The more I learned about the SW20, the more interesting it became. Toyota had built a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car in the 90s, offered it from the factory with a turbocharged 3S-GTE and gave it all the things I loved about cars from t
Though I liked the general shape and design of the MR2, I thought there was a lot of room for improvement. I started imagining what the car could look and feel like if I kept everything I liked about the original design and updated the areas I t
5S-FE
One of the biggest changes came when the original 5S-FE and automatic transmission were removed and the car was converted to a turbocharged manual setup.
Gen 4 3SGTE
The automatic was replaced with Toyota's E153 five-speed manual transmission , paired with an ACT XACT Prolite flywheel and Clutch Masters Stage 3 FX300 clutch . Boost is controlled through a GReddy Profec electronic boost controller . I've
Once the car had substantially more power, I wanted the rest of the chassis to feel equally sorted.
The suspension uses Fortune Auto 500 Series coilovers with 5K front and 7K rear spring rates, along with Whiteline front and rear sway bars . I also added a Stanceparts AirCup system , which gives the front of the car roughly two inches of tem
The TE37V checked all of those boxes. It has the classic stepped-lip design I was looking for while still being a genuine performance wheel, and the staggered sizing gave the MR2 the stance and proportions I had envisioned without sacrificing fun
Braking was upgraded with a StopTech ST43 big brake kit and Wilwood rotors. With a mid-engine car making considerably more power than it did when it left the factory, I wanted the braking and suspension to receive the same attention as the engi
The front end eventually came together around an Office Kei front bumper . The design originated in Japan, and was hand-finished in California. It changed the proportions of the front dramatically and finally gave me the cleaner more sculpted
The front also uses carbon-fiber fenders by MR2 Heaven and GReddy style side rockers by Shine Auto . The pop-up headlights stayed because they're such an important part of the MR2's personality, but the lighting itself was modernized with Morim
There's also a stainless-steel radiator air-diversion panel behind the front end to help direct airflow through the radiator, while the frunk houses the AirCup tank, compressor and valves along with the factory sunroof storage. ————————————————————
The rear was another area I kept revisiting. I always felt the original rear bumper ended too abruptly and that the car could use a little more visual weight in the back.
I eventually converted the car to a Revision 3 trunk lid and spoiler , sourced from a donor MR2 in the United Kingdom. The original 1991 taillights were replaced with OEM Kouki lights, which were then converted to clear lenses with LEDs and a bla
The rear bumper uses Border add-ons to extend the lower body line, and the spoiler has a POON SW20 carbon-fiber rear add-on that came from Thailand. The exhaust exits through a pair of TCS high-flow mufflers , which helped give the rear the s
This part of the car was influenced by years of looking at newer performance cars as well. My experience around Mercedes-AMG and Chevrolet Performance cars gave me an appreciation for wider, fuller rear proportions, and some of that thinking found
—————————————————————————— INTERIOR —————————————————————————— The interior has probably gone through one of the most dramatic transformations because the car started with a very basic blue cloth interior and manual roll-up windows .
For a long time I worked with the blue interior, but I always felt a black interior would better suit where the rest of the car was heading. Eventually I came across another MR2 with a complete black interior that was destined for the scrapyard.
Donor Car
We removed the blue interior from pHa2e while it was still in good condition, restored the black pieces and transferred them into the car. I love the fact that we took an MR2 that was heading to the scrap yard, restored the usable parts and gave
The seats were reupholstered in genuine leather and Alcantara by an MR2 specialist in the UK. The steering setup combines Works Bell, MOMO and GReddy components , including a quick-release and locking system.
I also wanted modern conveniences without completely changing the character of the cabin. A Pioneer 4600NEX provides wireless Apple CarPlay, a JL Audio W6v3 10-inch subwoofer sits behind the passenger seat, the GReddy Boost Controller sits ri
I also sourced a JDM electronic gauge cluster to complement the E153 manual transmission and its electronic speed sensor. While updating the cluster, I redesigned the speedometer dials and integrated a 45mm Omori boost gauge into the factory b
The Omori gauge fit the direction of the interior particularly well. Its size and analog appearance feel appropriate for a Japanese sports car from this era, and placing it within the factory cluster gave me a functional boost gauge without addin
—————————————————————————— pHa2e & LS2026🥀 —————————————————————————— As the build developed, pHa2e also became connected to my work as a filmmaker. I'm currently developing LS2026 🥀 , a feature film set primarily in Los Angeles, and t
I've always paid attention to the cars filmmakers choose for their characters because the right car can quietly tell you something about the person driving it. For LS2026 🥀, I wanted that relationship to feel authentic, and using a car I've a
The MR2 also fits naturally into the visual world I'm creating for the movie. It's distinctly Japanese and unmistakably from another era, yet this particular car has been updated enough that it doesn't feel trapped in the past. That combination wo
I bought a base N/A automatic MR2 while searching for a Celica. Years later, that same chassis has a turbocharged 3S-GTE, manual transmission, upgraded brakes and suspension, a completely different interior and an exterior that has been shaped aro
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