This is a bittersweet story of a car that faced the giants, lost, and still wrote a small chapter in motoring history. The SARD MC8 was the street version of the SARD MC8-R, which competed at Le Mans: it may not sound like anything to you, but it is actually the only Toyota MR2 powered by a full V8 in the world.
There was a golden age in the 24 Hours of Le Mans: the GT1 era. Why do we say this? Because, back then, manufacturers were required to have road versions of competition models. This, of course, resulted in the arrival of some wild and legal cars. And since they only needed to build a single unit, the brands went crazy.
The SARD MC8-R at Le Mans
Let’s put some context. In the early 1990s, with the demise of Group C, Toyota saw a transition from purpose-built racing models to production-based GT machines for Le Mans. For this they chose two models: JZA80 Supra and SW20 MR2. The first was an obvious choice, but the second not so much.
They chose an MR2 developed (and heavily modified) by SARD (Sigma Advanced Racing Development was a car tuner that also had a racing team): the SARD MC8-R. To create it, they reinterpreted the regulations and lengthened the Toyota MR2 by 40 centimeters from the rear wheel arches, but kept almost the entire front half of the chassis intact: a technique that, incidentally, Porsche applied to its successful Porsche 911 GT1.
Another reason for stretching the Toyota MR2 was the installation of the engine: a V8 1UZ-FE biturbo of 4.0 liters and 600 CV. However, it wasn’t enough to take on some of the toughest Le Mans competitors like the McLaren F1, Kremer K8 Spyder, Ferrari F40 LM, Porsche 911 GT1 or the Viper GTS-R. In 1995 the SARD MC8-R retired on lap 14 and in 1996 it finished second from last.
The mysterious SARD MC8
The sweet part in the SARD MC8-R story was its street version: the SARD MC8. As we told you before, it was only necessary to build one unit to meet the homologation requirements, so we are talking about the only Toyota MR2 equipped with a V8: unlike the competition model, it did not have the biturbo system from the SARD catalog.
That One-Off of the Toyota MR2 was as special as it was ephemeral: It disappeared a year after it was built. when Toyota and SARD withdrew from competition. After decades without hearing from him, some photos starring the SARD MC8 appeared in Japan and we have found an Instagram account that apparently belongs to its owner, although we cannot confirm it.
Rumors suggest that the SARD MC8 now belongs to a private collector that he would have invested (a lot) of money and time in adapting it to current standards (especially safety) in order to drive what is probably one of the rarest cars in the world. And more complicated to drive.
Images: MC8_channel
