Four owners, the first for 17 years and the third for 13 years; 86,200 miles with 17 service stamps; private plate; now 40 years old so MOT-exempt and free to taxLaunched in 1984, the Toyota MR2 was Japan’s first mass-produced mid-engine sports car and weighed just 950kg.

Toyota employed the services of Lotus suspension engineer, Roger Becker, to produce a car with razor-sharp turn-in, precise feedback and incredible agility through corners.It was powered by Toyota’s famously robust 1.6 twin-cam 4AGE engine featuring T-VIS (Toyota Variable Induction System) and producing 128bhp.

Driving through a 5-speed manual gearbox, it could sprint to 60 in 7.8 seconds with a top speed of 127mph.

With oh-so-Eighties wedge styling, pop-up headlights and compact proportions, it not only looked great, it also had Toyota’s famous build quality in spades.

The wrap-around cockpit was equally striking and looked positively futuristic at the time – 40 years on and it still oozes retro-futurist style, a...