The town of Ensenada lies some 70 miles down the Pacific Coast from Tijuana, in Mexico’s Baja California region. Fender opened a small packaging plant there in 1987, but within a few years, the factory was producing mid-priced versions of the classic Fender designs.

In 1998, the Toronado was the first-ever Mexican designed and built Fender. It was a solid-body electric with an offset waist and two humbucking pickups. Four different finishes were available (“Arctic White”, “Black”, “Brown Sunburst”, and “Candy Apple Red”).

An American version of the instrument was introduced in 2002 with two new color schemes: “Butterscotch Blond” and “Crimson Transparent”.