Toyota Could Kill The MR2 Revival For Something Much Cooler

Japan’s Best Car – a source that should be taken with much more than just a grain of salt – reported in its July issue that the next Celica, code-named 710D, is set to debut at the 2027 Tokyo Motor Show on a newly developed mid-engine platform. This platform would be the same one Toyota previewed earlier this year in its GR Yaris M concept, essentially a modified version of the GR Yaris hot hatch adapted to fit a mid-engine layout.

At the concept's reveal at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota referred to it as a prototype and said it was part of a collection of test vehicles being used to develop what the automaker described as “ever-better motorsports-bred cars.” The prototype retained the GR Yaris's all-wheel-drive system but paired it with a newly developed turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4, which Toyota is planning both as a standalone engine and in hybrid configurations. On its own, the engine delivered around 450 horsepower in the concept, but Toyota has hinted that more than 600 hp is possible – and that’s before adding any electrification.

Celicas have previously been offered with all-wheel drive, with some GT-Four models linked to Toyota’s World Rally Championship efforts in the 1980s and 1990s delivering respectable performance. However, the Celica has never been mid-engined – that role belonged to the MR2. Although rumors of a new MR2 have circulated, a mid-engine Celica would likely kill any chance of its return, as there wouldn't be room for two mid-engine performance cars in the Toyota lineup. Interestingly, Toyota has acknowledged the rumors surrounding the mid-engine Celica without actually denying them.

According to the Best Car report, the new Celica will be powered solely by the turbocharged inline-4, helping to differentiate it from a planned MK VI Supra, which is being developed with hybrid power in mind. The new Supra will reportedly stick with the nameplate’s traditional front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, and come powered with the turbocharged inline-4 paired with a hybrid system for a combined output of around 500 hp.

The Celica will reportedly be available with either a 6-speed manual or the lightning-fast 8-speed Gazoo Racing Direct Automatic Transmission (DAT) that debuted in the latest GR Yaris, and its output will reportedly lie around 395 hp, meaning serious performance. A new GR86 is expected to fill in the entry-level slot in Toyota's future sports car lineup, with the Supra at the top.

As for the styling, Toyota's well-received FT-Se concept from 2023 may point the way. Although the concept featured an electric powertrain, the concept featured the proportions of a mid-engine car and Toyota even hinted that the design could also carry an ICE powertrain. Stay tuned.