If there is one car that has built its popularity and reputation on being boring, it’s the Toyota Camry. Make no mistake that through the years, the Camry has been a safe bet for those seeking dependable, reliable, and predictable transportation, with few surprises. Yet through those years and through the hundreds of thousands of Camrys sold each year, Toyota has thrown us a few curveballs by way of the Camry. One such was the 1994-1996 Camry coupe — the Camry that dared to be sporty and personal.
Now despite its rather sedate, largely anti-enthusiast reputation in the recent years, Toyota is not a brand without a performance pedigree, having been a purveyor of sports cars since the mid-1960s. While early efforts such as the Sports 800 and 2000GT were low-volume editions, by the 1980s Toyota had a repertoire of popular sports cars including the Celica, MR2, and Supra.
Yet by the early-1990s, as Toyota was chasing Honda for first place in the midsize segment and for the title of best-selling car in America, it became evident that Honda was offering something in its Accord that Toyota lacked in its Camry — a two-door bodystyle.
While sedans were indisputably the volume leaders by far, in the days before jack-of-all-trade CUVs, many automakers actually offered multiple bodystyles of popular mainstream models to broaden their appeal — who knew? So while Toyota beat Honda to the market with its Camry wagon in 1987, Honda soon released its Accord coupe (not to be confused with the 3-door Accord hatch) in 1988, followed by an Accord wagon in 1991.
It’s unclear if plans for a Camry coupe came late into development of the XV10 generation (1992-1996), but regardless, the coupe didn’t join its sedan and wagon counterparts until late-1993, as a 1994 model. Like its Accord coupe competitor, the Camry coupe sported virtually unchanged (apart from 2 fewer doors) styling, with an ever so greater sloped roofline that required side-by-side comparison to tell if it was actually any different from the sedan.
Following a decades old American automobile industry practice, Toyota priced its 2-door Camrys less than comparable 4-door models, albeit by several hundred dollars. Available in four trim levels, DX, LE, LE V6, and SE V6, the coupe eschewed the sedan’s range-topping XLE trims in favor of offering most of its comfort and convenience upgrades as extra cost items on LE and SE models.
Hardly a model with many meaningful performance modifications, much as the Camry SE is today, “Sport Edition” SE coupes added blacked out trim, 5-spoke alloy wheels, a rear spoiler, firmer suspension, front sport buckets seats and the V6 engine as standard. Oddly enough, SE coupes were only available with automatic transmissions. Presumably due to low popularity of manual transmissions with Camry buyers, beginning in 1994, Toyota limited availability of the standard 5-speed manual to base DX coupes and sedans with the 4-cylinder only.
Which is what makes this 1995 Camry such a unicorn, at least as far as Camrys are concerned. Of the 326,632 Camrys Toyota sold in the U.S. during 1995, it’s probable to bet that close to 300,000 of them were automatic DX and LE sedans alone. Divide the rest among the SE and XLE sedans, the wagons, and finally coupes, and odds are that there weren’t more than 1,000-2,000 manual transmission Camry coupes produced in 1995, making the total amount of manual transmission Camry coupes only a few thousand more at most.
What the Camry coupe lacked in sportiness and differentiation from the sedan, it made up for in refinement and overall packaging. Generally regarded as the best generation of Camry ever, the 1992-1996 “XV10” Camry struck accord with American buyers and critics alike for its enhanced truly midsize accommodations, new safety features and convenience options, more powerful four and six cylinder engines, and ever upscale near-Lexus levels of finish and fit, quietness, and styling.
The latter is no surprise, as after all, the Lexus ES300 was more or less the XV10 Camry in a more expensive, tailored suit, sharing the same platform, powertrain, and numerous hardware. In spite of this, the Camry coupe simply wasn’t unique or noteworthy enough to warrant much attention from its Camry sedan and other, sportier Toyota coupes.
Coupes, of course, were on the decline by the mid-1990s, and the Camry coupe wasn’t alone in getting sent to the guillotine. North American sales of the MR2 ceased in 1995, while the Supra was withdrawn from the Canadian market in 1996 and the U.S. market in 1998. The sport-compact Paseo was also dropped from Toyota’s U.S. lineup in 1997.
What’s interesting is that while the Camry coupe was such a slow seller, it was given a second chance on life in 1999, albeit with a few things the 1994-1996 lacked, in the form of the Camry Solara. Despite sharing its chassis and other mechanical components with the XV20 Camry sedan, the Camry Solara coupe gained completely unique styling with completely exclusive sheetmetal, slightly firmer suspension tuning, and minor output increases from both engines.
Badged as the “Solara”, and only referred to as the “Camry Solara” in marketing, the model soon added a convertible bodystyle for the first time in the Camry’s history. The convertible soon proved more popular than the hardtop coupe, and largely made a case for the model’s continued existence through 2008, though by then even Floridians, snowbirds, and the limited amount of rental agencies Toyota sold to weren’t enough to keep the Solara around.
The funny thing of course about the Camry coupe is that while it wasn’t popular in real life, on paper, it had all the attributes that should’ve made it popular. Reputable Toyota reliability and dependability, coupled with the aforementioned positive qualities of the XV10 Camry sedan, the XV10 Camry coupe seemed like a winning formula. While it was hardly an emotionally stimulating car, as it was becoming clear to Toyota, “boring” (and I mean that in the most positive and praiseworthy way possible) was what Toyota buyers wanted.
Had it come a decade earlier, it very likely would have been far more popular. Unfortunately, coupes just weren’t what buyers of most any car brand wanted by the mid-1990s, let alone comfort-oriented ones with manual transmissions. And yet we have this 1995 Toyota Camry DX manual coupe… Who knew a Camry could be a unicorn?
Photographed in Hanson, Massachusetts – August 2018
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Heres a real Camry unicorn a 90 development model, my sisters car, very rare only sold in one market, this isnt the world model everyone got, theres still a few around today but parts dont match the world models the engine was different, they were fast too 240kmh flat out but gas hungry to go with it all that was changed for the world market cars.
That sounds really fascinating! Please provide more details!!
I’m likewise curious for more details.
Don’t hold your breath. Bryce has been making references to this car for quite a few years now, and this fuzzy picture is all he can come up with to support his claim. I’m rather suspicious….
Knowing the NZ marker very well, I can confirm that many, many of Bryces claims are at least ummmm, over-enthusiastic at best, pure fabrications at worst.
At least give me the rego Bryce…… looks like any other XV10 NZ new rep-mobile……
I’d have to find the original photo which I cant but it was one of the beta test models only sold in NZ, they were only V6 full leather 40k+ new so not the Aussie built repmobiles that turned up later, there are still a few of them around a mate of mine had one in beater form recently. If you know anything about the NZ market you’d know about these cars.
RA6584 its a 91, I was wrong on the year but well before Australian production began in fact it was traded on an Australian 93 model Camry which quickly showed the differences I’m told, this one has a 3VZFE engine which apparently wasnt used in the world version, Customer feedback was listened to and changes were made for better fuel economy plus other changes and NZ new Camrys came with stiffer shocks and a faster steering rack than other markets got, For some unfathomable reason Toyota looked after this markets unusual requirements, allowing people like Chris Amon to surf their parts bin to modify Coronas to suit our roads and an apology for the water soluble panels sent here for assembly in the past, Kiwis boight boat loads of Toyotas and they were apparently appreciated
“this one has a 3VZFE engine which apparently wasnt used in the world version”
That was the same motor our XV10 V6 camries got for a few years until Toyota moved to an all-alloy 1MZ-FE. So sounds like a nice car, but certainly nothing particularly special or exotic.
The V6 Camry in the US, with the 3VZ-FE, could do the following:
0-60 7.8-8.3
15.6-15.8 @ 85-88
130-135
The V6 in the XV20 was even faster–0-60 in 7.0 with the 5-speed CE, but those are VERY rare. (Plymouth Road Runner of the ’90s–a sleeper).
240 kph = 155 mph ?
215 kph = appx. 130-135 mph?
Another Camry unicorn, mostly due to age, would be the 1st generation 5 door liftback….or any 1st generation model, I guess.
I think it probably says a lot about the thinking at Toyota and Honda, or at least the US arms of these 2 companies, that Toyota would add a station wagon to the sedan in their mid-sized lineup before adding a coupe while Honda would add the coupe before the wagon.
Would love to find a nicely kept LE V6 Camry coupe, with the manual, but that would be the unicorn of unicorns.
There must be a couple around Atlanta, if you look at the “Starcourt Mall” promo for Season 3 of Stranger Things and freeze frame on the parking lot there’s a couple of firstgen Camrys, a mid-80s Corolla and an early Integra – all 5-doors.
Along with more ’50s daily drivers than a road-salt state like Indiana would’ve seen in the mid/late ’80s…
“Would love to find a nicely kept LE V6 Camry coupe, with the manual, but that would be the unicorn of unicorns.”
I have seen one! Circa 2009 a friend of a roommate had one in his garage, it was an orangey-red color (though it could have been oxidized red). It had a seized A/C compressor. I tried to get this guy to part with it but no dice. I remember it had something like 63k on the odometer. Was a right pain in the ass, IIRC, to get at the A/C compressor…
He knew what he had. No idea what ever happened to it; my roommate had a falling out with this guy and that was that.
Actually saw one about a month ago on 287 right by the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Hark! You must, of course, be referring to the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, correct?
Actually both. The Camry was on the highway close to both the old bridge and its replacement. But yes, I drove over the new one.
Great catch, I have only ever seen one Camry Hatchback in person.
Interesting. That’s the only style they sold them in here. Australia never got that model in sedan form – we had the horrible old RT140 Corona for sedan buyers.
Australian horror of FWD the Nissan bluebird FWD conversion model never showed up either the old RWD was kept in production.
> Generally regarded as the best generation of Camry ever, the 1992-1996 “XV10” Camry struck accord with American buyers and critics alike
I see what you did there…
Glad someone could Focus on my Fusion of Japanese midsize sedan pun 🙂
In ’96, Florida Toyota dealers were fond of playing the “one only at this price” game. Frequently, that would be a Camry DX 2 door with crank windows, manual locks and a 5-speed. I was shopping for a new car with a stick shift, and those Camrys were right at the top of my budget. I ended up cross shopping them against Golf and Jetta GLs. The Camry reminded me of the Pegeot 504s in Chile. Competent handling, light on power, soft but comfortable seats, soft suspension with a nice ride but a pronounced pitch forward on upshift. I decided instead to take the VW’s teutonic feel and risk its iffy build quality. My VW turned out to be the worst lemon I have ever owned, but i really enjoyed driving it when it was working.
I have always wondered if I would have enjoyed the Camry enough to take advantage of its longevity. That series of Camry was an amazing car, if not quite what I was looking for at the time. It felt luxurious and robust in a way that Toyota never seemed to capture again. I think i would have bought one if I could have found a four door for the money, but I really didn’t want to deal with a two door with children in car seats.
With regards to longevity, I know plenty of people who had XV10 Camrys well into the 2010s, many of them having purchased them new or slightly used in the 1990s.
I actually have always wondered a similar “what if” situation with the XV10 Camry regarding my mother. She owned two Camrys of its preceding V20 generation, but when I was about 1 year old in 1994 purchased a new Jeep Grand Cherokee because it was a car that intrigued her, but also because of the whole SUV “safety and security” confidence.
I can only wonder if I came a few years later that she might have been long-term Camry buyer.
Yes, these were very durable. I’ve found, though, that most Toyota don’t keep me entertained well enough to keep them for too many years. The same holds true with most cars. For whatever reason, the cars that I have still been enamored with after several years have mostly been Volkswagens. I hoped that the Camry’s plush feel might keep me happy, but was afraid that it wouldn’t. Since the VW turned out to be so problematic, I replaced it witha stick shift Accord. Nice car, but I was happy to pass it to the kids four years later because I was bored with it.
Perhaps i should just give up and plan to replace them every few years instead of trying to buy cars to keep for 10+ years. Over the last decade, I’ve had 3 three-year cars (for reasons unrelated to boredom) and found that I really enjoyed the frequent changes.
Saw a super clean red ’95 2-door Camry in a Minneapolis parking garage a few years ago. As usual, I was flipping out while my wife couldn’t care less!
Of all the 2 door variants Toyota Australia did not offer, I am at least grateful we missed out on this one…
Chariot of the gods, from the sound of it. Amazing.
Learn something new every day… I do not remember these base ones being called a DX at all, very strange they would go with the same base level trim name as Hondas of the time. The renaming of the DX trim to CE in 1997 made more sense with the LE/XLE/SE nomenclature Toyota had.
CE made more sense, though interestingly enough it stood for “Classic Edition” as per the E100 Corolla which it debuted on. I guess “classic” was supposed to mean “basic”?
I always found these (along with the similar Accord coupes) fascinating cars. Both Toyota and Honda had kept their sedans and coupes strongly separated under different model names (Celica and Prelude). But then 2 door models got added to the Accord and Camry lines. I asked myself at the time why this was necessary. I think the market agreed with me.
Although I tend to like 2 door cars, I think I prefer the looks of the sedan in this one. I had actually forgotten that these even existed.
PJ,
This is similar to the ’85 Electra coupe or the ’86-88 Taurus MT5 situation. Everyone KNEW these were out there, but I’ve only seen 2-3 in my life.
Great find, Mr Saur!
I’m wondering if this could be the start to a new CC series: Super rare versions of super common cars. Would be really interesting to see what we can come up with!
Great idea!
Ford Taurus MT5
Alfa Romeo Milano/33
Peugot 505 wagon
Nissan Maxima wagon
Camry All-Trac or Celica All-Trac
6000STE AWD or Celebrity VR
Beretta Z26
Tempo GTX
Ford LTD LX (’84-85 with 302)
Volvo 780
I always thought these looked cool. Kind of like a contemporary LS coupe, and handsomer-looking than the Soarer-based SC that was in fact Lexus’ coupe at the time.
My favorite Camry, the market was so much better back when a model wasn’t one bodystyle, and had a diverse color palette like these had. I remember this generation Camry almost exclusively in primary colors, never silver, rarely white and only occasionally black. The coupe was really good looking for the time too, in SE form they blend right in with sports coupes of the same time – squint and it looks like a mix between 240SX and a SN95 Mustang.
The Solara never worked as well, I can’t put my finger on exactly why, but I don’t think bespoke sheetmetal was necessary, and with a new(and meaninglessly awful) name it seemed less honest about it. I have long held the conspiracy theory that Toyota wanted to maintain favor by the dull majority buying their cars by dropping every last sporty car from the lineup to seem as though no effort was diverted to such riffraff, later to launch Scion to keep their toes in the sporty market, but without tainting that precious Toyota badge, and the Solara may have been that for the Camry model early on – a coupe (AND wagon) variant of the same name may imply maximum recources couldn’t be fully utilized to make the sedan! – Crazy or not I’m actually surprised the Solara lasted as long as it did, they had some initial success in my area but I rarely see any after the first generation, and became somewhat of a joke afterwards.
And my god, was there a collision repair with the hood changed to a used black one with a bra and left on while it was repainted? Yikes!
The 2-door is the only Camry I’ve ever considered. The ’94-’96 looked great, and its successor, the Solara was even better. I seriously considered a convertible version in 2000 when I ultimately purchased my slightly used ’97 GTP Coupe. Swaying my decision was the fact that my wife at the time was a tech at a Pontiac dealership… Taking her to lunch one day and seeing that car, well, the rest is history. A buddy of mine bought one of those Solaras, black with tan top and and a tan leather interior, and, after seeing it, I questioned my decision to buy the Grand Prix. I still to this day have not scratched that convertible itch yet. Without a garage in which to keep it, this may be why I hesitate to buy the ultimate 2 door body style. ;o)
Sitting here in a north Florida supermarket parking lot (PUBLIX, of course) and one of these 2 doors pulls up and parks opposite me.
To my eyes, each generation of Solara had a nicer looking interior compared to its four-door Camry equivalent. Maybe I’m just a sucker for fake wood.
You’re not alone. I always thought the Solara’s interior was a step above whatever the concurrent Camry sedan’s interior was, especially the final years. I think it was part of Toyota’s positioning of the model, as well as to bridge the gap between the Camry and the ES, as Lexus lacked a coupe below the SC at this point.
The first gen Solara was a very nice car, the interior was entry-level lux and the exterior lines and proportions looked good. You could even get one with the V6 and stick shift. One of Toyota’s better efforts over the years.
The second gen looks like a whale.
My friend parked next to a 2dr Camry from this generation two weeks ago, I told him “that car is almost 25 yrs old!” – he could care less.
About once every other month Ive seen two Camry XV10 wagons in excellent condition parked at a local grocery’s lot. I didn’t care for the C pillar when these were new, but would love to get a low mileage one today. The generation of Camry that followed was cheaper, as noted in Consumer Reports from late ‘96 or ‘97.
You sure don’t see 20-30 year old Fords, GMs or Chrysler products here in the rust belt, but you do see a lot of old Camrys and Accords.
Thank you for the write up on this reasonably rare car, especially one so pristine looking in the rust belt.
I have only seen one Camry Coupe stick shift like this and that was in the Sherwood, OR Pick N Pull. Sometimes I wish I had bought a Camry Coupe stick shift though my 1993 Camry Sedan stick shift is still enjoyable and besides, the wagon is the most practical.
my mom had a manual 96 coupe. Still see lots of these, but most are sedans.
When I first met my ex-wife, she was driving another Camry rare beast – a 1990 base sedan with a five speed and NO A/C.
I think she bought it super cheap because it was total lot poison.
The 1st gen 2 door Camry is a good example of a “2 door sedan”, sharing styling with a 4 door, as the olden days. While the Solara was a true ‘coupe’, with no 4 door body.
That would make the Solara a personal car, coupes based on sedans used to be common practice, and they were coupes then. The roofline is all that matters.
Is this a sedan because it has a 4 door counterpart with shared front and rear styling?
These always seemed so sensible and attractive to me. The Solara, too. I seem to see a few of them on the roads, even after all these years. I wonder if they were more popular in the midwest than on the coasts?
I was going to buy one for my son [4 door sedan]. I always thought it was the best looking Camry. To me it looked more north american design. Pulled out the oil dipstick it was milky sandy texture light tan color other than that it was a beautiful car.I believe it had a 2 litre belt driven ohc . Phoned a mechanic about the cost of replacing the timing belt and mentioned to him the color of the oil he said stay away from it he told me those engines were known for the head bolts coming loose over time. Bought my son another car instead.
I actually owned one of these (SE V-6) years ago. Smooth engine, quiet, with a high-quality feel all around. A great car, but the epitome of coupe disadvantages: needing more cargo space and a less-awkward back seat, I finally traded it in on a wagon. Still, loved that car faults and all.
I had a low mile 1996 4cylinder, but a sedan like 99% of everyone. It was beige, beige, beige, and I didn’t like the styling but it was exceptionally well built inside and out. Never did experience a V6 5spd from these coupes, that power train with the additional suspension firmness would have made it a longer term keeper.
A first gen Solara is really what you want if you are looking for a Camry coupe. It wears the 2-door styling more comfortably, has a bespoke interior, and took a bit of the excessive softness out of the suspension and steering tunes.
Would have loved a 5-speed DX wagon with the V6. Surprise a few Foxes at the stoplight!
Hey guys guess what i own a 1994 v6 toyota camry coupe white its my baby this was my first car and still have it to this day. I love it i live in bakersfield c.a all my life and still have not seen another one like it .. I have sytem in it alarm new tires and rims i only take her out on special occations everytime i go some where in it everyone is always want to buy it off me but i still cant let go it has low mileage and believe me it runs like it just came out the dealer…😀😀😀 i love my coupe one of a kind…
Always kinda wished they had introduced these in 1992 with the others, although I know the wagon came late that year also. I always liked these coupes a lot and I think they would have looked good with the first round of fabrics and interior touches that went away in 1994, such as the puddle lamps on the front doors, and the power window switch for the driver that had lighting for each window switch. Just one of those cars where I really liked the first year of the color combos and fabric choices. I feel that way about the ’92 Taurus and Sable as well. Those 1992 Sable two-toned paint jobs were sharp. Would have been nice to see the Camry coupe at the height of “fatness” for this gen in late 1991-into 1992. Just my random thoughts.
I always found it interesting as well how the wagon and coupe for the Camry were not offered in XLE trims. A well optioned LE V6 could give the impression of an XLE though.
I had a 1992 LE V6 Sedan in emerald green metallic. Was a great car. The 1999 I had was good but I could see and feel some of the contenting. Got the 2004 Avalon XLS after that, which feels, in a lot of ways like the solid car that the ’92 Camry was.
I just remember the Gen 3 Camry being one of those cars that despite it still being a basic box, it was a car that somewhat stated “We have arrived” to friends and neighbors. It was a fairly aspirational car at the time. These were a big deal in the 90’s. I was 18 and a graduating senior when I bought my ’92 from my Aunt in 2005, with 84k. But after driving my ’95 Tercel DX for most of high school and a ’92 Taurus before that, I remember being thoroughly impressed with that 13-year old Camry. Impressed enough that I held onto it for a long, long time.
decontenting* spell check corrected it to the wrong word.
I got a 94 2dr earlier this year from Costa Mesa area in Ca. 188k white,auto.Love it! It’s in NJ now. May sell it.
Still looking to sell? If so, email me at Nanovor4444@gmail.com