The Toyota Sprinter Marino is a four-door
B-pillar
The pillars on a car with permanent roof body style (such as four-door sedans) are the vertical or nearly vertical supports of its window area or greenhouse—designated respectively as the A, B, C and (in larger cars such as 4-door stati ...
hardtop
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, typically metal, and integral to the vehicle's design, strength, and style. The term typically applies to a pillarless hardtop, a car body style without a B-pillar. The term "pillared hardtop" was ...
sedan version of the
Toyota Sprinter sedan produced between 1992 and 1998 (series E100 Corolla) for sale in Japan. The Toyota Corolla Ceres () is a slightly restyled version of the Sprinter Marino, as was common practice by Japanese automakers in the 1980s and 1990s.
Overview
File:Toyota Sprinter Marino in Bangkok Thailand 04.jpg, Sprinter Marino (pre-facelift)
File:1993 Toyota Corolla Ceres rear.jpg, Corolla Ceres (pre-facelift)
The Corolla Ceres is named after
Ceres in Roman mythology, and the Sprinter Marino is named for
Marino, Italy
Marino ( or , Marino dialect: ) is an Italian city and ''comune'' in Lazio (central Italy), on the Alban Hills, Italy, southeast of Rome, with a population of 37,684 and a territory of . It is bounded by other communes, Castel Gandolfo, Alba ...
. The Corolla Ceres was exclusive to ''
Toyota Corolla Store'' locations, and the Sprinter Marino was exclusive to ''
Toyota Vista Store'' locations.
In Japan, the Sprinter Marino and the Corolla Ceres could be ordered by mail order catalog. Both vehicles were built for Toyota under contract by
Kanto Auto Works
was a Japanese car manufacturer. It was a member of the Toyota Group. In July 2012, Kanto Auto Works and two other Toyota subsidiaries were merged to form Toyota Motor East Japan.
History
In April 1946, Kanto Auto Works was established in Y ...
. Due to cost-cutting efforts as a result of the Japanese economic recession caused by the collapse of the
Japanese asset price bubble
The was an economic bubble in Japan from 1986 to 1991 in which real estate and stock market prices were greatly inflated. In early 1992, this price bubble burst and the country's economy stagnated. The bubble was characterized by rapid acceler ...
, both vehicles were cancelled and ceased production in Japan on June 6, 1998. The market segment occupied by the Sprinter Marino and Corolla Ceres was served by a new concept of vehicles Toyota manufactured under the
WiLL
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
brand, that was shared with products from other Japanese manufacturers and service providers.
File:1994 Toyota Sprinter-Marino 01.jpg, Sprinter Marino (facelift)
File:1994-1998 Toyota Sprinter Marino rear.jpg, Sprinter Marino (facelift)
File:1994 Toyota Corolla-Ceres 01.jpg, Corolla Ceres (facelift)
File:Toyota corollaceres ae100 ftypeextrapackage 1 r.jpg, Corolla Ceres (facelift)
The hardtop approach was used on various segments of core Toyota sedans by offering a more upscale hardtop version. These cars were offered for consumers who wanted the luxurious approach offered by the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
hardtop and sedan, as well as the
Mark II (4-door sedan),
Cresta
Cresta may refer to:
* Cresta, Gauteng
Cresta is a suburb of Randburg, Gauteng, Randburg, South Africa, situated near the border of Johannesburg.
Although it is mostly a residential area, in the middle is Cresta Shopping Centre, for which the ...
(4-door hardtop) and
Chaser (4-door hardtop and performance enhancements), and the next segment down on the
Corona and
Carina
Carina may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Carina, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane
* Carina Heights, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane
* Carina, Victoria, a locality in Mildura
Serbia
* Carina, Osečina, a village in the Kolubara District
...
, called the
Corona EXiV and the
Carina ED which were all offered at reduced prices and
reduced tax liability based on the vehicles size and engine displacement. The Ceres/Marino twins saw competition from other Japanese manufacturers in this size classification, such as the
Nissan Presea, the
Mazda Lantis, and the
Honda Integra.
Features
Powertrain
The Sprinter Marino was available with four options, the more common 1587 cc Twin Cam 16 Valve DOHC 4AFE engine, 1498 cc Twin Cam 16 Valve DOHC 5AFE, the rare 1587 cc Twin Cam 20 Valve DOHC Silver Top 4AGE and the even rarer 1587 cc Twin Cam 20 Valve Black Top 4AGE. The Silver Top 4AGE engine produces 160 hp (at 7500 rpm) and the 2nd most powerful of the high performance 4A-GE Toyota motors ever made, only beaten by the Black Top 4A-GE which is around more powerful (available in the Sprinter Marino 1997 to 1998 with 6 speed manual or 4 speed auto).
The Marino featured a specially developed five-speed
manual gearbox
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canadian English, Canada, British English, the United Kingdom and American English, the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed ...
as well as an automatic version and optional
limited slip differential
A limited-slip differential (LSD) is a type of differential gear train that allows its two output shafts to rotate at different speeds but limits the maximum difference between the two shafts. Limited-slip differentials are often known by the ...
.
Safety
A driver's airbag was available after 1995. Automatic door locking was a mandatory feature on the vehicle beginning in its first year of production (1991) – as per Japanese vehicular law (1991) whereby all vehicles for the JDM must lock all doors at .
Trim
References
External links
GAZOO.com Toyota Sprinter Marino X 1992 Car of the Year (Japanese)
{{Toyota
Sprinter Marino
Sedans
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
1990s cars
Touring cars