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This is the MR2 Sports Hybrid Concept from Toyota’s almost-totally-official tuning outfit, Gazoo Racing.
We’d love to tell you that this means we’ll definitely see a new production Toyota MR2, but that might be going a bit far. However, it does mean that Toyota is at least thinking about a new MR2, which is a start.
Gazoo Racing is Toyota’s community website in Japan, and also operates as a race team: last year, it took the Lexus LF-A to the Nurburgring 24-hour race, with Akio Toyoda (Toyota’s CEO) and Hiromu Naruse (Toyota’s chief tester) on driving duties.
Which means we should pay attention when Gazoo creates a concept. Especially when it’s a reworked last-gen MR2 with a 3.3-litre V6 driving the rear wheels and an electric motor powering the front wheels.
So yeah, it’s a hybrid, but an interesting one: Gazoo pegs the MR2’s output at around 400bhp. With a kerbweight of 1300kg – a couple of hundred kilos heavier than the last-gen MR2 thanks to the hybrid’s batteries, but still light by current standards – it should be pretty rapid. We haven’t seen any performance figures yet, but you’re likely looking at a car that can show a Cayman S a clean pair of heels.
The only slight disappointment is that it gets a CVT rather than a proper manual ‘box, but we’ll let that one slide.
Have a look at the video below and let us know what you think. Want to see a new MR2 in production? And if so, can you cope with it being hybrid powered?
Return of the MR2?
Toyota’s official tuning arm, Gazoo Racing, creates a 400bhp hybrid MR2. But will it reach production?
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What do you think?
Want to comment on this?
Afaque commented on this article
at 01:58 pm on 18 January 2010
Instead of making brilliant sporty roadsters like the S2000 and MR2, jap manufacturers have gone to making dreary hybrids. Which is probably why they've been doing so bad lately and have pulled out of F1. Honda, Toyota, please go back to making simple sporty roadsters without any batteries or electric motors...
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James67 commented on this article
at 01:59 pm on 18 January 2010
Personally I'd love to see a new MR2 but only if it's going to be a proper sports car i.e not a hybrid and with a proper manual gearbox. Everyone knows hydrogen is the answer so why don't car companies focus on developing that rather than wasting their money on hybrids which will only ever be a temporary solution anyway?
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Quandry commented on this article
at 02:27 pm on 18 January 2010
I think the powertrain sounds innovative and very promising. I bet it would be a real screamer around the Top Gear circuit at the hands of the Stig too! Might be worth bringing up a version based on the SW20 MR2 however, it was a more popular shape and is on it's way to becoming a cult car. Quandry MR2 Drivers www.mr2.ie
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gogmorgoaway commented on this article
at 02:31 pm on 18 January 2010
The problem with hydrogen is that it's expensive and not terribly efficient. Plus, you need a thermally insulated, rather high-pressure container to keep it liquid, or else it's no good anyway. I agree with you that hybrids are almost pointless, except where you have a vehicle driving into some place where it's best not to have any emissions, such as a wear house, or a school gym, or something. I think that full electric is a better solution than hydrogen, but really think that the good ol' V8 is still better for the environment than what goes into making the batteries, so I'll stick with it for now, thank you very much.
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James67 commented on this article
at 03:16 pm on 18 January 2010
For the moment at least I think your right that a standard petrol or diesel is actually best for the environment once you factor in the environmental impact of producing and disposing of batteries. So they should probably just work on making internal combustion engines more efficient. However even if they find a way round this problem electric cars still aren't great. They might produce no emissions at the point of use but the elctricity used to charge them up is produced by burning coal and other fossil fuels. So until we find a way to produce electricity cleanly and sustainably electric cars are a waste of time.
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