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

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2025 Toyota MR2 Render (TopGear Phillipines)
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
4 May 2025
2 min read

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.

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)
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.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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