Toyota MR2 with "variable Valve Timing"?

[GasSavers_Ryland]

I was looking at the intake manifold for a 1987 toyota MR2 today, and noticed that even tho it is a 4 cylender engine, it has 8 intake ports on the manifold, one for each of the 8 intake valves, and every other intake opening had a butterfly valve... alowing half the intake valves to go unused even tho they were being opened, or so I can only assume.
I thought this was a great way to keep the air velosity high at low RPM, and still alow it to rev high, and with much lower cost then a VVT head, imagine the number of engines out there that could simply have their intake manifold replaced, and alow them to get better mileage at lower engine speeds.