Top Scandal: Top Gear Live Using MR2-Based Fake Ferrari 360 Spiders

It's all about Entertainment.

 

That's really odd for a car show: especially a Brit one.
They, of all people, should know that the MR2 was designed by Lotus, and was a quite nice bit of kit in its own right.

Heck, I originally went looking for a clean used MR2-Turbo back in '99. (It used the same 3sGTE engine that my Celica AllTrac had.)

When I couldn't find one, I had to settle for a Ferrari.

(See the "did you know" thread: MR2 led to Esprit (the MR2's big brother) led to consignment houses that had Ferraris, too; where I discovered that the prices had come back down from the stratosphere.)

 

Why don't they use fake Aston Martins? Oh, I see. AMs are British. How silly of me.

 

Huh?? $400k ??

 

Because the show contained loud music.... which drowned out the engine noise.... the cars must be fakes.

That's some pretty faulty logic on someones part.

 

I'd guess that's UK pricing for wrong-hand drive.

After taxes.

MR2s aren't exactly running $50K, in these parts, either.

 

It's a good looking kit. It's no Ferrari but still good fun to toss around and if you compare the cost of upkeep between the Toyota and Ferrari... why not.

http://www.mr2bodykit.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.mr2bodykit.co.uk/pictures/large5.jpg

http://www.mr2bodykit.co.uk/pictures/large1.jpg

 

Funny.

But at the end of the day, burnt rubber is burnt rubber. I'll take it, Ferrari or not.

 

This is old news. They were kitcars. Good enough to fool most people. Given the context it's easy to see why they went with kits. They could do all the outrageous driving and abuse and not break their budget. Spend money on real Ferraris or use fakes and pocket more money from ticket sales? The drivers are professionals but if an accident did happen with real Ferraris it would be quite ugly. Why abuse perfectly good Ferraris when you can trash a crappy kitcar? It's not like the "Ferraris" were advertised or passed off as the focal point of the live show.

 

$400k was the price when they were sold in Australia. Top Gear live have just been out here and im pretty sure this article is Australian

 

Well, a yellow "360 CS" appears on the poster... and on their blog they say:

I bet the "CSs" weren't factory spec

Here is a slow-mo look at the 360 used in the UK..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrB2R78stK4

I think it's a pity they used replicas.

 

Because an MR2 has no reason to don a disguise.

It's a perfectly respectable sports machine, wearing its own face.

Would you put a "Fakerari" body kit on a Lambo or Esprit or Aston Martin?

An MR2 is an earlier concept for the Elise and Exige: Lotus suspension, Toyota power.
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They are actually using the Mk3 version of the MR2. Not as good looking IMO, but still an OK car.
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That exhaust is horrible.

 

Thanks for the lowdown on the Aussie promo dept. Wow what a load of sh#t. Haha. The blog should've read, "For simple reasons of deception we never had CSs and unloaded our kitcars that were used in the UK show."

No need for slo-mo. Look at how hideously disproportionate they look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=i51WExsF52Y

 

That's an after-market exhaust that was added to a number of the turbos, due to lower weight and better flow. And, yes, it's ugly.

Ever seen the "periscopica" intake mod?

You could get a lot more power from a 3sGTE just by cleaning up the airflow in/out (and clamping the wastegate control circuit).

 

+1

I think MR2 is great looking Toyota, and the Supra of course. The fastest car Toyota produce today? Corolla T-sport maby?

 

+1 - although as noted, they aren't using the SW20 for this kit. The SW20 is becoming an entry-level collectible - not many made and a decent car for the money.

 

Sorry the only MKII MR2 variant I have seen for 50k was a TRD 2000GT sold to someone in the UK back in 2006ish. For those that don't know the TRD 200GT was a MR2 with a wide body kit and some performance upgrades that was done in house by Toyota in the late 90s. It was released only in Japan and they are pretty rare.

DGS, Yes the MKII MR2 is a nice car without a kit. I just wish someone would tell that to what feels like every other MR2 owner that feels like they have to slap a aerokit on their car. You know to stand out from the Hondas :roll eyes:.

rdefabri, The MR2 is rare car. But I don't think its going be a long time before the MKII MR2 will become a collector car. Even then the cars that will demand the most attention will obviously be the 94-95 models. I honestly don't see 91-92 model years becoming that collectible. Although I personally don't care as I love driving my clean stock 1993 turbo.

 

I remember the TRD 2000GT. Not to be confused with the original Toyota 2000GT. Both were nice cars for their time,
and both are quite rare.
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Top Gear is such a joke. Bias, anyone?

 

Who cares if they are replicas or not?.