Toyota MR2 News

A mid-engined sports car remains in Toyota's plans, as development continues to trickle along. More details of the brand's potential mid-engined rocket have been revealed, by AutoNews.The car is now a race-testing prototype, but do not expect to see a production version any time soon, with it still up to five years away.Gazoo Racing President Tomoya Takahashi told AutoNews engineers are in the first of four stages to be completed before mass production.Takahashi also provided some further details on the engine for the car, confirming it will be powered by a 2.0-litre engine, likely with some hybrid-electric assistance.“At the highest level, the chairman is determined to continue manufacturing internal combustion engines. And when we had this new 2.0-litre engine, we decided to mount it to a midship car,” Takahashi told Auto News in November.“We developed it to fit in a small car like the GR Yaris because the packaging and engineering is more demanding,” he said.“If we can do that, we can easily deploy it in bigger vehicles.“If we are going to mount this engine on many different vehicles, it’s almost mandatory to be able to combine it with hybrid technology.“We will be making such development.”It is expected this hybrid system will combine the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and electric motor power, rumoured to produce a total output of 370kW and 550Nm.The car will also feature a dynamic all-wheel drive system, such as on the Toyota Yaris GR.It is thought this car could see the revival of the MR2 name, which was last seen on Toyota cars in the mid 2000s.Fuelling the fire for a potential return of the MR2 is a couple of recent intellectual property filings for the name from Toyota.The brand filed the trademark ‘GR MR2’ in Japan and ‘MR2’ in Australia in December 2025, but this could just have been to ensure no one else claimed the name. The midship sports car project remains in early development, and with it still potentially four or five years away from production, with the 2028 rumoured launch date seems unlikely. Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda posted on social media, ahead of the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon, alluding to the announcement of a new mid-engined machine, soon to be debuted.The mid-engined car teased was the not the much-anticipated return of the iconic MR2 coupe, but a customised mini truck.

A legendary sports car’s rebirth is in full swing. A federal government intellectual property filing has revealed Toyota’s legendary MR2 could make a return to Australia, after the Japanese company trademarked the name ‘MR2’ Down Under. The news comes after the brand filed the trademark ‘GR MR2’ in the Japan Patent Office’s information platform last week. The Aussie filing fuels speculation of the return of a coupe sports car from Toyota bearing one of its iconic nameplates, with rumours of it being either the Celica or the MR2. Last year, Toyota Australia lodged a trademark for the Celica name down under, which brought about expectations of it being the revived Toyota coupe rumoured. This recent trademark request pushes the MR2 name to the front of the line as the feisty coupe to make its return to Australia, not Celica. The MR2’s previous existence spanned more than three decades, with production ending in 2007. It was famed for its sports car pedigree, with a sleek two-door design. Being mid-engined and rear-wheel drive, it offered potential for some performance and racing capabilities on a budget, compared to the big hitters of the sports car industry.While Toyota has not revealed any technical details, it looks like the MR2 will receive a modern upgrade upon its return, with some of the brand’s finest hybrid tech. It could be powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and electric motor set-up, producing 370kW and 550Nm, with an all-wheel drive system. Another federal government IP filing shows an application for ‘GR MR-S’ to be trademarked by the brand in Australia. This opens the door to a second option. The future sports car could wear the GR MR-S badge, as the old MR2 was called MR-S in Japan.Or it could be a more potent version of the MR2 and fall under a potential new Gazoo Racing (GR) sub brand. Toyota's recently revealed V8-powered GR GT hinted at the formation of a new high-performance brand to rival Hyundai's N, and the MR2 could be a potent new weapon in its arsenal.It could also be Toyota is merely cornering off potential claims to its iconic nameplates as its revived sports car develops. It is unknown when we could expect the return of this two-door sports car from Toyota, but it is still in its infancy, with a rumoured launch in 2028. 

A Toyota mid-engined rocket looks to be fast approaching.

Toyota has pulled out all the stops at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, unveiling three striking examples of its GR Yaris hot hatch under the banner of ‘Car-making at Nürburgring’.These include a competition test and research prototype designed to extend the car’s potential on road and track.The GR Yaris M Concept features a mid-mounted, 2.0-litre, inline turbo four-cylinder engine and a full race set-up enabling it to compete in 24 hour endurance events which Toyota has consistently used as test bed for new designs and technology, with company Chairman Akio Toyoda (aka ‘Master Driver’ Morizo) a regular competitor in around the clock races at (the Toyota owned) Fuji Speedway.In recent years the key focus has been development of a competition version of the GR Corolla powered by a 1.3-litre, three-cylinder combustion engine using hydrogen as a liquid fuel.And now, the GR Yaris M Concept looks set to join it, with a full-house GRMN (Gazoo Racing Meister of the Nurburgring) version a possible production car development.Toyota says the car will be “repeatedly driven to failure and then repaired in the extreme conditions of racing, with feedback from Morizo and professional drivers incorporated”.Question is, why? The 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine is expected to be the brand's new performance halo that will invigorate its sports car line-up.The fact the engine is mounted mid-ship in the Yaris Mule suggests that, like MG did with a Metro van prior to the TF sports car's launch, Toyota might be testing its new MR2 layout in public. Interesting.Also on display is another “evolved”, although slightly more conventional, GR Yaris racing car. It features Gazoo Racing’s newly developed eight-speed ‘Direct Automatic Transmission’ (DAT).Toyota claims the DAT’s optimised software senses driver brake and accelerator inputs to anticipate optimal gear shift points before changes in vehicle behaviour occur.To be run by Toyota Gazoo Racing (in collaboration with Rookie Racing) in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Series (NLS) this competition Yaris will mark Toyota’s return to the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race after a six-year hiatus.The final member of the GR Yaris trio is an Aero Package prototype road car featuring six body elements including strakes in the nose, vented fender flairs and a variable rear wing (with “situation-responsive” adjustable angle).

Toyota has dropped another breadcrumb for us to follow on the path to a rumoured sports car onslaught.Rumours and speculation started to appear a few years ago about the revival of classic performance cars such as the Celica and MR2.Now an official Toyota Anime series, Grip, has hinted at the next-generation icons.Hidden on a whiteboard in the back of the frame were a range of cars: Supra Mk6, Celica Mk 8, MR2 Mk4, GR86 Mk3 and GR GT3.The GT3 car has been shown in concept form and the road going version was spied testing at the Nurburgring recently in the form of the Lexus LF-R and next-gen 86 and Supra are likely to follow.Japanese outlets such as Best Car, which is known for well placed sources in Toyota, has been reporting on the next-gen GR86 and the rebirth of the Celica and MR2 for some time.At the 2023 Tokyo motor show Toyota showed the FT-Se concept that screamed an electric MR2. It is expected to reach production in 2027 using Toyota's next-gen 'square cell' performance batteries.The company is also working on solid state batteries that are lighter, smaller, more energy dense, faster charging and less prone to fire than current cells and has earmarked 2028 for the first application to a production car.The Celica and GR86 could be hybrid-powered, though.Earlier this year it also revealed it was hard at work developing new engines that work better with hybrid power.A 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre turbocharged engine are under development.Best Car has repeatedly reported the mooted next-gen Celica would use a turbocharged 2.0-litre unit paired with hybrid power to deliver an astounding 300kW.The GR86 has previously been linked to hybrid power with the 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo engine found in the Yaris GR. The recent engine developments could mean it’ll house a 1.5-litre engine and hybrid set-up under its bonnet, though.It has been previously speculated to be able to produce 220kW, which is a massive jump over the current version’s 152kW.Toyota isn’t alone, though, there is a groundswell of support for small, fun sports cars out of Japan.Mazda is believed to be turning its head-turning Iconic SP concept into a reality with a rotary-hybrid range extender at it heart.Honda is likely to bring back the swoopy Prelude as hybrid answer to its Japanese rivals.

Toyota has just given us our first proper look at its performance future, unveiling the new engine family that will reportedly power its Celica and MR2 revival programs.

Rumours of a purely Toyota-developed, dedicated sports car model may be greatly exaggerated if word from the head of the brand’s GR performance arm are a hint at the future of fast and fun Toyotas.

In line with Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda's drive to add more exciting, driver-focused product options to the brand's global line-up the new-generation MR2 mid-engine sports car appears to be on track for a 2026 release.

Toyota is into the testing stages of its new MR2 sports car, with an engine borrowed from an acclaimed GR model and styling that could come from one of its recent concepts.

They say great minds think alike, in which case there are plenty of great minds across the Japanese car industry because they all decided to bring sports cars to the 2023 Tokyo Mobility Show.