Quote:
Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary
The MR2! Back when cars were cool!
Too bad here in the USA we've been invaded by a hoard of grey marshmallows.
I've been under the impression that "snappy" characteristics are from a rather extreme bias. That's been my experience (e.g. Super Beetle).
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Oh, it's the same over here.
People where actualy surprised when VAG launched their new colour "nardo grey", wich looks like clearcoated primer.
But I do have to admit mine is silver metallic, so also kind of grey.
But hey, at least it's fun and not too fuel inefficient.
In case of the MR2 the snappy characteristics, wich where especialy prominent in the early versions of the SW-20, came from the mass centralisation.
Mid engined cars have all heavy components (engine, gearbox, differential, fuel tank, driver) packed close together almost in the center of gravity.
This causes the car to have very little rotational inertia along the vertical axis, making the car very nimble.
The fomula for this is mass times radius squared, or M*R^2.
Early versions of the SW-20 had a particular rear suspension tune wich made them more agile in the hands of a capable driver, but also more dangerous in the hands of your average idiot on the road.
Toyota "neutered" the SW-20 for obvious reasons.
The later ZZW-30 however was a totaly different story.
It has the longest wheelbase of all 3 itterations while beeing the shortest car with the lowest weight.
This allowed it to be even more nimble yet stable than the SW-20.
But people disliked it because it lacked the power of the SW-20 Turbo or G-limited and its looks are a bit controversial.