A visitor to Fuji Speedway may have spotted a prototype Toyota MR2 lapping the circuit. The car in question is a compact sports car with a mid-engine layout as evidenced at the large air intakes aft of the doors and wide rear track. It even seems to carry the same stance and proportions as the W30 MR2 Spyder, except it has a fixed roof.
At the rear, it wears taillights that closely resemble those from a Toyota GR Yaris. It also wears box flares, a swan-neck rear wing, and wheels that look like Volk TE37s.
The car was photographed by a visitor to the Fuji Speedway café, which overlooks the track and is generally open to the public even when there are no races taking place. After posting it to social media on July 22, a different visitor responded with video footage of the car.
走行動画 pic.twitter.com/5LxZVE7FCC
— ∬なのぽよ∬🧪🗿 💬🔁💙 𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩→？ (@You_SuiKoyoAZ) July 22, 2026
There is also a chance that this is the new GR Celica. It has been rumored that the revived Celica will be mid-engined and AWD. Likely drivetrains include Toyota’s newly developed turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four, which can be tuned up to 400 horsepower. If it is, the dream of ex-Toyota president Koji Sato may live on. Whatever it’s called, it’s nice to know that Toyota is testing another sports car.
let’s hope the new, minivan loving CEO doesnt kill this
Not very MR2-ish, IMHO… looks much more Celica-ish, like you suggest. Ya never know, though!
That looks like a GT4 version of whatever nameplate that car will have. For the street version, envision a very trimmed back front splitter, a less racy rear wing, and reined in flares. Oh and not plexiglass non lowering door windows. And even with that configuration a US price close to $50,000
A GT4 version of the MR2 could be pretty epic, but I don’t know if 400hp will cut it at this point. The Alpine A110 GT4s have never been that strong, and Porsche just pulled the Cayman in favour of a slightly detuned 911 Cup car. But as a step above or to replace the GR86 Cup it could be really cool.
Fascinating — I love the mule spy shots.
It’s a mule, so don’t count on anything in the final appearance. The headlights alone look like they were borrowed from whatever was lying around, which is exactly what happens with mules. Same with the taillights. They’re clearly from the same “family” design language, but they’re almost certainly placeholders. Find another Toyota and you’ll probably spot where they came from. Lights on mules at this stage are never final — not even close.
What matters is the overall size and what’s underneath.
Starting with the wheelbase: short. No room for a back seat. So this isn’t a Celica. And we’ve already seen the Celica out rallying — someone needs to get much better photos of that car for comparison. Look at the front window angle, for example.
The side intake is obviously feeding the engine, but it’s clearly not in its final form. The whole rear-side flat panel setup is just a cheap, quick way to cover the wheels and carve out an opening for cooling.
RWD or AWD? You’d need to get closer and look at the hub. The two different tire sizes suggest a RWD layout. And honestly, what’s the point of selling both an AWD Celica and an AWD MR2? If you’re talking 400 HP, I’ll always prefer AWD — it’s hard to put that much power down cleanly, and there’s a point where more horsepower doesn’t matter because you can’t use it. That’s why the GT‑R is AWD.
It’s going to be terrific watching this and the Celica evolve over the next several months. I remember test‑driving both back in the day at my dealer, and I still wish I’d bought them. Of course, my S2000 and Focus RS out‑do both of them handily… so Toyota has to deliver well above those two if they want to impress me now.