Something interesting is happening at Toyota headquarters. The company just filed trademarks for “GR MR2” and “GR MR-S” across more than 10 countries, and that’s not the kind of paperwork you do for fun. When a major automaker starts locking down naming rights from Japan to Denmark to Australia, they’re usually getting ready to launch something. Add in the fact that Toyota’s been testing a mid-engine GR Yaris prototype with a brand new turbocharged engine, and suddenly the rumors about an MR2 revival start sounding a whole lot less like wishful thinking.

• Toyota filed trademarks for both “GR MR2” and “GR MR-S” in over 10 countries, including Japan, Australia, Denmark, Norway, and several others, starting in November 2025.
• The company has been testing a mid-engine GR Yaris M prototype with a new turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that could produce between 400 and 450 horsepower in road-going form.
• Industry sources suggest the new MR2 could arrive by 2027 or 2028, filling the gap in Toyota’s GR lineup between the affordable GR86 and the flagship GR GT supercar.

The Trademark Trail Gets Serious

Toyota submitted the GR MR2 trademark to Japan’s Patent Office on November 25, 2025. Two days later, the GR MR-S name showed up in Australia. Then came filings in Estonia, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland, Latvia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Argentina. That’s a lot of intellectual property protection for what some might dismiss as just protecting an old nameplate.

The choice of two different names makes sense when you look at the MR2’s history. The third-generation model, sold as the MR-S in Japan, retained the MR2 badge in North America and most of Europe. Toyota might be planning different market strategies, or they could just be covering all their bases before announcing anything official.

What makes these filings different from typical corporate housekeeping? Denmark often serves as a gateway for EU-wide trademark protection. Filing there suggests Toyota wants full European market coverage, not just a token registration to keep squatters away from the name.

The Prototype That Started the Buzz

Back in January 2025, Toyota unveiled the GR Yaris M Concept at the Tokyo Auto Salon. Engineers had moved the engine from the front of the hot hatch to behind the seats, creating a proper mid-engine layout. They swapped out the standard 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine for a completely new turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, designated as the G20E.

Toyota’s been racing this prototype in Japan’s Super Taikyu Series, pushing it to find weak points. That’s how the company develops production cars. They race them, break them, fix them, and race them again. Engineers openly referred to the project as “MR-something” when talking to journalists. That kind of slip doesn’t happen by accident.

Reports from Japan suggest the new engine makes around 400 to 450 horsepower in street trim, with race versions hitting 600 horsepower. The prototype features all-wheel drive, a first for any MR2. Previous generations stuck with rear-wheel drive, but modern performance cars increasingly use AWD to put serious power down without drama.

Where This Fits in the GR Lineup

Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division has gotten busy lately. The GR Yaris and GR Corolla dominate hot hatch conversations. The GR86 offers affordable rear-drive thrills. The GR Supra delivers serious sports car performance. Now the GR GT supercar has been revealed, pushing well into six-figure territory with its hybrid V8 powertrain.

That leaves a gap. The GR86 starts around $30,000 and makes 228 horsepower. The GR GT is likely to cost over $200,000, boasting more than 600 horsepower. A mid-engine sports car with 400-plus horsepower and AWD could slot perfectly between them, maybe in the $50,000 to $70,000 range if Toyota keeps things reasonable.

The original MR2 earned its reputation as an affordable exotic. First-generation models from 1984 weighed around 2,300 pounds and used a 112-horsepower four-cylinder. The second generation, nicknamed “poor man’s Ferrari,” arrived in 1989 with curvy styling and available turbocharged power. The third generation went a lightweight roadster, ending production in 2007 with just 138 horsepower but brilliant handling.

A new version wouldn’t need to be cheap. It would need to be accessible compared to Porsche’s mid-engine offerings while delivering genuine performance. Toyota knows how to build reliable turbocharged four-cylinders, and the GR Yaris already proved customers will pay premium prices for properly executed performance cars.

Should You Get Your Hopes Up?

Trademark filings don’t guarantee production cars. Automakers register names all the time and never use them. Toyota isn’t stopping at paperwork, though. They’re racing a mid-engine prototype. They’re developing a new turbocharged engine specifically sized for a sports car. They’re filing trademarks across multiple continents using their performance brand prefix.

The development hasn’t been smooth. Toyota admitted to “many challenges” with the GR Yaris M prototype, including issues with braking, steering, and cooling. Mid-engine cars are expensive to develop and harder to package than front-engine layouts. But Gazoo Racing’s whole philosophy involves pushing through problems on race tracks until they find solutions.

Japanese publication Best Car claims the new MR2 carries the internal chassis code “710D” and could launch in 2028. That timeline makes sense given where the prototype testing stands now. The 2025 racing season gives engineers another year of real-world data before freezing the design for production tooling.

If Toyota pulls this off, they’ll bring back one of the most beloved nameplates in their history. The MR2 always represented driving joy over raw numbers, handling precision over straight-line speed. A modern version with 400 horsepower, AWD, and the reliability Toyota’s known for would be something special. Whether it actually happens depends on how well those development challenges get sorted out over the next couple of years.