Cargolex
Parking lot special: Toyota Sera
Another reminder that parking lots at really great car shows can often reveal treasures as interesting as what's on the show field.
This Toyota Sera had some internet fame a few months ago when it was featured for sale on Bring a Trailer, and mysteriously appeared at the 2015 All British Field Meet along with few other interesting non-Brits.
The Toyota Sera was never imported to the United States, but many people wished it had been at the time, and a very small number of the cars have trickled in over the last 18 months since the earliest models reached 25 years of age.
The Sera was emblematic of late eighties Japan - over the top and exotic but practical and functional. The doors are hinged on the A-pillar and the center front of the roof, and open up butterfly style, like the McLaren F1. They're part of an all-glass canopy that was first seen on a Toyota concept car, the AXV-II at the 1988 Tokyo Motor Show. The glassy cockpit meant that the opening windows were cutouts within the door, like those of the contemporary Subaru SVX.
The production Sera differed little from the concept, just as the later Isuzu Vehicross would mirror it's concept forebear very directly. It was about the size of a Honda CRX, a car that was very popular in America at that time and which spawned imitators from Mazda (the MX-3) and Nissan (the NX1600/NX2000).
Sadly for the USA, we got the Toyota Paseo - which, while not an altogether bad car, was little more than a restyled Tercel.
The Sera wouldn't have given those other "pocket rocket" (how the media described them when new) cars much of a run for performance, but it looked fantastic and had all the touches of a semi-bespoke JDM niche model.
Toyota passed on offering this car to Americans - part of it's increasing tendency at the time to mainstream every American model and deliver cars in fewer and fewer variants - but did build about 16,000 Seras. Most of these were for Japanese consumption but a few were exported to other markets. Due to the early 90s economic decline in Japan, most of these cars were produced in 1990 and 1991.
As with many JDM specials, the Sera had a variety of unusual features - including a specialized surround-sound audio system, an unusual air filtration system with optional fragrances, and was one of the first cars to use projector-beam headlamps in regular production.
Sera production ended in 1996.
©2015 A. Kwanten.
Parking lot special: Toyota Sera
Another reminder that parking lots at really great car shows can often reveal treasures as interesting as what's on the show field.
This Toyota Sera had some internet fame a few months ago when it was featured for sale on Bring a Trailer, and mysteriously appeared at the 2015 All British Field Meet along with few other interesting non-Brits.
The Toyota Sera was never imported to the United States, but many people wished it had been at the time, and a very small number of the cars have trickled in over the last 18 months since the earliest models reached 25 years of age.
The Sera was emblematic of late eighties Japan - over the top and exotic but practical and functional. The doors are hinged on the A-pillar and the center front of the roof, and open up butterfly style, like the McLaren F1. They're part of an all-glass canopy that was first seen on a Toyota concept car, the AXV-II at the 1988 Tokyo Motor Show. The glassy cockpit meant that the opening windows were cutouts within the door, like those of the contemporary Subaru SVX.
The production Sera differed little from the concept, just as the later Isuzu Vehicross would mirror it's concept forebear very directly. It was about the size of a Honda CRX, a car that was very popular in America at that time and which spawned imitators from Mazda (the MX-3) and Nissan (the NX1600/NX2000).
Sadly for the USA, we got the Toyota Paseo - which, while not an altogether bad car, was little more than a restyled Tercel.
The Sera wouldn't have given those other "pocket rocket" (how the media described them when new) cars much of a run for performance, but it looked fantastic and had all the touches of a semi-bespoke JDM niche model.
Toyota passed on offering this car to Americans - part of it's increasing tendency at the time to mainstream every American model and deliver cars in fewer and fewer variants - but did build about 16,000 Seras. Most of these were for Japanese consumption but a few were exported to other markets. Due to the early 90s economic decline in Japan, most of these cars were produced in 1990 and 1991.
As with many JDM specials, the Sera had a variety of unusual features - including a specialized surround-sound audio system, an unusual air filtration system with optional fragrances, and was one of the first cars to use projector-beam headlamps in regular production.
Sera production ended in 1996.
©2015 A. Kwanten.