Is Toyota Working on a New Electric MR2?

Alongside a slew of exciting electric concept vehicles, Toyota recently unveiled a mid-engine electric concept that looks to be the MR2 reborn.

The press conference was light on details, but it hasn’t stopped MR2 enthusiasts from speculating about the potential future of Toyota sports cars in an electrified era. 

The focus of the presentation was clearly on Toyota’s drive to make sustainable cars. We don’t know if all the presented vehicles are going to be fully battery-powered, as hydrogen engines and carbon-neutral fuels are also being researched and developed at Toyota, particularly for motorsports and high-performance vehicles.

Toyota states that its sporty electric vehicles will be fun to drive. What we can tell from the render shots is that the concept MR2, for lack of a better name, is a sharp departure stylistically from anything Toyota makes today.

The Toyota electric sports car of the future

The official renders have GR branding and point to the sports car being relatively small with a mid-engine setup. The most striking details are the large air intakes that give the front a cheeky grin.

We know that Toyota plans to launch 30 EVs in the next nine years, so it’s certainly possible that this new, affordable two-seat electric sports car will become a reality soon.

Do you remember the S-FR concept?

This isn’t the first vehicle Toyota has floated as a potential replacement for the MR2. Back in 2015, the manufacturer unveiled the S-FR concept, which never made the light of day. The S-FR had a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, a six-speed manual gearbox, and a weight of around 980kg.

The S-FR was met by a wave of optimism by enthusiasts. You could even drive it in Gran Turismo Sport. It’s been unclear to this day why Toyota never put it into production. 

Now, it seems that Toyota has a new replacement for the MR2 in this electric-powered model, so stay tuned to see how it develops over the next few years.