Toyota Chairman Buys Mid-Engine Sports Car. Which One Is It?

We'll find out next week at the Tokyo Auto Salon.

Toyota MR2

Adrian Padeanu

By: Adrian Padeanu

Jan 5, at 6:25am ET

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THE BREAKDOWN:

Akio Toyoda is bringing his customized sports car to the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon.
It's a two-seater, mid-engine model, but its identity is unknown.
The cryptic posts on X may hint at an MR2 revival.

For sports car enthusiasts, Akio Toyoda is hands down one of the best automotive executives to have ever lived. Who would’ve imagined that in 2026, Toyota would be the savior of fun cars? A flagship GR GT recently joined the GR Yaris, GR86, and GR Corolla, but the V-8 supercar might not be the only mid-engine model on the horizon. For years, the company has been dropping strong hints about bringing back the MR2.

Until Toyota revives one of these beloved nameplates, it’s busy working on a mid-engine hot hatchback based on the GR Yaris. The company’s chairman has already tested the GR Yaris M concept and its newly developed 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine on race tracks. At the upcoming 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon, Akio Toyoda is bringing a two-seater, mid-engine sports car he’s having customized specifically for the show.

However, Toyota isn’t divulging the vehicle’s identity, nor is it releasing any teaser images of the mysterious car. Several cryptic posts published on the X social media platform merely confirm that the engine sits in the middle, behind the seats. It’s still unclear whether the two-seater vehicle in question is the GR Yaris M concept first revealed about a year ago at the same event.

Although I’ve been doing this job for the better part of 20 years, I’m still a sucker for a teaser campaign that raises more questions than answers. With Toyota staying tight-lipped for now, the car could be any number of things. It might be a customized GR Yaris M, but that model hasn’t gone on sale, and it seems unlikely it ever will.

The hot hatch is widely believed to be a testbed for the new “G20E” engine, which is designed for both front- and mid-engine applications and is said to deliver more than 400 horsepower. It could be used for the MR2 and/or Celica revival Toyota has been hinting at, or even power a next-generation Supra free of BMW ties.

2025 Toyota GR Yaris M concept

Photo by: Toyota

Assuming it’s not the GR Yaris M, Akio Toyoda may have purchased an MR2 and had it reworked by Gazoo Racing, especially since the posts on X originate from the GR division. It’s certainly not the GR GT, as that car’s twin-turbo, 4.0-liter V-8 is front-mounted. Toyota’s flagship performance model will make its public debut at the show alongside its GT3 race car sibling, which forgoes electrification in favor of pure V-8 drama.

But what if it’s not even a Toyota? That wouldn’t be unprecedented. At the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon, the former Toyota CEO showed up with his own Suzuki Jimny. Who knows, maybe Toyoda snapped up a Cayman GT4 or a Boxster Spyder RS before Porsche ended production of the current-generation 718.

Toyota MR2 Spyder (third generation)

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Whatever the case, it’s unlikely to be an unreleased production model. The GR GT will command the spotlight at the show, and it wouldn’t make sense for another performance car to steal its thunder. Still, whatever Akio Toyoda has planned for the Tokyo Auto Salon underscores Toyota’s determination to keep the spirit of dedicated performance cars alive.

It’s improbable that we’ll see a new MR2 next week. Even so, Toyoda’s latest purchase could serve as a signal of Toyota’s intent to launch a mid-engine car positioned below the GR GT. Alongside gas-powered performance models, a fully electric sports car with mid-engine proportions is also in development as a production version of the FT-Se concept. Expect to see it hit the streets later this decade.

Toyota Wants To Save Fun Cars:

Toyota Claims People Need Time to Appreciate Hybrid Sports Cars

Toyota Wants to Use Its New Gas Engines for Everything

Toyota Chairman Says a Sports Car Must Have a Gas Engine

Toyota Will Make Fun Cars for a 'Long, Long Time'

Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing / X

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