A new Toyota MR2 is expected to launch in the future, even if that is sometime on the other side of 2030, according to recent comments made by Gazoo Racing (GR) president Tomoya Takahashi.
Rumours of the MR2’s return have been fuelled by Japanese media for the past half a decade, and were only encouraged by Toyota testing a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the GR Yaris, mid-mounted to better act as a potential test mule.
While Toyota effectively tricked us all at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January – by teasing it would reveal a new mid-engined GR vehicle, only to unveil a GR-modified version of the Daihatsu HiJet truck – it appears a new MR2 is not off the cards.
Speaking to the UK’s Auto Express, GR marketing manager Mikio Hayashi confirmed the brand is continuing to develop the mid-engined GR Yaris M Concept, not only making it better for the Super Taikyu series it competes in but to also provide a better base for a potential production car.
“[We are] making this car better every day,” Hayashi said.
“All the knowledge and feedback through training this car in motorsport – it’s going to be translated into something else in a road car or mass production car in the future, possibly. We are continuing this path.”
The executive stopped short of giving a future production product a name, instead saying “thank you for your suggestion” when asked about whether the MR2 badge could make a comeback.
Previously, GR president Takahashi has said a production version of the car the GR Yaris test mule is developing is only in its first of four stages, which can take four to five years overall, putting a debut in the late 2020s out of the picture.
Currently the GR Yaris M Concept is being used in the Super Taikyu race series to expedite its development pathway, though its debut in the championship was delayed due to “difficulties unique to midship-mounted vehicles in terms of braking, steering, and driving”.
Despite officially not confirming the return of the MR2, Toyota has recently been open talking about previous generations of the sports car icon, with Takahashi telling Toyota Times, the brand’s in-house magazine, said the snap oversteer-prone characteristic of the classic model resulted in the new test car being all-wheel drive.
“The midship layout was our way of making cars that are fun for customers to drive. As for why we went with four-wheel drive for the midship, you can trace that back to the MR2,” Takahashi said.
“The MR2 likewise had an incredibly well-balanced weight distribution between the front and rear, but it was prone to spinning. What made the car turn so well also led it to spin out easily on corners.
“By turning that layout into four-wheel drive, you transform the power that causes the vehicle to spin into a force that pulls the car forward, improving stability through corners. That’s why we took on the challenge of a midship four-wheel drive, aiming for faster, more stable cornering.”
According to Toyota, the new turbocharged 2.0-litre powering the GR Yaris M Concept will be more powerful than the 2.4-litre turbo-petrol engine in a number of its vehicles, but it’ll be about 10 per cent shorter, making it “suitable for a wide range of vehicles that require high output, from sports cars to trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles”.
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