The Toyota Starlet (Japanese: トヨタ・スターレット, Toyota Sutāretto) is a subcompact car manufactured by Toyota from 1973 until 1999, replacing the Publica, but retaining the Publica's "P" code and generation numbering. The first generation Starlet was sold as the Publica Starlet in some markets. In Japan, it was exclusive to Toyota Corolla Store dealers.
It is the first subcompact car from a Japanese automaker to offer a high-performance variant. These were available in three generations: the 1986–1989 Turbo S (EP71), the 1990–1995 GT Turbo (EP82), and the 1996–1999 Glanza V (EP91). Another variant was the Toyota Sera, a sport compact made in the early 1990s and officially sold only in Japan; the Sera had a unique two-door coupé body and butterfly doors but shared the Starlet's chassis and mechanicals.
The Starlet was briefly exported to North America from 1981 to 1984.
In 1999, the Starlet was replaced by the Vitz—sold as the Echo or Yaris in international markets—and the bB mini MPV, which was later sold as the Scion xB in Canada and the United States and as the Daihatsu Materia in Europe. However, Toyota effectively vacated the European city car market until the Aygo was launched in 2005.
The "Starlet" nameplate was revived in 2020 for a rebadged Suzuki Baleno hatchback, sold exclusively in some African countries (and in India under the "Glanza" name).
First generation (P40/P50; 1973-1978)
Initially launched in April 1973 as the higher-grade and bigger model of the Publica P30, the Starlet was offered with 1,000 and 1,200 cc engines. The coupé's wedgy design was developed from sketches made by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Model codes are KP40/KP45 for the sedan and coupé versions with the 1-litre engine and KP42/KP47 for the larger engined versions. Generally the car looked like a shortened Corolla. The body style was originally available only as a two-door coupé and was often referred to as a "Baby Celica." The four-door sedan arrived in October 1973. Grades offered were Standard, Deluxe, Hi-Deluxe, ST, and SR. The top models were also offered with a five-speed manual transmission. The single-carb 1.0-litre 2K engine develops 58 PS (43 kW) at 6,000 rpm while the 1.2 offers 68 PS (50 kW) at the same engine speed. The twin-carb 3K-BR engine with 9.0:1 compression ratio and 74 PS (54 kW) at 6,600 rpm used regular petrol, while a version with 10.0:1 compression (3K-B) running on premium petrol was offered in a single version of the top SR model. This engine has 77 PS (57 kW) at 6,000 rpm.
The Starlet coupé and four-door were never sold in Europe and were generally not seen in most export markets, Toyota instead choosing to focus on the lower-cost Publica (1000) two-door sedan and station wagon.
In February 1976, the Starlet underwent some changes, mainly to meet Japan's new emissions requirements. The 3K engine was replaced by the cleaner 1.2-litre 3K-U type, while the 1-litre option and the twin-carb 1.2 options were discontinued (in Japan, at least). With the update, the chassis number was changed to KP51 for both body styles. The new engine featured Toyota's TTC-C emissions control system with a catalytic converter and power accordingly dropped to 64 PS (47 kW) at 5,800 rpm. In September of the same year, the two-speed Toyoglide automatic gearbox became an option. The Starlet underwent an additional minor revision in January 1977; the ST version received intermittent wipers at this time. The first generation Starlet was discontinued in January 1978.
Source: Wikipedia
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