Toyota is gearing up for a three-pronged assault on the sports car market by reviving the legendary Celica and MR2 names and preparing a brand-new group flagship in the vein of the fire-breathing Lexus LFA.
The combustion-powered trio will form the backbone of a rebuilt sports car line-up, in essence filling gaps left by the GR Supra, which is at the end of its model life cycle globally, and the acclaimed GR86, whose time on sale in Europe was cut short by EU safety regulations.
Notably, the revival of the Celica and MR2 names, following the GR Supra, fulfils the ambition of company chairman Akio Toyoda to bring back the “three brothers”. Together with the GR Yaris and the GR Supra, which is reported to be due to arrive in next-generation guise in the coming years, the new trio are part of the push to bring a renewed sporting appeal to Toyota showrooms.
The Celica and MR2 are set to be powered by a fiery new turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. Named G20E, it was revealed at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon. Reports suggest the engine can develop more than 400bhp in road-going form and top 600bhp in motorsport applications.
Curiously, the G20E made its public debut in a heavily modified GR Yaris, called the M Concept, where it was mounted not up front as usual but behind the rear seats. And despite the eccentric layout, it retained its four-wheel drive system, in similar fashion to the Group B rally cars of the 1980s such as the Ford RS200 and Lancia Delta S4.
Toyota was coy when asked why it chose a mid-engine, four-wheel-drive configuration, stating only that the M Concept is a test bed for the new powerplant. But given the cost of such an exercise, this configuration is likely to enter production.
Speaking at the Tokyo Auto Salon, Tomoya Takahashi, president of the GR (Gazoo Racing) division, said the company would “find a place to introduce it”. The concept is expected to morph into the revived MR2, which was always defined by its mid-engined layout. It is possible that its design will take inspiration from the FT-Se concept, shown at the Tokyo motor show in 2023. Despite being electrically propelled, the FT-Se had the traditional cab-forward silhouette and short overhangs of a mid-engined sports car.
Join the debate
Add your comment
This is awesome; can't wait to snag one.
400hp in an MR2 or Celica is just stupid.
200-220hp should be plenty.
Toyota only vision is to re-live the world where only Petrol cars are being bought. Grow up Toyota the world is changing and you might find some profit in developing electric vehicle not the "self charging types". Show us what you are good at: Engineering and technical solutions. Think about the future as though you are helping us and the planet with great well engineered solutions for every customer and business.
I think they will find much more profit in using existing tech/engines in a world which is staying petrol/hybrid for probably at least a decade.
Reality is its a big world, the majority of which outside of the EU are not going down the EV route anytime soon. Lots of markets exist for Toyota to sell this type of product too and will continue to exist for the foreseeable future.
Time to take the blinkers off. You're blinded by EV rhetoric; luckily most people out there don't think like you!
Toyota builds what people want to drive. Toyota do not build what people want others to drive.