Toyota Teases GR Line Up: Supra MK6, Celica MK8, MR2 MK4, 86 MK3 and GR GT

[KahnBB6]

The last reports on the chassis and body design was that the engineers had decided on a twin rear deck design (one lid for the engine and one for the small trunk) which they consider superior to a single deck design.

Those renders are still reflecting visual roots in the yellow MR2-like "Sports EV" concept from a few years ago. And those were mocked up for the concept reveal event before the engineers decided on the twin deck rear approach... which these renders do not appear to reflect.

The original yellow concept car's front end looked good... but that was a pure design study for the shape. The later red(?) or orange(?) EV concept version that showed a yoke steering wheel interior (barf) had a much worse looking and overly busy front end compared to the original yellow concept shell.

The front end looks better and more realistic than the red/orange one... and the sides still look good while being likely more realistic to manufacture... but the single deck rear wouldn't currently be accurate.

...Not unless the intention is very very narrow top engine access under a glass hatch combined with a likely need to drop the rear subframe with its engine for any major service. That would put it into Porsche Boxster and Cayman level service difficulty. The all three prior generations of the MR2 avoided that.

I'm betting on more accurate and slightly different looking concept images leaking down the road that reflect a more 1990-1999 MR2 SW20 style twin rear deck.

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[Ron L]

The last reports on the chassis and body design was that the engineers had decided on a twin rear deck design (one lid for the engine and one for the small trunk) which they consider superior to a single deck design.

Those renders are still reflecting visual roots in the yellow MR2-like "Sports EV" concept from a few years ago. And those were mocked up for the concept reveal event before the engineers decided on the twin deck rear approach... which these renders do not appear to reflect.

The original yellow concept car's front end looked good... but that was a pure design study for the shape. The later red(?) or orange(?) EV concept version that showed a yoke steering wheel interior (barf) had a much worse looking and overly busy front end compared to the original yellow concept shell.

The front end looks better and more realistic than the red/orange one... and the sides still look good while being likely more realistic to manufacture... but the single deck rear wouldn't currently be accurate.

...Not unless the intention is very very narrow top engine access under a glass hatch combined with a likely need to drop the rear subframe on its engine for any major service. That would put it into Porsche Boxster and Cayman level service difficulty. The all three prior generations of the MR2 avoided that.

I'm betting on more accurate and slightly different looking concept images leaking down the road that reflect a more 1990-1999 MR2 SW20 style twin rear deck.

I agree completely and really hope you are right.

As somebody who owned 4 different Mk1 MR2's, 2 for the street (1 was supercharged) and 2 that raced in the SCCA, I think the twin rear deck is much more practical.

 

[KahnBB6]

I agree completely and really hope you are right.

As somebody who owned 4 different Mk1 MR2's, 2 for the street (1 was supercharged) and 2 that raced in the SCCA, I think the twin rear deck is much more practical.

That's a beautiful AW11 1st generation!! Awesome that you owned four of them over the years and raced a couple!!

I've always wanted to own and enjoy any generation of this series. I still hope to.

I agree about the twin deck style rear-mid-engine design being the most practical. I think this is also how the Toyota GR engineers must also feel. It allows a mid-engine Toyota two seater to be more practically manageable for most potential owners over the long term compared to extreme high dollar mid engine exotics priced well above what even the most expensive MR2 ever sold for. Their engineer and designer predecessors certainly agreed consistently.

I do hope that this is what they are going for in a fourth generation. whatever it will cost from new such a design will remain far easier to service and maintain well into classic years. Not to mention the distinctive look a twin deck design has.

 

[Bryster]

You think Toyota allows a removable hardtop in the GR MR2 the way the C8 does?

 

[KahnBB6]

You think Toyota allows a removable hardtop in the GR MR2 the way the C8 does?

It's far too early to know what they'll do in that regard but historically the first two MR2 generations came in both solid roof (hardtop/slicktop) and removable top roof versions (Targa Top or T-Top).

But unless they design the cabin's roof section with a very aggressive angle or very tiny surface area they probably will offer the option. I just hope a solid roof version is also available and not near impossible to obtain with other desirable performance hardware options.

This is the kind of model where you would expect the option to be available based on how previous MR2's were designed.

....

Personally I'd never want that since anything with a sunroof or removable Targa or T-Top can eventually develop leak problems down the road (potentially compounded when OEM body seals eventually get discontinued). I've dealt with a leaking vehicle roof once so far and will never buy any vehicle that doesn't come with a solid roof again for that reason.

I also include full or partial sealed glass roofs as well-- way too much unnecessary weight adding to a higher center of gravity versus lighter steel, aluminum or carbon fiber.

The Supra MKV, GR 86, GR Yaris and GR Corolla will never have that problem.

But I do feel the option should still be available for those who want it. It's just annoying when a solid roof isn't made available at all or even on the otherwise desirable trim level you actually want.

That's what I hope Toyota does not do. And since they do not allow customers in the U.S. to custom order cars before they're produced at the factory I hope they don't make availability of a solid roof top of the line MR2 damn near impossible to find due to extremely low pre-determined production numbers despite customer demand. Same with the Supra MKVI.

 

[KahnBB6]

https://bestcarweb.jp/news/business/1439865

(^^ Put the link into Google Chrome for automatic translation)

Underline in bold emphasis mine.

"Light the fire of passion": Toyota's sudden change of president boosts "industry collaboration and profitability"! Koji Sato becomes vice chairman and CIO, and Kenta Chika becomes president and CEO

February 6, 2026 / business

Toyota Motor Corporation has announced executive personnel changes effective April 1, 2026. Representative Director and President Koji Sato will become Representative Director and Vice Chairman, and will also serve in the newly established position of Chief Industry Officer (CIO). At the same time, current Executive Officer Kenta Chika will become President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Sato, who also serves as Chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, will take on the role of overseeing the industry as a whole, while Chika will shift to a structure focused on Toyota itself, with the aim of accelerating management speed while fulfilling the company's commitment to serving the nation and industry.

"What will happen to the next Celica?"
"(When I was told that I would be replaced as president) it was a shock because I was committed to making cars. But when I thought about where I should be and what I should be doing, I realized that I couldn't use 'I' as the subject. I had to use 'we' as the subject. I thought it was the best choice and the best place for us, so I accepted (the position of vice chairman and devoting myself to the position of JAMA chairman)."

At the beginning of a press conference held in Tokyo, Toyota Motor Corporation's current president, Tsuneharu Sato, who will be replaced three years after taking office, made the above statement.

"It's still three years, but it's also been three years already. These three years are completely different from the previous three years. It's moving at an incredible speed."

He reflected on his career as president.

Now, to the main topic. Toyota Motor Corporation will undergo a major restructuring of its leadership structure effective April 1, 2026. Current Representative Director and President Koji Sato will become Representative Director and Vice Chairman, and will also serve in the newly established position of Chief Industry Officer (CIO). Kenta Kon, currently an executive officer and head of the accounting department, will become Toyota Motor Corporation's new President and CEO.

Toyota explained this change as a new formation in which "Sato will focus on the industry as a whole as vice chairman and CIO, and Chika will focus on the company as president and CEO." The goal is to speed up management decisions based on changes in the environment both inside and outside the company, and to create a system that will fulfill Toyota's mission of "contributing to industry and the country."

What is striking about this change in president is how Toyota is stepping up its efforts to promote "industry collaboration" and "industry competitiveness." Toyota has stated that in order to increase its international competitiveness amid a tough business environment for the automobile industry, it is necessary to accelerate the practice of industry collaboration, and has clearly stated that Sato will play a major role at the center of this as chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA).

Furthermore, Sato said that as Vice Chairman of Keidanren (taking office in May 2025), he is expected to make policy recommendations and promote industrial collaboration centered on manufacturing.

As Toyota moves beyond the boundaries of an automaker and transforms into a mobility company, it needs to strengthen collaboration not only within the industry but across industries as well - and it appears that a CIO will be appointed to spearhead this.

Meanwhile, the most important issues identified within the company were improving "profitability," which is the foundation for continuing to make better cars, and "improving the break-even number of units sold." To achieve this, it was necessary to lead reforms that encompassed the entire company and its value chain, rather than simply dividing up work functions.

The explanation is that Chika, who was at the forefront of improving the company's revenue structure as CFO, will now be responsible for internal reforms as president and CEO.

Kon was previously a vice president at Toyota and gained management experience at Woven by Toyota before becoming CFO. At the press conference, he spoke of his aspirations as a president with a background in accounting, saying, "I love money and I love numbers. We have a solid financial foundation and I can let my engineers do what they want."

The company said that the top management personnel changes were discussed and proposed at a meeting that included independent outside directors (the Executive Personnel Planning Committee) and then approved by the board of directors, and an explanation of governance aspects was also included (the decision and notification were apparently made in January 2026. That's quick!).

During the press conference, President Sato shared an anecdote saying, "(Although I'm a car lover myself) Chika-san also loves cars, especially minivans, and we once had a passionate discussion about the Noah." Chika-san responded, "Yes, I love cars too." After all, the head of Toyota has to be a car lover.

Also, for Best Car, the highlight was the end of the press conference.

Just before the end of the press conference, announcer Yuta Tomikawa, who was hosting the event, suddenly asked Sato and Chika, "What will happen to the Celica?"

"Well, I'm from the generation that saw the movie 'Take Me Skiing' (1987), and I admired the Celica GT-FOUR that appeared in that movie. But... neither Sato-san nor Nakajima-san (Vice President in charge of product) have told me anything (about the development of the next Celica). But, I think the fact that they haven't told me means that things are progressing smoothly."

He replied, drawing laughter from the audience.

In response, Sato concluded by saying, "After all, what's important is passion. Cars that are told from above to 'make this' won't be interesting. I think it's the job of management to make sure that the people on the front lines have fun and that the flame of passion doesn't die out."

I hope the fire that continues to burn within Toyota will continue to burn brightly (preferably with a strong flame). Sato-san, I continue to support you. Chika-san, I look forward to the next Celica while you continue to make more money than ever before.

 

[KahnBB6]

https://bestcarweb.jp/news/scoop/1416962

What is the true nature of the Starlet's revival? What is Toyota's goal with the 1.3L turbo inline-3 engine?
January 14, 2026 reprinted from December 2025

Please listen to my somewhat painful and embarrassing explanation...

Since spring 2024, Best Car has been reporting scoop information about the revival of the Starlet.

It is a front-wheel drive compact sports car reminiscent of the classic Starlet Turbo, and there are rumors that it is also called the Starlet among the development team, so Best Car has continued to refer to this car as the "Starlet (working name)."

Looking back, it would have been good to have left it as a "tentative name." New information has come in that it is the next-generation Yaris model.

Let's take a quick look back at the history of the Yaris. The current Yaris was released in 2020. Before that, there was the Vitz, which had three generations: 1999, 2005, and 2010. Before the Vitz was the Starlet, which was Japan's leading compact car from the first generation released in 1973 until the final fifth generation was released in 1996.

In other words, the Starlet and Yaris are of the same lineage. Even though the car name has changed, they have a continuous history, so to speak, the next-generation second-generation Yaris is the 10th-generation Starlet. So it's only natural that it will be released as the second-generation Yaris, rather than as a revival of the Starlet (this isn't an excuse, and I'm not being defensive).

The basic performance of the base vehicle has a major impact on its combat power

That aside, the new Yaris compact sports car is a very authentic car. After all, it is the base model for the WRC Rally 4 class.

The current GR Yaris (1.6L turbo 4WD) is the base car for Rally 1, the top category of the WRC, but its internals have been significantly modified.

For starters, the 1.6L turbo engine is a three-cylinder in the GR Yaris, while the Rally 1 car has a four-cylinder, and the positioning of the engine is different, so while it only has the shape of a GR Yaris, the inside is an ultra-special rally-specific machine.

On the other hand, large-scale modifications are not permitted in Rally 4, and the basic performance of the base car has a major impact on its competitiveness. In a sense, it can be said that a higher level of base car is required than in Rally 1.

The next-generation Yaris will take on this challenge. The engine is a 1.3L inline-3 turbo, a smaller displacement version of the GR Yaris 1.6L turbo. The maximum output is said to be 135ps, and since 4WD is not permitted in Rally 4, it will be front-wheel drive, and will also be fitted with rear seats in accordance with the regulations requiring a minimum of four seats. It has also been confirmed that it will have a five-door body.

The platform is an evolution of the current Yaris' GA-B, with front strut and rear torsion beam suspension. It is said to be exclusively available with a 6-speed manual transmission, but there is also a possibility that an 8-speed GR-DAT will be available, which would be powerful enough for motorsports.

In order to obtain homologation for the base car of the Rally 4, 2,500 units must be produced within 12 months, and this car will also be released in a limited run of 2,500 units.

Full-scale rally-based cars are popular among enthusiasts, and demand from general users is also expected, but there will be no strange allure and only a minimum of 2,500 units will be produced.

It is scheduled to be released in October 2027. The current Yaris will debut in 2020, and will undergo a full model change every seven years, but the earliest it can be introduced in the WRC is the 2028 season.

The environment surrounding cars is changing rapidly and dramatically. The situation may be completely different by 2028, so to be honest, it's unclear whether this car will be able to go on sale with the information available at this stage.

However, it's been a while since we've seen a "serious rally-based car," which was once common in Japan, and if it's going to be described as "next-generation," there's bound to be interest in what kind of car it will be.

●Next-generation Toyota Yaris Rally4-based expected specifications
・Length x width x height: 3850 x 1725 x 1475 mm
・Wheelbase: 2450 mm
・Vehicle weight: 980 kg
・Engine: Inline 3, 1.3L turbo
・Maximum output / maximum torque: 135 ps / 22.5 kgm
・Drive system: FF
・Transmission: 6MT / 8DAT
・Release date: October 2027 (limited to 2,500 units)
・Expected price: 2.5 million to 2.8 million yen

Interesting news (although a bit late) to give a better idea of what the upcoming not-for-USA GR Starlet aka next-generation GR Yaris will be:

-The company feels that the Starlet lineage is carried on by the Yaris at this point if I am understanding correctly

-Intended to qualify for Rally4 homologation. Four seats are required. No major drivetrain modifications allowed beyond stock. 4WD/AWD not allowed.

-Will be limited production with a minimum of 2,500 units produced.

-The next generation car will not be (as previously reported) using the GR-Four AWD system. It will be front engine front drive. (My speculation: since the GR Yaris was purpose built as a homologation special rally car that never quite got to be officially homologated in the class and campaigns it was intended to be... but sold to the public anyway... Toyota sees a re-focus of the Yaris for a new homologated racing class as a logical path forward)

This would then make the GR-Four AWD system exclusive to the GR Corolla and GR MR2/Celica from now on... and probably to be paired with the G20E in future models... unless any other special models we haven't heard of will be GR-Four equipped.

-1.3L Inline-3 (downsized from the G16E 1.6L) targeted at 135ps output

-Five door hatchback body design (four seats required for Rally4)

-FF 6MT and FF A/T transmissions expected to be offered.

Beyond this I hope it is an extremely light car if it will be limited to 135ps output. I wonder if that power figure is due to a regulation of Rally4 homologation. You'd think they would give a downsized version of this engine in a front wheel drive chassis something between 150hp-200hp which would already be very detuned from the GR Corolla's 300hp or the 268hp of the basic GR Yaris.

......

The bigger question here is if that 1.3L low power variant of the G16E really is the engine also intended (longitudinally mounted) for the front engine rear wheel drive Toyota S-FR / Daihatsu Copen / Suzuki Cappuccino trio co-developed small roadsters which supposedly will supposedly no longer be Kei-class vehicles despite still being very small.

Maybe Toyota, Daihatsu and Suzuki have some other engine in mind but it would make sense if they intended to use the same developed engine the new Toyota Rally4 car will be getting.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

 

[Bryster]

what do you think the codename is for the GR-MR2?

 

[Bryster]

SHE LIVES

 

[Loco38SUP]

And the spy photos begin…

Much sooner than I anticipated so that’s good news.

-RJM

 

[Bryster]

What's funny is that the headlights have become so so uniform you can easily predict the shirt clip shape

 

[KahnBB6]

Interesting!

If that's an AWD Celica then it's a lot smaller than the ST185 (1989-1993) and ST205 (1993.5-1999) generations. It looks at least as small as the 1985-1989 ST165 generation.

Maybe this is a prototype test mule chassis partly based on the short wheelbase of the GR Yaris or its front and/or rear subframe(s)?

Whatever stage in the chassis development this represents it definitely looks like it has a front engine and it definitely isn't the coming Starlet/next-gen-Yaris since that is supposed to be a FWD 5-door hatchback.

So they're actually be doing a standalone Celica and standalone MR2 based on what we see here.

 

[Bryster]

What's really interesting is this would be current gen's version of the Lancer Evo

 

[Thraxbert]

it's already been confirmed that this is just a shell fitted to a class-specific tube frame. We have no way of knowing if the size or proportions are similar to the intended production vehicle, or if it's just "reminiscent".

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