Came through on my Yahoo-feed, this AM . . .
'. . . The ‘butterfly’ coupe – known for its up-and-forward opening doors – is a delicacy of automotive design, gracing such elegant shapes as the McLaren F1, Ferrari Enzo, and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
1990′s Toyota Sera also joins that short list, in fact, it actually inspired the designers of the heady McLaren supercar (no, we’re not joking). Even though it’s not exactly sporting and it might not be your cup of tea, there’s no denying that it’s a rare bird on these shores . . .
. . . In 1987, Toyota showed up to the Tokyo Motor Show with a quirky three-door concept called the AXV-II. It must have been quite the head turner, because no less than three years later, Toyota was offering a production version on sale in Japan in the form of the Sera. Styling changed very little between concept and road-going form – the lift-back rear hatch and butterfly doors made the cut – however the Sera did benefit from some new mechanicals.
Underneath the hood, the Sera received the 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine from the Toyota Paseo, tuned up to 108 horsepower, and mated to either a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual. Given the large glass canopy, air-conditioning came as standard… though Sera buyers could spec-up their cars with a variety of optional extras, including an ‘Air Fantasy Fragrance Control System’ . . .
. . . Production ran from February 1990 to December 1995 and resulted in 15,941 models rolling off the line, all in right-hand-drive and all intended for the Japanese domestic market. According to the seller, this Sera was personally imported by them and features the coveted SERA Super Live Sound System. With only 70,000 miles on the clock, this ’90s Toyota has quite a lot more life left in it . . .'
https://autos.yahoo.com/news/1990-to...120001702.html
Currently on eBay . . .
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Other...022?rmvSB=true
'. . . 1990 Toyota Sera
Rare in the USA JDM RHD Coupe
VIN# 2BG5060076000147
Low miles, legally imported by me, for sale by owner!
In 1988 Toyota shocked the world with its AXV-II concept car featuring the second use of "butterfly" doors (after the extremely rare late 1960's Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale) to give it both an exotic endurance racer look as well as the practicality of only a small amount of space to open the doors since they primarily go up instead of out. In 1990 the concept car became reality as the Toyota Sera. It is a small sporty 2+2 hatchback coupe based on the Starlet/Paseo chassis utilizing Toyota's 5E-FHE 4 cylinder engine in it's largest capacity at 1.5 liters. Unlike some other recent Japanese imports running 600cc to 1000cc engines, the 1500cc Toyota engine easily copes with North American demands including highway speeds. I would not hesitate to drive this car anywhere. If anything apart from body damage were to occur, running parts i.e. brakes, drive lines, engine, etc. are usually locally available.
This particular Sera comes with the optional Super Live Surround Sound SLSS stereo system. It include a deck with CD player-works, cassette plater-works, and radio-works on Japanese domestic frequencies only 76-90. Along with door speakers, the SLSS includes tweeters on the dash, a special speaker on the rear parcel shelf that bounces sound off the rear window, and a factory sub-woofer in the trunk.
The interior is clean and well cared for with the factory Sera logo floor mats showing some wear. The door struts have been replaced and hold well, as well as the rear hatch struts. The power windows both work. The exterior is in great condition showing some normal wear, but not 25 years and 70,000 miles worth! The one exception is the black rear spoiler on the hatch, it does have some paint coming off of it. All four tires match and are in decent shape, the 15 inch after market wheels are true, but do show some pitting.
Ebay cancelled the auction due to me forgetting to put the VIN # in the listing. I had put all 0's intending to fix that when I got around to getting to the garage to get the number, and I forgot. Sorry. The car is still for sale, please bid again! . . .'
Never saw/read/heard anything about this, that I can recall. Then, again --- that Air Fantasy Fragrance Control System may've caused me to black-out
Looks like a fun little Skoot --- cheaper than an elephant hide interior, too . . . but? . . .
. . . slush box --- and wrong-hand-drive, so . . .
(Not mine)
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