Toyota Is Testing a Mid-Engine, All-Wheel-Drive Sports Car — an MR2 Successor in Everything but Name
A turbocharged 2.0-liter, an FT-Se-inspired shape, and a production timeline still years out. Nothing about it is officially confirmed yet.
Toyota's GR performance division is testing a mid-engine, all-wheel-drive sports car prototype widely read as a spiritual successor to the MR2 — though Toyota has not officially used that name, and none of the specifics below are confirmed production figures. The layout choice was explained directly by GR chief engineer Naohiko Saito: "The combination of an all-wheel drive mid-ship layout offers the best layout for high-performance driving."
"The combination of an all-wheel drive mid-ship layout offers the best layout for high-performance driving." — Naohiko Saito, Toyota GR chief engineer
Reporting points to a turbocharged G20E 2.0-liter inline-four — the same engine family used in the GR Corolla and GR Yaris — paired with an eight-speed automatic, with output estimated at over 400 horsepower. Those figures are industry estimates rather than manufacturer-confirmed specs, and should be treated as such. The car's design is expected to draw heavily from Toyota's FT-Se concept.
None of this is close to a showroom reveal. Toyota's own testing timeline suggests production is still four to five years out from where the prototype currently sits, which makes this very much a development-stage story rather than a launch one — worth tracking, not worth spec-sheeting as if the numbers are final.
Tesla Showed a Roadster That Does Kickflips. The FAA Says It Isn't an Aircraft, and Nobody Will Say What It Is.
Nine years after taking deposits on a car promised for 2020, Tesla unveiled a four-trim Roadster that drives upside down, flips in mid-air, and carries about five seconds of compressed nitrogen. Production is now 2028. There is still no price.
Nissan Finally Put a Third Pedal in the Z NISMO. Then It Made Sure Almost Nobody Can Buy One.
420 horsepower, GT-R brakes, seven percent shorter throws, and no price premium over the automatic. Also: a reported allocation of two or three Zs per dealer for the entire model year, and a manual NISMO build share in the single digits.
Porsche Puts a Mid-Engined Car Above the 911 — and an Analogue Rev Counter in Front of the Driver
The Mission S vision model landed on a Queens pier on Thursday with five round dials, no fixed centre screen and a confirmed platform above the 911. What Porsche carefully did not say is what sits behind the seats.