These plucky Brits reckon the MR-2 is coming back sometime in the next couple of years…as a pure electric car and I tend to agree.
It’s been more than ten long years since we’ve seen the last of the third gen Toyota MR-2’s roll off the production line but that doesn’t mean Toyota’s big-wigs have forgotten about the fun and tossable mid-engined sports car. Far from it. As per Auto Car UK on their tenuous report on the return of this legendary and affordable tuner earlier this week (Oct. 25, 2018) Toyota is ready to bring back the two-seater roadster and give it a proper electric drivetrain, readying this car for a fun future without relying on dino juice.
It looks like Auto Car was at the 2018 Paris Motor Show and went over to talk to European Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Matt Harrison where they sussed out of him that Toyota was at the
…Discussion stage.
…with the model and confirmed that it is a favored potential addition to the future of Toyota Sports cars.
Toyota is in the middle of a sports-car revival of sorts thanks to the leadership of Akio Toyoda and his push to get Toyotas out there that are more fun and engaging than ever before, from the lowly Corolla, which, by the way should be here by the end of 2019, all the way to the upcoming Toyota Supra.
Akio even has a name for this triumvirate which he dubs the “Three Brothers” which is the Toyota Supra, Celica coupe, and MR2. Amen. These three cars were very much his generation, are steeped in motoring history for Toyota, and, it would behoove the brand to bring each one back in one way or another.
Like the Supra, expect this revived Toyota MR-2 to sport a drivetrain befitting of when it actually gets announced so it’s full-electric from where I see it. With instant torque, a sizeable battery pack where the rear shelf parcel usually sits, and motors out back where you’d normally see a 1.6-2.0L engine, the MR2 is the perfect platform to electrify.
Pair that electric punch to a chassis that begs to eat corners and you have a recipe for a car that’s friendly to the environment, totally Toyota, but also very fun.
Auto Car doesn’t give an exact date and estimates around 2025 but I’m saying even earlier to 2022 where we should see something from Toyota in regards to the return of its second brother of the, “Three Brothers.”
Source: AutoCar
