Toyota built a mid-engined prototype packing a brand new turbo-4

• Toyota unveiled a mid-engined GR Yaris prototype on the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon
• The prototype is powered by a newly developed 2.0-liter turbo-4
• The prototype’s reveal has reignited rumors of the return of the MR2

Toyota surprised visitors on the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon on Friday with a GR Yaris prototype featuring a brand new 2.0-liter turbo-4 engine in a mid-engined layout.

Toyota stated that the prototype is an element of a group of test vehicles engineers are using to develop what the automaker describes as “ever-better motorsports-bred cars.”

The opposite cars in the gathering include a GR Yaris utilized in endurance races on the Nürburgring and a GR Yaris with an experimental aerodynamic package currently being evaluated by Toyota engineers and several other skilled racing drivers.

The mid-engine prototype, officially named the GR Yaris M, is especially intriguing, as Toyota has not indicated plans to launch a mid-engined automotive—despite persistent rumors concerning the return of the MR2. Notably, in 2023, Toyota unveiled an electrical sports automotive concept, the FT-Se, with proportions that might align well with a mid-engined platform.

Toyota’s official comment on the GR Yaris M is that it was built to explore the potential of the GR Yaris platform. The automaker plans to further develop this potential by entering the automotive in Japan’s Super Taikyu racing series.

Toyota has confirmed that latest sports cars are within the works. A senior Toyota official announced last November that a contemporary Celica is coming, even though it is just not expected to feature a mid-engined design.

Moreover, an episode of Toyota’s self-published cartoon, “Grip,” released last 12 months, showed a whiteboard listing several potential latest models. These included a brand new Supra, a brand new Celica, a brand new MR2, a brand new GR86, and a GR GT3. Of those, the GR GT3 has already been spotted undergoing tests, each as a race automotive and as a road automotive. The road automotive could eventually be marketed under the Lexus brand.

The GR Yaris in stock form is already a potent track machine. Sold outside the U.S., the newest version includes a turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-3 mounted under the hood and spitting out 276 hp. The engine may be paired with either a 6-speed manual or Toyota’s newly developed 8-speed Direct Automatic Transmission.