Toyota MR2 revival on track?

Toyota’s MR2 revival could be edging closer to production, with a heavily disguised mid-engine sports car spotted testing near Fuji Speedway in Japan.

Short videos and images shared on social media show a low-slung two-door coupe assembled using a selection of familiar Toyota parts. However, its proportions, rear bodywork and large cooling openings suggest there’s an engine sitting behind the cabin.

Toyota hasn’t identified the prototype, so its true identity remains a mystery. The leading possibilities are a fourth-generation MR2 or the next Toyota Celica, with reports from Japan suggesting both nameplates are under development.

The mystery coupe looks substantially different from the GR Yaris M Concept Toyota has been using as a rolling test bed. That could mean development has progressed to a dedicated engineering prototype, although the collection of borrowed body panels suggests it remains some way from showroom-ready.

Its overall shape bears some resemblance to Toyota’s electric FT-Se concept revealed in 2023. That car was presented as a compact, battery-powered performance model, but its low roofline and cab-forward proportions may have previewed the direction of Toyota’s next halo sports car.

A very different MR2

If the prototype does become the next MR2, it won’t necessarily follow the formula established by its predecessors.

All three previous MR2 generations used a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. The new model, however, is widely expected to combine its mid-mounted petrol engine with all-wheel drive.

Toyota has already demonstrated this configuration with the GR Yaris M Concept. Engineers say its drivetrain can vary torque distribution between the axles, sending all available drive to the rear wheels or directing up to 50 per cent to the front when more traction is required.

Reports from Japan suggest the eventual production car could also use Torsen limited-slip differentials at both ends.

That would make it a considerably more sophisticated machine than previous MR2s, and likely a much more powerful one too.

It remains unclear whether Toyota will offer a manual gearbox. An eight-speed automatic is expected. 

New four-cylinder engine

At the centre of the project is Toyota’s new turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, which is being developed to replace the 1.6-litre three-cylinder used in the GR Yaris and GR Corolla.

Toyota has previously indicated that the version fitted to the GR Yaris M Concept produces around 300kW to 340kW. Engineers have also suggested versions equipped with larger turbochargers could deliver substantially more.

The mid-engine GR Yaris M Concept has competed in Japan’s Super Taikyu endurance championship, allowing engineers to test the engine, transmission, cooling system and all-wheel-drive hardware under sustained racing conditions.

That programme hasn’t been entirely trouble-free, with Toyota previously delaying the concept’s competition debut while resolving development issues. But that’s the point of using motorsport as a test bed: finding the weak spots before the technology reaches customers.

Toyota has already confirmed the Celica name will return, although it hasn’t revealed when the car will arrive or what form it will take. Overseas trademark filings for the GR MR2 name have added further weight to suggestions that a second Toyota sports car is also coming.

Whether the latest prototype is the next MR2, a new Celica or something else entirely remains uncertain. But with a dedicated mid-engine test car now running near Fuji Speedway, Toyota’s next GR flagship is beginning to look rather more real.