Toyota has been rather active on the sports and performance car front of late, and that’s most possibly down to the company boss being a kaki kereta himself. Yes, that’s Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corporation by day and “fun to drive again” evangelist under the Gazoo Racing banner by night. OK, not really at night but you get the idea.
It was said before that Toyoda was keen to have the Three Brothers again, hinting at a revival of Toyota’s 90s sports car trio – Supra, Celica, MR2. “Akio has always said that as a company he would like to have Three Brothers, with the GT86 in the middle and Supra as the big brother. So we’ve tried to aim for the Supra to offer an overwhelming superiority in all attributes,” A90 Supra and 86 chief engineer Tetsuya Tada said in 2018.
The Supra and 86 are already accounted for, and apparently Toyota is already working on a sequel to the reborn Hachiroku, so that leaves the “new MR2”. Three sports cars and a rally homologation special in a Toyota showroom – oh, what a feeling!
Here’s some cold water. According to Autocar, reviving the MR2 is “not a priority” now for Toyota, says the brand’s European VP Matt Harrison. Apparently, the MR2 was understood to be under consideration as an EV, but that is now less of a priority for the Japanese giant; instead, Toyota is focusing on developing the next-generation 86 under its GR brand.
There are two ways to see this. There won’t be so much resources allocated to making sports cars – which are low volume and not very profitable, in case you forgot, Mr Enthusiast – so the logical priority will be a follow up to the critically acclaimed reborn 86. The MR2 is a more challenging project, being mid-engined and all, so it not being a priority is entirely expected. GR also has its racing commitments and some hot hatches on the way.
It could be that the idea of a new MR2 is a luxury at the moment. Another way to see it is there will never be a modern version of the Three Brothers, which will remain a pipe dream.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
I have always wanted a mid engine as a weekend car, W20 MR2 to be exact. Driven once, exceptional handling characteristics, easy to work on engine, sadly it’s way pricier than even the Celica.
The European yuppie generation no longer thinks a 2door coupe is energy efficient compared to a MPV people mover.
Not a priority??
Maybe Supra not selling well kua….Toyota kepala pening.