Toyota Soarer
The Toyota Soarer is a luxury sports car sold by Toyota in Japan, which débuted in 1981 with the Z1 series. It was originally a boxy two-door coupé. In 1986, a more rounded Soarer was launched (the Z2 series).
In 1991, Toyota released the newly designed 30 series Toyota Soarer, boasting some of the most unique and most luxurious features of any car on the road at the time. It rivaled the likes of 75,000$ BMW & Mercedes-Benz vehicles and could be bought for a fraction of the price. It had a luxury feel to it, and yet for the 2.5GT model it was truly a very powerful sports car as well.
It has been sold as the Lexus SC 300 & 400 series outside of Japan since the launch of Lexus in the U.S.A. in 1991.
The Toyota Soarer made from the years 1991-1997 were offered in a 5 speed manual transmission (Only for the 2.5GT twin turbo model) and a 4 speed automatic transmission for all models. The car shares the same chassis as the MKIV 1993-1998 model Toyota Supra. Both cars suspension, brakes, drivetrains, and engine parts are interchangeable.
30 Series Soarer Models
- JZZ30 - 2.5L 6 cyl twin turbo
- JZZ31 - 3.0L 6 cyl (US Lexus SC300)
- UZZ30 - 4.0L 8 cyl (US Lexus SC400)
- UZZ31 - 4.0L 8 cyl air suspension
- UZZ32 - 4.0L 8 cyl 4ws, active suspension
In Japan, the 1991-2000 Soarer was available in one specific model with a 1JZ-GTE 2.5L Twin Turbo engine similar to the one in a Toyota Supra Twin Turbo(2JZ-GTE). The JZZ31/Lexus SC300 uses the exact engine and transmission as the U.S. MKIV 1993-1998 model year Toyota Supra N/A . The engine in question is called the 2JZ-GE, and it is a 3.0 liter DOHC Inline Six. The SC300 was available with a manual 5 speed transmission for the 1992-1997 model years. The SC400 features a 4.0 litre V8 engine (1UZ-FE) and was only available with an automatic transmission.
The UZZ32 model was the top of the line 30 series featuring four wheel steering and a complex hydraulic computer controlled suspension system. This did away with conventional springs and anti-roll (stabiliser) bars in favour of hydraulic struts controlled by sensors that detected cornering, acceleration and braking forces.
The system worked well and gave an unusually controlled yet smooth ride, however the weight penalty of the system affected straight-line performance somewhat, and the car was costly to produce. As a result, only 873 UZZ32's were made.
The 2001 40 Series Soarer 430SCV featured a hardtop which could fold into the boot of the car, in the fashion of the contemporary Mercedes-Benz SL.
The current model is sold outside Japan as the Lexus SC 430.
External Resources
- Planet Soarer
- Soarer Central - SC/Soarer Information and Forum
- Lexus Soarer Owners Club
- Soarer Owners Club in Japan (English)
- Intellexual.net SC300/400 FAQ
- Import a Toyota Soarer from Japan to Canada
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