Another step towards the return of the Toyota MR2 sports car has been taken after the automaker made new trademark applications in Japan and Australia.
Toyota filed to protect both the ‘GR MR2’ and ‘GR MR-S’ nameplates. The GR prefix stands for Gazoo Racing, the brand’s performance arm and an acronym used on other sports cars including the GR86 and GR Supra.
Japanese title Creative Trend reported the filing with the Japan Patent Office, with the GR MR-S name registered with IP Australia late last month.
While previous versions were badged ‘MR2’ in Australia, the sports car was sold as the MR-S in Japan.
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The ‘MR2’ name means ‘mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-seater’, a formula that it followed across three generations sold in Australia between 1987 and 2006, with global production spanning 1984 to 2007.
Toyota showed an electric concept, the FT-Se, back in 2023, with mid-engine proportions prompting speculation it was a design study for an upcoming MR2.
Anticipation of a new MR2 gathered momentum after the GR Yaris M concept debuted at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon with a mid-mounted engine (hence the ‘M’), again suggesting it served as a testbed for an upcoming MR2.
General Motors famously used a modified Holden ute to help develop the current-generation C8 Corvette, which moved from a front-mounted engine to a mid-engined layout and is also rear-wheel drive.
The automaker hasn’t officially confirmed a fourth-generation MR2, although an executive inadvertently revealed plans to revive the Celica sports car – last sold in 2006 – to rival the new 2026 Honda Prelude.
Both the MR2 and the Celica are rumoured to use the same 2.0-litre engine from the automaker’s new generation of internal combustion engines. The Yaris Concept M used a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol – codenamed G20E – with all-wheel drive.
Japanese outlet Best Car reported the engine will make 221kW/400Nm in its entry-level tune, with a performance spec offering around 294kW/550Nm and a track version producing an even higher 441kW.
The news comes as Toyota is expanding its sports car lineup, pulling the covers off a production version of its 320km/h GR GT sports car.
The most powerful Toyota yet, its 478kW/850Nm 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid powertrain is from the same ICE family as the rumoured MR2/Celica engine. A production version of the GR GT is due in 2027.