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Toyota MR2 successor ‘not a priority’

Company is instead focussing on a follow-up to the 86, which has been in production since 2012.


With its recent revival of the Supra nameplate and launch of the the bonkers 200kW GR Yaris, it's reasonable to wonder if Toyota is planning to go back to the future with a new MR2.

Sadly, the answer seems to be no.

Matthew Harrison, executive vice president of Toyota Europe, told Autocar a successor to the company's affordable mid-engine sports car is "not a priority" for the company.

After the Toyota revealed the S-FR concept (below) at the 2015 Tokyo motor show, rumour swirled around if it was considering a small two-seat rear-wheel drive coupe to sit below the 86 or even an electric successor to the revered MR2.

In 2017, the 86's chief engineer Tetsuya Tada said on the record he wanted a three-car sports lineup "as soon as possible" with the 86 in the middle and the Supra at its apex.

Instead the company is focussed on developing, in association with Subaru, next generation versions of the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ.

The automakers officially confirmed they would work together on a second-generation model in September last year.

A recent report indicated the new 86/BRZ could be powered by a version of the 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder boxer engine used in the Subaru Ascent crossover and the latest Liberty sedan and Outback wagon twins in the US.

For those models, the 2.4-litre engine has been tuned to deliver 190kW and 376Nm, a hefty step up from the 152kW/212Nm naturally-aspirated 2.0-litre boxer motor used in today's coupe twins.

The next-generation 86/BRZ are also said to be shifting over to one of the Toyota New Global Architecture platforms, but will retain rear-wheel drive.

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