Stare at the Sera for a few minutes and it will become apparent what makes this car’s design so unique: Toyota managed to integrate several uncommon styling elements into a car that looks ultimately normal, at least in ’90s Japanese terms. Sera, pronounced like Doris Day’s “Que Sera Sera,” is a French-derived phrase meaning “whatever will be, will be.” It’s almost like Toyota knew the design was bound to catch on. This strategy proved a success, and butterfly doors today remain an indisputable signifier of an exotic car. “Eventually we borrowed a Sera and the design started from there,” Murray explained. Due to the F1’s central driving position, a conventional door wouldn’t work, as a portion of the roof would need to be removed. “I drove past it everyday,” he recalled in an interview with CAR magazine in 2012. It may not surprise you to learn that a Sera was serendipitously parked near Gordan Murray’s workshop while he was designing the McLaren F1. In other words, very Toyota.įrom 1990 to 1995, just under 16,000 Toyota Seras were built for the Japanese domestic market, but a handful were shipped to the (also right-hand-drive) United Kingdom market. Although they look exotic, butterfly doors are in this case a practical consideration. When fully open, the Sera’s doors require only 17 inches of lateral clearance, allowing it to fit into Kei car-sized parking spots. Butterfly doors are an ingenious solution to the density of Japanese cities, where parking is a nightmare. When you stop and think about it, however, the Sera isn’t as crazy as it looks on the surface. Remember the ’90s? Pauly Shore was surfing middle America, 401k portfolios were diverted to Beanie Baby futures, and the world’s most risk-averse automaker built an economy car with butterfly doors.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |