This is the one-of-a-kind 1995 SARD MC8 homologation road car. This car, which is owned by @mc8_channel was constructed by Sigma Advanced Racing Development (SARD Corporation), a Japanese tuning company and racing team from Toyota, Aichi. This one-off Toyota MR2-based GT1 homologation car’s story begins in 1972, when the SARD Corporation (株式会社サード) was initially founded as Sigma Automotive Co., Ltd by Shin Kato. Initially starting out by developing motorsport parts and operating their own racing team, Sigma Automotive saw their first ever 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in 1973, where the Sigma MC73 became the first Japanese car to qualify for Le Mans. The company made its return to Le Mans in 1995 with a V8-powered Toyota MR2 which was known as the MC8-R. The MC8-R was essentially a heavily modified and lengthened MR2 that was purpose built for GT racing. The MC8-R was equipped with a twin-turbo Toyota 1UZ-FE 4,000 cc V8 engine. In order to homologate the Toyota Team SARD MC8-R for Le Mans in 1995, a naturally aspirated road-going version was built in order to satisfy requirements, and that’s this car shown here. This mythical car vanished for decades after it was first built, only to be rediscovered yet again on a Japanese collector car website called SEiyaa in 2015. In 1995, with the MC8-R’s main sponsor being Japanese mobile network provider Do Co Mo, drivers Alain Ferté, Kenny Acheson and Tomiko Yoshikawa ultimately retired after just 14 laps during the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year. The MC8-R was entered again into the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans and was driven by Japanese racing drivers Masanori Sekiya, Hidetoshi Mitsusada, and Masami Kageyama qualifying 37th and finishing 24th. With one last attempt in 1997 at Le Mans, the MC8-R failed to get past the pre-qualifying stage. While the MC8-R couldn’t succeed at Le Mans, the car was the first purpose-built semi-sports-prototype that successfully got GT1 homologation with it’s participation in the 1995 BPR Global GT Series.
How many made? 1
Engine: Toyota 1UZ-FE 4,000 cc V8 naturally aspirated
Debut: 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans
Top Speed: n/a
0-60mph: n/a
Photo Credit: @mc8_channel
Research: @rarecarsonly