New Toyota MR2 or Celica: thrilling mid-engined sports car prototype driven
The new Toyota lightweight sports car will mark the return of a famous Toyota name, but will it be MR2 or Celica? Either way, we’ve driven it
The long-awaited return of the compact Toyota sports car is approaching – with no small thanks to the brand’s motorsport endeavours. The project is being led straight from the top by the firm’s chairman, Akio Toyoda, and the end result will be either a new Toyota MR2 or Toyota Celica.
What we know for sure is that a new mid-engined sports car is indeed coming from Toyota, and the boss is playing a key role in the comeback. President of Toyota between 2009 and 2023, Toyoda oversaw the launch of the LFA for Lexus, then the relatively affordable Toyota GT86 and GR86 sports cars, plus he helped bring back the Supra name. Under his ‘Morizo’ racing driver pseudonym, Toyoda even flipped a GR Yaris rally car onto its roof during testing.
This hands-on approach to development has guided the mid-engined Toyota project to motorsport, something Toyoda is extremely passionate about.
If you can't wait for the new Toyota MR2, there are used Toyota GR86 models from £30,000 and Supras from £35,000 on our Buy A Car service...
Motorsport influence for mid-engined sports car
The last mid-engined car from Toyota was the third-generation MR2, which bowed out in 2006. As a result, the development of the new model had to start almost from scratch.
The new MR2 or Celica is, however, benefitting from the GR Yaris hot hatch to a certain extent. Gazoo Racing, Toyota’s motorsport arm, has been running the Concept M - a mid-engined prototype closely related to the GR Yaris - in the Japanese-only Super Taikyu endurance series.
At the most recent Super Taikyu meeting at Fuji Speedway with the Concept M on the grid, Akio Toyoda told our sister brand Carwow about the importance of motorsport in Toyota’s performance-focused road cars. “If we don’t challenge [ourselves in motorsport] maybe we don’t fail, but if we challenge then maybe we fail,” said Toyoda, highlighting the benefits of gaining comprehensive data from the uncontrolled environments that racing creates.
“If we decided to make such a car in a meeting, it would never exist,” Toyoda added. “We are showing to our employees that you can challenge, you can say anything you want, because we’re doing it, we’re showing in front of everybody.”
New Toyota Celica or MR2 prototype driven
Our sister site Carwow also had the exclusive opportunity to drive a Toyota mid-engined prototype related to the Concept M competition car on a gravel rally stage in Japan.
But first came a passenger ride in the most recent prototype at Toyota’s Shimoyama test track in the hills near Mount Fuji. Toyota’s aim is to produce a performance car with a more playful attitude than that of the GR Yaris hot hatch and this was clear from the start. The mid-engined configuration and the chassis tweaks have produced a car with far less propensity to understeer, rotating into corners and making more demands on the driver to correct slides and oversteer.
Our experience behind the wheel of an earlier prototype on loose gravel surfaces underlined that Toyota’s creation is more fun than the already thrilling GR Yaris. The tail actively wants to step wide but the longer wheelbase makes this feel far more playful and controllable.
Engine and performance
The new power unit in the Concept M competition car is codenamed G20E and has an output of up to 500bhp in motorsport trim. Toyota says it has a less ambitious aim for the production G20E to be more powerful and more efficient than the current 2.4-litre turbo unit found in the 234bhp Toyota GR86. It will also be 10 per cent smaller than the existing unit, which will no doubt help with packaging inside the tight confines of a mid-engined sports car like the MR2.
The prototype car we rode in was unofficially confirmed to have 400bhp and it was suggested we should expect that kind of output from the eventual production car. The combustion engine is 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 other than that the wheelbase is extended, but a mixed-metal construction is likely, combining high-strength steel and aluminium to help keep the weight and costs down.
While the Concept M is rear-wheel drive, Toyota has also suggested that the production car it will spawn will probably feature all-wheel drive, with Saito adding: “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”.
What will the new sports car be called?
Toyoda first stated his desire to bring back the group of cars often referred to as the ‘three brothers’, the Supra, Celica and MR2, back in 2019 when production of the fifth-generation Supra began.
Toyota itself has been teasing the return of an MR2 with its traditional mid-engined layout for a few years now. In January this year Toyoda even gave MR2 fans a red herring by stating he’ll have a mid-engined two-seater ready in time for the Tokyo Auto Salon. It turned out to be a modified Daihatsu pick-up truck!
Toyota trademarked the name ‘GR MR2’ in 2025, fueling excitement over a new MR2. The name pointed to the influence from its Gazoo Racing sub-brand and follows on from the GR86 and GR Yaris performance models. There’s also a trademark for ‘GR MR-S’ (the MR2 was known as ‘MR-S’ in the Japanese market).
A possible return of a Toyota Celica has also been rumoured, although given the history and make-up of the two models, the MR2 name might seem a more likely option for the mid-engined car in development. Except that insiders have suggested to us that the Celica name could be applied to this car. MR2 has traditionally been a smaller rear-drive sports coupe or roadster, whereas this will be an all-wheel-drive coupe with around 400bhp, potentially costing more than £60k.
How will the design shape up?
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 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.
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