New Toyota MR2 is all but confirmed

Toyota has all but confirmed it is working on a mid-engined sports car under its Gazoo Racing sub-brand. The company’s plan to build a new two-seat sports car has been on the radar for a while, but following a press conference at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon earlier this month, we now know it’ll be powered by a brand-new turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, and could arrive as early as next year.

This is a change from the initial plan to launch an all-electric sports car, which was previewed by the FT-Se concept in late 2023. The move also bucks a trend established by Porsche, Alpine and Lotus, all of whom have committed to introducing their own fresh electric sports cars over the next couple of years.

Instead, the new Toyota will feature a mid-mounted ‘G20E’ petrol engine – an all-new unit previewed in the wild mid-engined GR Yaris M Concept, also revealed at this year’s Auto Salon.

When Auto Express spoke to Toyota GR engineering boss Naohiko Saito at the show, he told us: “This engine represents the beginning of a new development that will come from motorsport before we put it into production. We always learn lots with this way of working.”

To this end, prototypes of the GR Yaris M Concept will race in the Japanese Super Taikyu series, giving the new engine a comprehensive round of development before hitting the road. This is something Toyota also did with its Lexus LFA supercar, running prototypes for two years in the ADAC Nürburgring 24 Hours race.

The new engine’s output has still to be confirmed, but Toyota says it’s aiming for the new G20E to be more powerful and more efficient than the current 2.4-litre turbo unit found in Toyota and Lexus models overseas.

This could put the baseline power figure at around 300bhp, rising to up to 400bhp in its more highly tuned applications. Toyota has suggested that versions of this engine can support as much as 500bhp in motorsport trim, although emissions regulations could see numbers this high tricky to meet in a road car. However, with the use of Toyota’s hybrid modules, figures of this scale could be possible for future road-going applications.

In the new sports car, though, the combustion engine will be mounted in the chassis transversely, as it is in the GR Yaris M Concept. The motor will probably be paired with the eight-speed automatic transmission that was developed specifically by Gazoo Racing for the GR Yaris, and is also found in overseas models such as the GR Corolla and Lexus LBX Morizo RR.

We don’t know much more about the forthcoming car’s chassis or its specification, but a mixed-metal construction is likely, combining high-strength steel and aluminium to help keep the weight and costs down.

Toyota also suggested the new model will probably feature all-wheel drive, with Saito telling Auto Express, “this layout is new for us, but we have found in our initial testing that the combination of an all-wheel-drive mid-ship layout offers the best layout for high-performance driving”.

Toyota has lots of experience with mid-engined models, selling the MR2 over the course of three decades between the mid-eighties and the late 2000s. But despite a close connection to these past icons, we expect the new sports car to feature a significantly more contemporary design, taking its lead from the aforementioned FT-Se concept.

As previewed in our exclusive image, much of the concept’s overall design and proportions will be carried over, based on the combination of a low windscreen, short bonnet and tightly packaged rear.

The body itself should retain similar exaggerated forms to the concept, highlighted with strong rear haunches, angular surfacing and bodywork that looks almost shrink-wrapped over the engine and chassis.

The switch to an internal-combustion powertrain will have an effect on how the car manages the airflow around the body, but we don’t expect big side intakes will be necessary; instead, the engine will draw in air from the front of the car and underneath. This notion is supported by the GR Yaris M Concept, because it does without any obvious side-mounted air intakes.

Around the rear, we also expect similar LED lighting to the concept’s to be carried across, as well as the aggressive rear diffuser and a small ducktail spoiler. As with most GR models, the base car will probably 
be able to be customised with more aggressive aero components such as a high-mounted rear wing and aero flicks mounted on the front bumper.

The compact cabin will be strictly for two, and offer good visibility because of the low scuttle height 
– just as in a Lotus or Porsche. The dashboard will also be pared back and very driver-focused, with compact digital interfaces and little in the way of flashy design elements.

Should the MR2 name make a comeback? Tell us in the comments section below...