Toyota has been rumoured to expand its sports car line-up for some time now, and the carmaker is now possibly giving its biggest hint that this will indeed happen. In a scene from an episode of the Toyota USA’s GRIP anime series, a whiteboard placed behind Master Rugu lists a number of familiar nameplates.
At the 0:47 mark of the video, you can spot the list that includes the Supra Mk6, the Celica Mk8, MR2 Mk4, GR86 Mk3 and GR GT3. None of these cars have been confirmed by Toyota to enter production just yet, but it would appear that the company wants to get the rumour mills running at full speed again.
Starting with the Celica, the seventh-generation model ended production in 2006, with a possible comeback mooted as far back as 2018, just before the GR Supra (the Mk5) made its debut in 2019. Similarly, the return of the MR2 was suggested around the same time, with the more recent FT-Se concept said to preview a Mk4 model to succeed the Mk3 that went away in 2007.
As for the GR Supra and GR86, the former was developed alongside the G29 BMW Z4, but it is not known if the partnership will be extended to the Mk6 as well. The predictions are highly varied, including the possibility that the Mk6 will get both internal combustion engine and fully electric options from BMW, to Toyota going at it alone.
The current GR86 is a continuation of Toyota’s partnership with Subaru, which has its own model in the form of the second-generation BRZ. A new generation of the GR86 reported in the press is suggested to adopt a turbocharged and hybridised powertrain in 2028, eight years after the Mk2 (the successor to the original) made its debut in April 2021.
Lastly, Toyota revealed the GR GT3 Concept at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon, with the production version expected to arrive as a successor to the Lexus LFA. A prototype has been spotted making the rounds at the Nürburgring recently, sounding a lot like it has a V8.
Of course, as excited as this all sounds, there’s no official confirmation that any of the new-generation sports car listed on a whiteboard in an in-house anime will come to fruition. We can only hope for the ‘Three Brothers’ to be reunited and then some.
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Last time BMW M-sports
This time Merc AMG ?
In the edge of EVs and Hybrid, the MR2 is probably the least relevant. I had a chance to own a MR-S. I must say, the experience was underwhelming. Is good, just not great. Maybe is not a formula that Toyota excels in.
Honda Prelude (the Darth Vader edition) was something I had alot more fun in. Great shift, high rev v-tec, and overall quality interior.