New Toyota GR Yaris M Concept could hint at a new MR2
The new MR2 could stick with a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive layout
Toyota has officially teased a new generation of MR2 already, but the latest Yaris M Concept could be our first glimpse of the sports car’s technical make up.
The Yaris M Concept was revealed at the Tokyo Auto Salon and features a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive layout – something all three previous generations of MR2 used. During the unveiling, a Toyota official said: "it's mid-ship, so I think it will be MR-something.” When asked if the Yaris M Concept will precede a production car, the spokesperson added: “That’s our hope. We can all imagine various things at this moment, but there’s no official announcement yet.”
The return of the MR2 had previously been thought to include all-electric power, based on the FT-Se concept from 2023. Toyota gave us renewed hope of a new MR2 in 2024 by teasing a ‘MR2 Mk4’ in a cartoon.
The M Concept doesn’t have the 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine you’ll find in the GR Yaris, however. Toyota, alongside Mazda and Subaru, has developed a new 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder unit, and in the Yaris M it powers the rear wheels only. There’s no hint of power outputs just yet, although we should expect a significant increase over the recently facelifted GR Yaris’s 276bhp.
With the boot open we can see the Yaris M Concept needs some extra bracing, plenty of gold reflective foil to disperse heat and a few intake hoses that channel air in from the rear side window. Beneath, there’s no rear diffuser and the midsection silencer is fully exposed, although there are two exhaust tips as you would find on the GR Yaris. To cater for the engine’s location, the rear wheelarches appear to have been widened and the tyres look wider, too.
Toyota CEO Akio ‘Morizo’ Toyoda, insisted on showcasing the Yaris M Concept at the Auto Salon and not only that, the 68-year-old will be driving the concept in upcoming races, potentially the Super Taikyu racing series in Japan and even the Nürburgring 24 Hours in Germany. This will all come as part of the engine’s development, which Toyota’s official statement backed up in a statement, which read: “The team aims to implement "driver-first" carmaking, in which cars are repeatedly driven to failure and then repaired in the extreme conditions of racing and in which feedback from Morizo, professional drivers, and gentleman drivers is thoroughly incorporated.”
As for speculation on the next-generation MR2, if this new 2.0-litre engine does find its way into Toyota’s ‘midship roadster’, it will not have much competition, with the Audi TT having already been signed off, Porsche planning to end production of the petrol-powered Cayman and Boxster this year, and the Alpine A110 being replaced by an all-electric model in 2026.
Along with the M Concept, Toyota also revealed some exterior aerodynamic tweaks that will soon arrive on the GR Yaris road car. These include a larger and adjustable rear wing, new front wing vents, a vented bonnet, rear bumper vents and a vertical handbrake inspired by its WRC rally car counterpart. The rivets on the bumpers’ extremes are designed to keep them attached at seriously high speeds.
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