At the beginning of the millennium, Toyota parted with many of its best-known sports cars, upsetting many of its fans. Just under ten years later, however, the Japanese automaker began to rethink its strategy. As such, of late, Toyota has been focusing more on sports models, some of which were sold under the Gazoo Racing label. These included the somewhat mild GT86 (now GR86), and later the hot Supra in cooperation with BMW. So all is well? Almost ‚ because fans have long wished for the return of an affordable entry-level sports car. According to a new report out of Japan, Toyota could now actually fulfill this wish as the Japanese automaker is developing a new entry-level mid-engine sports car to give the Mazda MX5 Miata a run for its money. In addition, it won't be going it alone, with Daihatsu and Suzuki along for the ride.
The Return Of The MR-2 In Cooperation With Daihatsu And Suzuki
According to information from the Japanese magazine Best Car Web, Toyota is working with its Asian allies Daihatsu and Suzuki on a new small entry-level sports car. A special feature of this is likely to be the envisaged mid-engine layout of the model, which, although it offers powerful performance, also entails a considerable amount of additional development work. This is probably also the reason why the three manufacturers have joined forces to keep the costs for the platform as low as possible in this price-sensitive segment.
Flying against the norm of today's new-car market, the small mid-engine sports car does not rely on an electric drive but on a turbocharged three-cylinder engine with a displacement of one liter and 120 horsepower (90 kW) as well as 148 pound-feet (200 N-m) of torque. Even if these numbers don't sound like a performance overkill, the Mazda MX-5 Miata is worth remembering, whose two-seater model has similar performance values and is still enormous fun to drive. Mazda's small sports car is, therefore, likely to be the biggest competitor for the trio of Toyota, Daihatsu, and Suzuki, which could have an additional advantage ‚— that's because the manufacturers are also planning to use a mild hybrid system that could not only reduce fuel consumption but also increase performance.
A Lightweight Entry-Level Toyota Sports Car At An Affordable Price
Fittingly, the weight of the sports car is also expected to be just under 1,000 kilograms, which would roughly correspond to the level of the Mazda MX-5 Miata. At the same time, however, the trio's offering is expected to be somewhat larger in its dimensions and, with a length of 4,200 millimeters, will clearly exceed the four-meter mark. The increased length (just under 25 centimeters compared to the MX-5 Miata) should benefit the wheelbase of the new trio, with the dimensions lending themself to significantly better straight-line stability in comparison and thus also increased driving dynamics.
The division of labor between the three brands should also ensure good financial performance. Suzuki is developing the engine, Toyota is contributing the front suspension of the Yaris, and Daihatsu is likely to be entrusted with the basic styling, which will then be adapted to the various brand designs. This approach should ultimately pay off in terms of price, which could be as low as $16,500–$21,000. However, there still remains one big unknown: whether or not Toyota will bring the sports car to North America.