TUNE UP: AW11 Toyota MR2, the official car of 80s revival electronica

Toyota MR2 AW11 Mary PopKids Nightdrive

Electronica, it’s what all the kids are into these days. It’s like the 1980s all over again, especially in car choice, and the AW11 Toyota MR2 is apparently the go-to machine for music videos of 1980s electronica revival bands.  

And who could blame them? With its origami angles, flip-up headlights and techno ziggurat three-spoke wheels, it’s one of the most retro-futuristic cars of the era. First it was La Roux’s “In for the Kill,” now it’s Mary PopKids’ “Nightdrive.”

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17 Responses to TUNE UP: AW11 Toyota MR2, the official car of 80s revival electronica

  1. Ryan Senensky says:

    God I gotta get another one of these…

  2. Ryan Senensky says:

    1:16 my face anytime I drove my MR2.

    And for the record the name of the more electronicaish version is called New Retro Wave, its like Electro and Trance put together, very catchy.

  3. Lupus says:

    Very fine track, like it. If someone likes it I highly recommend ManiacSynth channel on YT. He has tons of such greatoo works of indepentent artists.

    The AW11 is grat too. A bit to small for my needs, but a classic is a classic. Amen. 🙂

  4. And now I’m having one of those “I feel old” moments. lol

    Great song. Great car. I need one.

  5. Bart says:

    I grew up in the 80s, playing with Japanese toys, listening to new wave, punk and industrial from the 80s, and so I agree, Japanese cars from the era are a perfect fit! It’s no wonder I like them so much!

  6. Midship Runabout says:

    I see that they have discovered the horror that is the AW11 “cupholder.”

    • bert says:

      The very first night I had my 86 MR2, my friend sacrificed his new Boss Wear jeans to save the seat from root beer after a hard left.

      I loved that car!

  7. burdickjp says:

    Makes me miss mine.

  8. Randy says:

    One of the better newer tunes I’ve heard in some time. Back then, I was more Depeche Mode and Fixx, of that genre, though still a rocker! 🙂 Pretty much anything on MTV, though. (For those too young to remember, MTV, used to mean “Music Television,” as opposed to “Mindless Crap.” They played actual, real M U S I C V I D E O S, rather than following a bunch of drunks around waiting for them to get into bar fights. I knew a girl who looked like the one in Journey’s “Separate Ways.” If you saw the video, you still remember her!)

    As far as the MR2, it was a simple design that just worked so well. Maybe it was the time… Pop-up headlights were much more common, and still look great, even today, and anything that had various controls on the instrument binnacle got bonus points.

    • Sum Juan says:

      Pop-up head light would still be around today if it were not for safety concerns.

      • Randy says:

        What actually are the safety concerns? There’s still bumper between you and the texting idiot. When the lights are down, it’s a smooth surface, and when they’re up, they seem to be pretty fragile…

        So, somebody ‘splain it to me.

  9. cesariojpn says:

    I had to listen to a ton of Eurobeat to get this song out of my head. I got the feeling it’s a really bad Pentatonix rip-off.

  10. Tofuik says:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpDn4-Na5co I would say anything 80’s is fitting. But Euro supercars fit the best.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1NAhlVRaZ4 Although this is a pretty good matchup.

  11. Sum Juan says:

    They couldn’t get a SC?

  12. feral4mr2 says:

    cool.. I wonder if they knew the boot was open the whole time…..

  13. Vince Lucketti says:

    I’m a few days late to the party but I had to share. Plus I’m a music geek so I couldnt help myself. The music in the video and the genre that best revives the 80’s in known as synth-pop, sometimes referred to as indie-dance. There is so much good synth-pop out there right now that it will blow your mind. A ton of it is coming out of Australia and the trend started in the early 2000’s, but now there are artists from all parts of the globe. Some of the good groups to check out are Holy Ghost! (my favorite), Cut Copy, Ladyhawke, Empire of the Sun, Chvrches, MNDR, and of course Chromeo. You can thank me later. 😉

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