Toyota Starlet - economical "lighter" and platform for sports tuning

Toyota Starlet appeared on the market in 1978, it became, together with the Tercel model, a Japanese-Toyotov answer to the oil crisis. The main difference of this small hatchback with three or five doors was a record economy of fuel by then standards.

The first generation, like its European competitor - BMW 3 Series, was rear-wheel drive, and the second generation followed a new trend in the design of compact cars and, having surrendered to the trends of the model Tercel and Fiat-Opile mini-cars, acquired a front-wheel drive.

Changes in rear-wheel drive were observed in the following models, close to sportiness as the all-wheel drive 4WD. The overall dimensions of this car, as well as the body of the hatchback, and the complete set of engines per liter, are close to our units VAZ 2108, 2109: length - 3760 mm, width - 1625 mm, height - 1415 mm (for VAZ 2109, respectively, 4006x1620x1402) . But the speed characteristics of the model Toyota Starlet deserve the nickname "mad stools", so chasing them at the G-8 is not recommended.

The engines of the first Toyota Starlet were 4E-F and 4E-FE with a capacity of 1.3 liters and a capacity of 100 and 82 horsepower respectively. These engines could accelerate such cars to 100 km / h in 8 and 10 seconds, respectively, in connection with which the owners of these cars are still unexpectedly sharply for others start at traffic lights. To compete with the very popular at that time diesel Opel Kadett, which had an engine capacity of 55 hp. With a volume of 1.6 liters, appeared Toyota Starlet with a diesel engine 1N of the same capacity, but with a volume of 1.5 liters and more fuel economy. However, the European "Dieselleub" at that time did not appreciate the work of Japanese designers, and the diesel model Toyota Starlet did not get the expected popularity. And in vain.

Further development of the model Toyota Starlet went in two opposite directions:

- minimization of power and engine capacity, accompanied by minimization of the body weight to achieve the maximum possible fuel economy;

- Maximizing engine power with unchanged capacity due to turbocharging to achieve sports performance.

The extreme point of the power minimization line was Toyota Starlet with KP60 body and one-liter engine, which was produced from 1978 to 1984. And to maximize the power of a six-valve 16-valve 4E-FTE engine, it was equipped with a CT-9 turbocharger, increasing power to 135 hp. Actually, by increasing the pressure of turbocharging up to 0.85 bar, finalizing the exhaust flow and increasing the power of the fuel pump, this engine could easily show a power of 150 hp. Such tuning was done by various tuning studios, and then the company itself began to produce a turbocharged Toyota model with an updated instrument panel, optics and some body lines (called the Toyota Starlet Glanza V).

By 1996, the release of both the one-liter and turbocharged Toyota Starlet ended, but not quite. Separate lots of cars in the bundle of the 90 series continued to be produced "at the request of Japanese and other workers", who love to light on high-speed subcompacts. A little later, fans of this model were surprised: a 1998 Toyota Starlet, called the Carat, which had a turbocharged engine in standard 85 hp, a five-door hatchback body with a streamlined shape and a radiator grille pattern reminiscent of something between Dacia and BMW. The history of this model lasted until 1999, and on this issue of the Toyota Starlet was finalized.

It must also be said that many Toyota Starlets still not only serve their masters, but also allow them to "light" at traffic lights. The turbocharged and "finished" models of the Starlet successfully perform on a different kind of rally. According to the German expert organization TUV, Toyota Starlet is still in Europe on the 7th place in terms of reliability among used cars.