- Rumour-mill buzz persists that Toyota is working on a new MR2 successor
- This upcoming mid-engine sports car (if it exists) could have over 400 horses
- The other gossip swirling around is that all-wheel drive may be in the cards
Rumblings about the appearance of a new Toyota MR2 have been flying about for ages — nearly so long as the same people have been flapping their jaws about a reborn RX-7 and rotary engine revival over at Mazda. In other words, it’s probably a lot of wishful thinking combined with loud-mouthed bravado going on here.
Still, Google SEO sleeps for no one, so we’ll add to the fire. As first reported by site BestCar in Japan and then picked up by other outlets around the globe, Toyota may actually be doing something with the FT-Se concept car it showed off just last year. Alert readers will recall it was a pint-sized two-seat rocket with more angles than a builder’s convention, showing up as an electrified peek into what may or may not be brand design down the road.
BestCar is asserting Toyota is mulling the use of its upcoming 400-hp 2.0L turbocharged engine – the one it’s tangled up with Mazda and Subaru on development – in an MR2 redux, along with some sort of all-wheel-drive system. Hey, if it uses the “GT-Four” badging from rally-inspired Celica coupes in the ‘90s, count us in.
Does it make sense to introduce a non-electrified two-seat coupe with only enough storage space for a briefcase in this day and age? Maybe not, but it also doesn’t make much practical sense to have the Supra and the GR86 as part of a line-up either. But it sure is fun — and this is why we’re glad there are actual gearheads moving the levers of power at Toyota. The world has enough three-row crossovers as it is, no matter what the accountants say.
But for now, it’s all conjecture. Until we learn something concrete, please enjoy the above dandy photos of past MR2 models from the Toyota archives.
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