The Toyota Corona (Japanese: トヨタ・コロナ, Toyota Korona) is an automobile manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota through ten generations between 1957 and 2001. Traditionally, the competitor from Nissan was the Nissan Bluebird. The word "corona" is Latin for "crown", a reference to an earlier vehicle Toyota offered called the Toyota Crown. It was exclusive to Toyopet Store dealership channels in Japan, while the larger Crown was available only at Toyota Store locations.
In many countries, the Corona was one of Toyota's first international export models, and was shortly joined by the smaller Toyota Corolla, providing buyers with a choice of a larger car, with similar operating expenses to the smaller Corolla. The Corona was Toyota's second sedan in their hierarchy of products, just below the Crown, until 1968 when the Corona name was used on a larger, all new platform called the Toyota Corona Mark II, which gave buyers more interior space while still offering dependable, affordable performance.
The Corona became successful in export markets and was marketed under a number of different nameplates worldwide—including those branded in much of Asia as Coronas marketed in European markets as Carinas.
Third generation (T40, T50; 1964–1970)
The third generation was introduced September 1964, one month before the 1964 Summer Olympics. It was available in sedan, two-door hardtop, three-door van, five-door station wagon (also as a van), two coupé utility variants and a five-door hatchback. Italian designer Battista Farina assisted in the styling of the new Corona. The 40–43 series were reserved for sedans, while commercial vehicles (and wagons) were in the 46 and 47 series. Hardtops received 50–55 series model codes, while 56 was reserved for the five-door hatchback. The 1965 model marked a return of Toyota to the American market after withdrawing there temporarily in 1961.
A public demonstration of the new Corona's performance was done on the Meishin Expressway, where the new model was tested to 100,000 kilometres (62,137.1 mi), and was able to sustain speeds of 140 km/h (87 mph). The Corona was released one year after the debut of the Corona's traditional competitor, the Nissan Bluebird. Toyota introduced a smaller vehicle to address the market that needed a more fuel efficient vehicle, called the Toyota Corolla in November 1966. This allowed the Corona to increase in size and offer more passenger and cargo room over previous generations. 0–97 km/h (0–60 mph) time was 15.1 seconds.
Originally, commercial models (three-door van, coupé utility, and double-cab coupé utility) utilized the 1,198 cc 2P engine, with 55 PS (40 kW) at 5,000 rpm. This allowed for a maximum load of 500 kg (1,102 lb) for the two-seater versions and 300 kg (661 lb) for the five-seaters. Heavier loads were better accommodated by the Toyota Stout, while larger commercial grade trucks became available at Toyota Diesel Store locations. 1967 also saw the debut of a cab over van equipped for both commercial and commuting duties using the Corona engines, called the Toyota HiAce, offering more payload than the Corona was suited for.
The coupé utility was produced by the former Central Motors between October 1964 and August 1968.
Top speed for the 1.2-litre Corona is 110 km/h (68 mph). In January 1967 this also became available as a five-door van. In April 1967, the larger and more powerful 3P (1.35-litre) and 2R (1.5-litre) engines became available, replacing the lesser 2P in most markets. Power of these were 77 and 65 PS (57 and 48 kW) respectively.
The Toyota automatic transmission, marketed as Toyoglide, was introduced on this version of the Corona. The 4R (12R in Australian versions) engine that had a displacement of 1587 cc was equipped with a twin SU carburetor (Australian models with 12R engine had one double barrel Aisin downdraft carburetor), and was capable of 90 bhp (67 kW; 91 PS). Disc brakes were also introduced for the front wheels. Exports of this Corona proved popular in the US and Europe, with increased engine performance and durability improvements over previous versions. In September 1967 alone, Toyota produced 80,000 cars, with 30,000 being Coronas.
In 1967 in Japan, the 1,587 cc DOHC 9R engine was available in the RT55 1600GT 2-door coupe. This engine was essentially the 4R engine with a new twincam head based on the same technology as the twincam engine in the 2000GT.
Foreign assembly
The Corona was the first Toyota assembled in New Zealand, from February 1967 at Steel Brothers' Motor Assemblies in Christchurch. It was also built by Shinjin Motor in South Korea from 1966 until 1972. Shinjin Motor was a predecessor to Daewoo and soon switched to assembling General Motors products. The Corona was also assembled by Australian Motor Industries in Melbourne, with the 12R engine.
South African assemblies commenced in 1966, with the car reaching a fifteenth position on the 1967 sales charts.
Corona Mark II (T60, T70; 1968–1972)
For more information, see Toyota Mark II.
September 1968 saw the release of a larger model called the Corona Mark II. It was a slightly larger vehicle than the Corona with a higher level of equipment offered at the time, sharing some of the features of the larger Crown, but taking the top position at Toyopet Store locations.
The Corona Mark II is longer, at 4,295 mm (169.1 in) over the Corona's length of 162.4 in (4,125 mm) for the sedan, and the coupe, with a width of 1,610 mm (63.4 in) in comparison to 61 in (1,549 mm) for the sedan and coupe. The height of the Mark II is lower at 1,405 mm (55.3 in) over 1,420 mm (55.9 in) for the sedan, but higher at 1,374 mm (54.1 in) for the coupé.
After 1972, this was spun off as a separate platform, eventually dispensing with the "Corona" part of the name.
Source: Wikipedia
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