This humble Starlet quietly made Toyota history — it was the first Toyota passenger car ever to use rack-and-pinion steering.
Median 60 hp across 133 similar cars
Lead trim: 2K 1.0 L (KP60) · up to 74 hp
Toyota Starlet P60 second generationP60 · 1978–1984
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Toyota Starlet P60 second generation yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThis humble Starlet quietly made Toyota history — it was the first Toyota passenger car ever to use rack-and-pinion steering.
Introduced in February 1978 and the first Starlet extensively sold outside Japan, particularly well received in Europe, as a 3/5-door hatchback with a 5-door wagon (the Van in Japan) added in October 1978. Engines were the 993 cc 2K (KP60), 1,166 cc 3K (KP62) and 1,290 cc 4K (KP61), the last with fuel injection as the 4K-E in the Si. It was the first Toyota passenger car with rack-and-pinion steering, with MacPherson struts and a four-link coil-sprung rear (leaf springs on the van). Trims ran Standard, DX, GL, XL, S, Si, Sprint, SE and Lisse, with the Sprint sharing alloy wheels with early AE86 Corollas. A 1980 facelift brought square headlights and a 1983 second facelift a slant nose. The three-door KP61 was the only Starlet ever sold in the US (1981–84 model years), with EFI and a four-speed for 1983–84. The page gives no power figures for this generation.
Collectors Spotted in the Toyota Starlet Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Toyota Starlet yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2K 1.0 L (KP60) | 1978–1984 | 1.0 L Inline-4 | 44 hp | 48 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 3K 1.2 L (KP62) | 1978–1984 | 1.2 L Inline-4 | 67 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| 4K 1.3 L (KP61) | 1978–1984 | 1.3 L Inline-4 | 74 hp | 77 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Toyota gave right-hand-drive Starlets their own unique dashboard, while left-hand-drive versions just borrowed the one from the Tercel and Paseo instead.
This Starlet could be had with full-time four-wheel drive — but only in Japan. The EP85 AWD model never officially reached any other market.
This was the generation that finally switched the Starlet to front-wheel drive — the nameplate had been rear-wheel drive for the eleven years before it.
The P70 was the first Starlet ever built outside Japan: a 1.0-litre XL assembled in Indonesia in 1985, with the bigger 1.3-litre joining the local line a year later.
This humble Starlet quietly made Toyota history — it was the first Toyota passenger car ever to use rack-and-pinion steering.
A 1972 rule change let Toyota and Yamaha build a 16-valve DOHC head for this humble Starlet coupe, turning a shopping car into a class-dominating racer.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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