Toyota preparing new MR2, Celica and Lexus supercar

A typical four-year development cycle would point to the new MR2 being ready for production in around 2028. However, Toyota may expedite its development so it can go on sale for a greater number of years before the introduction of restrictions on the sale of pure-petrol cars in key markets such as the UK (set to phase them out in 2030) and the EU (2035).

An earlier arrival would allow the MR2 to plug the hole left in Toyota’s GR line-up by the current-generation Supra. The A90 Final Edition model, limited to 300 examples globally, was unveiled in November last year.

Japanese publication Best Car has reported that the new Supra is due around 2027 and that it’s most likely to use a hybridised version of the G20E with rear-wheel drive – both to differentiate it from the Celica and to boost efficiency, which is crucial to the Supra’s brief in the GT4 racing category.

Following the same principle, the Celica – expected to be the first of the new trio to arrive – is most likely to use the powerplant mounted up front, but with four-wheel drive. Best Car has reported that it could reprise the GT-Four name that adorned homologation special versions of the Celica for the World Rally Championship in the 1980s and 1990s.

It’s even possible that the Celica could return to the World Rally Championship, after the FIA expanded the series’ regulations to allow a wider range of bodystyles from 2027: saloons, hatchbacks, SUVs and, crucially, “bespoke” designs. “Bodywork from almost any scaled production car [can] be fitted to the safety cell”, the governing body said.

Motorsport is playing a major role in shaping the successor to the Lexus LFA, previewed by the GR GT3 concept that was unveiled three years ago.

The new supercar has been spotted running in both road-going and racing trim at circuits across Europe, including Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring Nordschleife and it’s expected to be ready for top-flight competition in 2026.

Notably, the FIA’s homologation rules state that any GT3 racer must share its basic body design with a related road car, pointing to the arrival of a road car before the racer.

Unlike the Celica and MR2, the new Lexus will be powered by a thunderous V8, which – unlike that in the outgoing Lexus LC grand tourer and the existing RC F coupé – is reported to breathe through twin turbochargers. It’s likely to produce around 500-600bhp in racing form and the car will weigh no more than 1300kg, given the limitations imposed by the GT3 ruleset.

The road car is expected to add an element of hybridisation. Autocar’s spy photographers have reported that prototypes move off silently from a standstill, with the engine firing up only a few metres later.

Lexus has yet to announce a name but it has trademarked ‘LFR’, which would reflect the car’s positioning as an LFA successor, as well as its high-performance billing.