The gas-powered Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman may be going away, but its spiritual torch may be carried on by a somewhat unlikely competitor: Toyota.
Japan’s Best Car says Toyota is developing a “mid-engined 4WD” vehicle and that the vehicle may be bringing the MR2 name back with an unelectrified 2.0-liter four-cylinder “targeting” about 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. The publication also says that this car will use all-wheel drive, specifically the GR-Four system found in the GR Corolla. This would be a big departure from MR2’s past, especially considering the “R” in MR2 references rear-drive. For what it’s worth, MA2 and M42 don’t have quite the same ring.
Best Car has previously said that a next-gen MR2 would come with the 1.6-liter three-cylinder powering the GR Corolla, but it’s apparently now a 2.0-liter. About a month ago, Toyota put out a video of an in-development four-cylinder which sounded quite good. The company previously announced that it is working on a family of 1.5- and 2.0-liter four-cylinder gas engines—the 1.5 is said to be available in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms, while the 2.0-liter is turbo-only.
Given Toyota is indeed developing small four-pots with an emphasis on driving fun, it’s not that big of a stretch to think that a new MR2 is on the horizon. Over the first three generations of the sports car spanning 1984 to 2007—with very few exceptions—it’s been powered by a compact four-cylinder ranging from 1.5 to 2.0 liters. Best Car goes on to say that a new MR2 would be available with either a six-speed manual or the eight-speed Direct Automatic Transmission (DAT) that was just introduced in the 2025 GR Corolla.
Now for some bad news: the report also alleges that the new MR2 will come with a price tag of the yen equivalent of nearly $70,000 and be sold exclusively in Japan.
Gas-powered, compact, mid-engine sports car making 400-ish hp and costing $70,000? Around these parts, that is what’s known as a Porsche Cayman. We’ve reached out to Toyota for comment.
Got a tip or question for the author about the next MR2? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com