Last week it was discovered that Toyota has applied for trademarks for the GR MR2 and GR MR-S names. There have been rumors of an MR2 revival swirling around for a couple of years, and Toyota has shown off a sports car with a mid-engined profile, but that concept was said to be electric. Naturally the discovery is fueling another round of speculation about the possibility of a Mister Two resurrection.
According to Best Car, the filings were made on November 25, 2025 and published by Japan’s patent and trademark office on December 3. Oddly, the article says their searches have not revealed any records of Toyota applying for a GR Celica trademark, despite the Celica being talked about much more by Toyota executives.
The Toyota MR2 is the only affordable mid-engined sports cars sold in America that lasted more than a single generation. It also benefitted from Toyota durability and parts bin manufacturing. Essentially they were just Corollas or Celicas, depending on the generation, with the drivetrain on the opposite end of the car.
Best Car states that there’s already a development code, 710D, for this car. That means it has progressed beyond just the idea phase and is actively being planned. They also say it will be 4400 mm in length, 1860 mm in width, and 1230 mm in height (173 x 73 x 48.5 inches), or slightly bigger than the last Celica. They also claim an output of 493 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque from the next-generation G20E inline-four.
There have also been rumors about how this car would be co-developed with Subaru (leaving the GR86 to shared a chassis with the next Miata). Toyota has already shown a mid-engined GR Yaris prototype that it has been racing in the Super Taikyu endurance series.
Toyota already has a pretty full lineup of performance cars in the GR 86, GR Supra, GR Yaris and Corolla and the newly announced GR GT and Lexus LFA sports cars. Plus, there seems to have been serious discussion about the Celica and Starlet. We never thought we’d say this, but is Toyota doing too much for enthusiasts? At a time when a majority of automakers are struggling to sell even one sports car, it seems overambitious for Toyota launch this many high-performance machines in rapid succession. If any carmaker can pull this portfolio off, though, it’s Toyota.
If a new MR2 does in fact have the kind of power mentioned in this article, it will de-facto priced above the majority of the market for such a car. Unless Toyota planes to move a new MR2 massively up market, and badge it as a Lexus?