Toyota Wants To Revive The MR2, And It Might End Up Being Electric

The Japanse company is making noises about resurrecting the MR2, but it could end up being a very different car to its predecessors
Toyota Wants To Revive The MR2, And It Might End Up Being Electric

We’re not quite sure what we’ll do with ourselves once the new Toyota Supra is at last revealed at the Detroit Auto Show next January. It’ll arrive five years after its concept preview - the FT-1 - was first revealed, riding on a wave of hype.

Perhaps what we’ll need is the prospect of another new Toyota sports car and the inevitable deluge of reports, teasers and rumours to fill out time. A car like the MR2.

Important figures from the Japanese company have hinted on several occasions in the last few months that the MR2 name could return. This week, Autocar is reporting that Toyota is in the “discussion stage” when it comes to the model’s return.

The new Supra could just be the start of a sports car revival at Toyota
The new Supra could just be the start of a sports car revival at Toyota

Those were the words of European vice president of sales and marketing Matt Harrison at the Paris Motor Show a few weeks ago, who also referenced the ‘Three Brothers’ - a term used in the past both by company boss Akio Toyoda and Supra chief engineer Tetsuya Tada. These ‘siblings’ are believed to be the new Supra, the GT86 and a third new car, which could end up being this near-mythical MR2 revival.

Should the MR2 make a return, Autocar claims it is “looking likely” that the car would be fully electric, primarily for costs reasons. The only problem is this doesn’t exactly fit with the ‘Midship Runabout 2-seater’ name since it’d involve a battery pack sitting on the floor and a motor on the rear axle.

Toyota Wants To Revive The MR2, And It Might End Up Being Electric

That’s not exactly a mid-engined car, but Toyota could still make a new MR2 that’s truer to the layout of the original three generations. It could do so via a joint venture - like the one with BMW, which gave the world the new Supra and a new Z4 - suggested Supra assistant chief engineer Masayuki Kai recently.

Whatever happens, it’s likely we end up waiting years before seeing a production car.

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Comments

Singer Porsche Boy

As Long as it has the same principle of being affordable and exciting to drive then I’m all for it!

10/25/2018 - 12:43 |
7 | 0
Duggan (koalafan) (koalafan7) (Esprit Team) (Z32 Group) (Lot

But its whole thing was being mid-ENGINED. Lets hope they at lease have a celica GT4

10/25/2018 - 12:52 |
0 | 0
€urodriver (Quattrosquad) (Group F50)

QianLi

10/25/2018 - 13:09 |
2 | 1
TheMiataBoi (formally TheTunerGuy)

Well f*ck I think its time to finally hang myself

10/25/2018 - 13:09 |
5 | 0

I’m more than happy to join you

10/26/2018 - 07:53 |
0 | 0
RWB Dude

Oh god plz no! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

10/25/2018 - 13:11 |
1 | 0
6r4Superfan

So we could be seeing electric Ferrari replicas in a few years?

10/25/2018 - 13:12 |
3 | 0
trabant 601

If it is to be revived as an EV then just keep the MR2 name for something good. An EV MR2 would be catastrophic

10/25/2018 - 13:41 |
4 | 0

ALL THE SNAP OVERSTEER!!!

10/25/2018 - 14:04 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Electric snap-oversteer

10/25/2018 - 14:34 |
2 | 1
Anonymous

“Autocar claims it is “looking likely” that the car would be fully electric, primarily for costs reasons.” That’s an embarrassing mistake on Autocar’s part. Making it electric would be much more expensive to develop, produce, and sell. I’m hoping it uses the flat-4 from the GT86.

10/25/2018 - 14:52 |
1 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

dont really think it’s a mistake to say that some electric engines and some batteries are cheaper than a complex combustion engine, but i do agree it should be a petrol engine.

10/25/2018 - 15:51 |
0 | 0
Beetler

Look, if it keeps the formula of being lighweight, fun to drive and “cheap” to buy then this is pretty exciting

10/25/2018 - 15:06 |
1 | 0

New cars are never cheap

10/25/2018 - 16:49 |
4 | 0

It wont be light, new cars never are, especially electric ones with their heavy batteries, due to this, it wont be fun to drive, silent and heavy and not true to MR2 form, and new electric cars are amoung the most expensive cars around. It’s a no from me

11/26/2018 - 19:48 |
0 | 0