Don't give up on Toyota yet! Japanese giant lodges trademark for reborn MR2, which would keep the fast-moving Chinese brands in its wake

Toyota's MR2 revival appears to have taken a step closer to reality, with the Japanese giant recently lodging a trademark application in Australia, and in Japan, that only fuels the heavy rumours the iconic sports car is about to make a comeback.

The trademark application, part of a flurry of Toyota activity earlier this year, was lodged in February and submitted for approval on April 17 in Australia, securing the badge MRS.

The MR2 was known as the MR-S in Japan, which stood for Midship Runabout - Sports, but was coined the MR2 (for two-seater) in international markets.

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The lodgement follows the unveiling of a new mid-ship concept car at the Tokyo Auto Salon, in which a 2.0-litre turbo-charged four-cyclinder engine was housed behind the front seats. That unveiling followed the reveal of the FT-Se Concept in 2023, again a mid-engined performance car offering.

All signs point to go for a reborn MR2, or at least a mid-engined performance car, inspiring artists at TopGear Phillipines to conjure the renders you see in this story, imagining what the new MR2 could look like.

With clear nods to its sharp-angled predecessor, the renders capture a modern take on a now-ageing icon – and would know doubt have customers queueing.

Renowned Toyota scoopers, Japan's Best Car Web, have long reported the return of the MR2, suggesting the new model will dodge electrification and will instead be powered by the brand's 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, producing up to 294kW.

2025 Toyota MR2 Render (TopGear Phillipines)

In terms of dates, most reports point to a late 2025 or 2026 launch for the reborn MR2, which would join the Supra and the also-rumoured Celica to complete Akio Toyoda's long-promised "three brothers" performance trilogy.