This is the 3rd of my Tomica Toyotas blog that started as 4 mystery cars. We will now take a look at an unusual Toyota simply named MP-1.
This vintage Tomica is #97 and has a plastic base instead of metal. This also includes opening tailgate. I’ve had this a long time ago and have lost the original box but am glad it survived my childhood days. I’ve never heard of the actual model so having research a bit I found out that this may be a concept vehicle by Toyota but was never released publicly. The vehicle is based on the Crown passenger car chassis instead of a commercial vehicle just like the Highlander is based on the Camry. This could have been the first crossover vehicle.
The Crown model is actually the high end passenger car model of Toyota much like the Avalon and possibly Lexus but probably never released in the US. This was first shown at the Tokyo Motor Show around 1975. This vehicle was defined as Multi Purpose Wagon. It has one rear door and slides like a van. The passenger side sliding door also incorporated a lifting step to allow wheelchair access.
Lastly we have the Toyota Corona Mark II Hardtop.
The Toyota Corona Mark II was an all new vehicle at its introduction in 1968. The U.S. exported versions for the same model year, often include the more powerful R series motors compared to other regions. The model you see is based on the first generation. This Tomica model I believe was a reproduction of the original model made by Tomica years ago and includes opening passenger doors.
This has a metal base and even though it looks just like a regular Tomica, it was more pricey.
The box indicated 40th anniversary since it’s introduction. This Tomica also includes a stand and a 40th anniversary sticker to be placed on it.
And both vintage and recently released have no quality control issues that I can report.
This concludes my all white Tomica Toyota Trilogy blog.