Toyota's cut-price performance hero! Mid-engined monster co-developed with Suzuki to beat Lotus as its own game - reports

Toyota is poised to unveil a new mid-engine performance king, with the model - co-developed with Suzuki - designed to deliver lightweight thrills in the style of a Lotus.

And unlike the reborn MR2 project - which is expected to be the brand's first GR-branded EV - this model will be fitted with tiny petrol engine driving the rear wheels.

That's according to news out of Japan, at least, where Best Car Web reports the new mid-ship model will be fitted with a turbocharged 1.0-litre engine and share its platform with the impressive Yaris.

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The platform is Toyota's TNGA GA-B architecture, which partly underpins the GR Yaris, while the engine is reportedly coming from Suzuki.

If that's the case, it will likely be a version of the brand's direct-injection Boosterjet turbo, which in its current iteration, produces 82kW at 5500rpm and 160Nm at 1500pm, and sips just 5.2L/100km on combined cycle.

Granted, those outputs aren't particularly super, but given Toyota has squeezed 200kW from its own 1.6-litre, three-cylinder engine used in its GR products, the outputs of the Boosterjet's engine could also grow.

In fact, earlier reports have pointed to the engine being tuned up to more like 120kW - delivering on the power-to-weight promise - while a Suzuki six-speed torque converter automatic is expected to handle the gear-change duties.

The pint-sized powerhouse is expected to launch in Toyota, Suzuki and possibly even Daihatsu guises, and price will be a driving factor, with the brands expected to keep costs as low as possible. Some reports point to a US dollar starting price of around $25,000, with the model recapturing the cut-price performance ethos of the original Toyota 86.

Reports point to the new model being released in 2025. So watch this space.