doctors sports car to me at the time. I bought my first one, an 88 NA in Orange Pearl Mica. I also remember looking at a used 1993 turbo at a dealership in 1999. It had over 120K miles already, but seemed to be in great shape. I think the dealer was asking $23K at the time. Ouch.

 

[RePete]

I think this is an excerpt from the exact "Bang for the Buck" article in the August '94 edition of Motor Trend that got me excited to own it one day.

I vividly remember being disappointed that the SW20 shipped w/ 15" wheels, nothing I couldn't fix though. That same issue listed the SSR 16" forged wheels at $400/wheel ($800 in today's bucks).

 

[arthursc2]

Honestly impressed at the number of American cars on that list!

 

[xxxboosted2xxx]

Honestly impressed at the number of American cars on that list!

And how cheap they were compared to the MR2.

Surprised no 300Z on that list

 

[RePete]

^ Probably why the SW20 was in 2nd place, the 300ZX at the time was stiff competition and was topping many 'best' lists then.