The Sera debuted in 1988 as the Toyota AXV-II concept car in a near production-ready form, and is noted for its mostly glass roof canopy and its butterfly doors, which tilt up and forward when open.

Mechanically the car is related to both the Paseo and the Starlet, sharing similar floorpans, suspension, steering and brakes.

The Sera's butterfly doors are hinged at the top center of the windscreen, and bottom of the A pillar and open forward and up in a manner similar to the McLaren F1 and Saleen S7 - the McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray cited the Sera as the inspiration of the F1's door arrangement.

This, in combination with a steeply sloping front windscreen and glass upper-door/roof panels (a total of six separate glass pieces overall), gives the Sera its distinctive canopy and provides expansive visibility, although the thick B-pillar create a significant blind spot, especially on the driver's side.

To deal with its high solar load, air-conditioning and twin removable interior roof panels are standard.

Front bucket seats feature three point seatbelts and can tilt and slide forward to give access to the rear.

Toyota produced the Sera in three distinct trim variants, with either manual or automatic transmission, standard or ABS brakes and regular stereo or Super-Live Sound System ("SLSS") forming the three major choices for buyers.