The Soarer made its first appearance at the 1980 Osaka International Motor Show with the name "EX-8". The Z10 series Toyota Soarer was produced from February 1981 to December 1985, with 2.0L, 2.8L or 3.0L DOHC I-6 variants.
At its introduction in 1981, it won the Car of the Year Japan Award.
The first-generation Soarer debuted with a rear-wheel-drive configuration[4] based on the A60 Supra. It boasted numerous technological items, such as a touchscreen computer-controlled air conditioning climate control (Electro Multi Vision Display, on all models except the base models which featured standard fan/heater controls), digital speed and tachometer display using LEDs (that were differentiated between models), among other electronic features. Due to the compliance of Japanese external dimension and engine displacement regulations, the first-generation models were classified as "compacts", which gave Japanese buyers tax saving advantages.
