Toyota MR2 primed for revival as combustion-only Mazda MX-5 rival

Toyota is priming a small, affordable sports car to rival the Mazda MX-5 for a launch within the next two years – and it’s tipped to stick with pure-combustion power. Building on the success of its GR Yaris, GR86 and GR Supra sports cars, the company is reportedly developing a new entry-level performance model, evolved from the never-made S-FR concept. According to Japanese magazine Best Car, the diminutive 2+2 has finally been given the green light for showrooms more than a decade after it was shown as a relatively realistic-looking concept, as Toyota seeks to capitalise on strong sales of its other driver-focused models. Related articles Toyota declined to comment on the report when approached by Autocar, but there are strong clues that a baby Toyota coupé is indeed in the pipeline. Company chairman (and former CEO) Akio Toyoda has historically spoken of his ambition to revive the spirit of what he calls Toyota’s ‘Three Brothers’ – the MR2, Celica and Supra. With the Supra having been revived in 2019 and the smaller GR86 occupying a similar space in the market to the Celica, the stage looks to be set for a long-awaited MR2 reboot. Notably, Toyota has already confirmed plans to launch a new two-seat electric sports car based on last year’s striking FT-SE concept, channelling the spirit of the MR2, which went out of production in 2007. That concept, though – while bearing a ‘mid-engined’ silhouette and a similarly compact footprint – is much more extreme in its styling and conception and is not due to enter production until towards the end of the decade. The production version of the S-FR is said to be much closer to reality and would have more of a mass-market, everyday billing, albeit still with an overt focus on dynamic agility – qualities that characterised the original MR2 and continue to define the Mazda MX-5, which is still selling strongly in its 35th year on the market.