A typical four-year development cycle would point to the new MR2 being ready for production in around 2028. However, Toyota may expedite its development so it can go on sale for a greater number of years before the introduction of restrictions on the sale of pure-petrol cars in key markets such as the UK (set to phase them out in 2030) and the EU (2035).
An earlier arrival would allow the MR2 to plug the hole left in Toyota’s GR line-up by the current-generation Supra. The A90 Final Edition model, limited to 300 examples globally, was unveiled in November last year.
Japanese publication Best Car has reported that the new Supra is due around 2027 and that it’s most likely to use a hybridised version of the G20E with rear-wheel drive – both to differentiate it from the Celica and to boost efficiency, which is crucial to the Supra’s brief in the GT4 racing category.
Following the same principle, the Celica – expected to be the first of the new trio to arrive – is most likely to use the powerplant mounted up front, but with four-wheel drive. Best Car has reported that it could reprise the GT-Four name that adorned homologation special versions of the Celica for the World Rally Championship in the 1980s and 1990s.
It’s even possible that the Celica could return to the World Rally Championship, after the FIA expanded the series’ regulations to allow a wider range of bodystyles from 2027: saloons, hatchbacks, SUVs and, crucially, “bespoke” designs. “Bodywork from almost any scaled production car [can] be fitted to the safety cell”, the governing body said.
