Toyota Soarer: the Japanese grand tourer that became the Lexus SC

The Toyota Soarer was a personal luxury GT coupe produced from 1981 to 2005 and sold in Japan through Toyota Store and Toyopet Store. It replaced the Mark II, Chaser, Crown and Carina coupes, competed with the Nissan Skyline and Mazda Cosmo, and served as Toyota’s halo car, often introducing technology before it reached other models.

Toyota Soarer at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Toyota Soarer.

History of the Toyota Soarer

First generation (Z10; 1981)

The Soarer appeared as the EX-8 at the 1980 Osaka International Motor Show and won Car of the Year Japan on its launch in 1981. Toyota wanted a grand tourer with a powerful straight-six, luxurious equipment and aerodynamic styling, a type of car already popular in the West. The first generation complied with Japanese dimension rules and was classed as a compact, which brought tax advantages, while engines between two and three litres let buyers choose their road-tax band. It was rear-wheel drive on the A60 Supra base, with MacPherson struts at the front and a semi-trailing-arm rear. Top and mid trims had cruise control, audible warnings, a seven-way adjustable driver’s seat, digital climate control and an LED digital speedometer and tachometer, with ventilated disc brakes all round and self-diagnosis reminders as standard. A mid-life update added the Electro MultiVision display, with a six-inch CRT in the instrument cluster showing engine speed, gear, fuel consumption and TEMS settings. The Soarer was the first Toyota with TEMS electronically modulated suspension, and it gained double wishbones at both ends under the PEGASUS name, and ABS.

Second generation (Z20; 1986)

The Z20 Soarer was produced from January 1986 to April 1991 on the new A70 Supra platform, which was sold through Toyota Corolla Store. It was offered in several variants and continued the Soarer’s role as the most technologically adventurous Toyota coupe, with turbocharged straight-six engines and increasingly elaborate equipment.

Z30 and the Lexus SC

The Z30 Soarer of 1991 was sold in the United States as the Lexus SC 300 and SC 400, where the Soarer name was not used. The cars looked identical but the Soarer offered different powertrain specifications and more configurations for Japan. In 2001 Toyota introduced a convertible-only successor as the Z40 Soarer, sold elsewhere as the SC 430, and this time the two were largely equivalent. When Lexus arrived in Japan in 2005, the Soarer name and emblem were dropped and the car became the Lexus SC 430 in every market, ending a 24-year run. Every Soarer carried a winged lion emblem, often mistaken for a griffin, throughout the car.

Design and features

• Technology leader: the first Toyota with TEMS adjustable suspension and PEGASUS double wishbones.
• Digital instruments: LED displays and an optional CRT trip computer in the first generation.
• Winged lion badge: a unique emblem used on all four generations.
• Lexus SC link: from 1991 the same car was sold abroad as the Lexus SC.

Toyota Soarer versions

• Z10 (1981): first generation with 2.0, 2.8 and 3.0-litre straight-sixes.
• Electro MultiVision: CRT display on the 3.0 GT-Limited.
• Z20 (1986): second generation on the Supra A70 platform.
• Z30 (1991): exported as the Lexus SC 300 and SC 400.
• Z40 (2001): convertible-only generation, the Lexus SC 430 elsewhere.

The Soarer shared its platform with the Supra and its export identity with the Celsior’s Lexus range. Its coupe predecessors included the Chaser coupe, and more cars are in the Toyota collection.

Sources

• Toyota Soarer, English Wikipedia: generations, equipment, Lexus link