Mid-Engine Marvel

SUPERCHARGED V-6 MR2 PAINTS A PICTURE OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN FOR TOYOTA

- Benjamin Hunting

“What might have been” is a fun fantasy familiar to almost any automotive enthusiast imagining the potential of a player that was retired from the scene well before its time. For some, however, it becomes less of an idle mind game and more of a challenge—a call to right the wrongs, or, at the very least, explore the paths not taken for a particular automobile.

For Russell Turnbull, when it came time to pick up a project car, there was no doubt which vehicle he’d be targeting and what direction he’d be pushing the platform. Up to that point, he was a multiple first-gen MR2 owners, and this was his first second-generation example of Toyota’s mid-engine sports car. It’s one of the few out there to feature a 3.5L V-6 in place of the standard four-cylinder.

“It’s a relatively simple swap,” Russell explains. “People always worry about space, but there’s really so much more room with the V-6 versus the turbo motor once you subtract all the brackets, piping, and vacuum stuff needed for the dated technology. There’s only one motor mount you need to swap—the other three are on the transmission—and if you can turn a wrench, there’s really not much more to it than that. The biggest hurdle is wiring, but there are companies out there that will splice the harness together for you.”

We think Russell is being a little too modest in describing the build process for his ’96 MR2, especially considering it’s not just making use of a six-cylinder motor swapped out of a RAV4 SUV but it also features an ultra-rare, Lotus-sourced supercharger.