Toyota has trademarked the GR MR2 name and the new car is likely to be stripped of Toyota badges entirely, as the GR GT does, to cement the sports brand’s positioning as a standalone brand.
Testing of the eventual road car is believed to have intensified recently with the rollout of a new sports car prototype at the Toyota-owned Fuji Motor Speedway.
Featuring a mix of body parts from existing Toyota models, including Lexus LC doors and GR Yaris lights, the two-door test mule is clearly mid-engined (based on its massive side air intakes and vented bonnet) and, in a video taken from the side of the track, can be heard emitting a decidedly turbo-four soundtrack.
Although it hints at the size and engineering of Toyota’s new entry-level sports car, the test car is not believed to closely display its styling. Instead, the new Emira rival is expected to draw heavily on the bold FT-SE concept that Toyota revealed in 2023.
While originally intended to use an all-electric powertrain based on Toyota’s next-generation battery packs, the FT-SE was unmistakably “mid-engine” in its proportions and could undergo production relatively unchanged by virtue of the compact proportions of the new G20E engine.
Since the introduction of the FT-SE, Toyota has redoubled its commitment to a “multi-track” energy strategy, investing in new gasoline and hybrid engines as well as hydrogen combustion, in parallel with the expansion of its electric vehicle range, and paving the way for a new generation of combustion-engine sports cars.
What the Yaris M test car tells us
Toyota aims to eradicate “prayer time” with its new mid-engine platform. That’s what President Akio Toyoda calls the moment a high-performance front-engine car understeers in a tight turn: “It’s time to pray to God.”
The firm praises the success of the standard GR Yaris in motorsport (having competed in the World Rally Championship, Super Taikyu and the Nürburgring 24 Hours), but says that features inherent to its drivetrain design ultimately limit its performance potential.
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