Toyota is developing three new sports cars, reprising the Celica and MR2 names, and preparing a Lexus flagship in the form of a new LFA.
These will fill gaps left by GR Supra, which is about to end its run, and the GR86. The former, by the by, is also being rejuvenated for its next generation.
Celica and MR2 will use a new turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. Code named G20E, it can evidently muster almost 300kW for the road, and around 450kW for motorsport applications.
It first came to light in the M Concept, a modded GR Yaris with a mid-engine layout and AWD, like rally cars of yore.
Toyota wouldn’t say why it was developing this concept but given the expense presumably this configuration will eventually enter production. Tomoya Takahashi, president of the GR division, suggested as much at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon, saying they would “find a place to introduce it”.
The concept is expected to become the revived MR2. Production of the former mid-engined model ended in 2007. Likely as not the newcomer will resemble the FT-Se concept of 2023 with its cab-forward silhouette and short overhangs of a mid-engined sports car.
It is expected to hit production in 2028 or possibly earlier for more time on sale before the 2030 ICE ban in the UK. This would also plug a gap left by Supra.
Meantime a Japanese publication suggests Supra will return in 2027 with the G20E engine and rear-wheel drive.
The Celica is likely to be the first of the new trio to debut. It too will likely use the G20E powerplant up front but with four-wheel drive. It may even revive the GT-Four nameplate and return to WRC duties. That’s after the FIA expanded the rules to allow more body shapes. “Bodywork from almost any scaled production car [can] be fitted to the safety cell”, according to new rules from the governing body.
Motorsport is playing a major role in shaping the successor to the Lexus LFA. A GR GT3 concept unveiled three years ago was the forerunner to LFA. A supercar resembling this has been spotted out testing in both road and race trim. A road car must precede the racer so it is expected to launch soon.
Expect a V8 under the hood, breathing through a pair of turbochargers. As a racer it will produce up to 450kW and weigh no more than 1300kg, as per the GT3 ruleset.
There will likely be a hybrid variant for the road car. Evidently the prototypes move off silently from a standstill, suggesting as much.
The unnamed supercar may take the ‘LFR’, moniker which Lexus has evidently trademarked.
