It is way too early for April Fool’s, but Toyota apparently did not get the memo. The revered MR2 revival has been floating for some years and further injecting some NOS into the social media firestorm in the Tokyo Auto Salon (TAS) 2026 build-up, Toyota’s chairman himself teased a mid-engined car. Well, they definitely did
The mid-engined build is based on the Toyota Pixis Truck, itself based on the familiar Daihatu Hijet kei truck that Toyota has been selling since 2011. There is even a variant with 4WD, which is likely the base for this rally-inspired build.
The new standalone Gazoo Racing brand brought its own take while Daihatsu also rolled up with their build. Gazoo Racing’s version on the left adds a couple of bucket seats in the bed to mimic the Subaru Brat. Toyota top dogs enthused that this more of a rally car while the Daihatsu unit was meant to stretch the limits of an off-roader.
Hardly the MR2 we had all wanted to trade out mothers for but still a very refreshing take on what most perceive to be a humdrum utilitarian micro truck.
However chairman Akio Toyoda did state that their Tokyo Auto Salon strategy during the livestream was akin a three-round boxing match, with the first round being Gazoo Racing’s standalone status and the second comprising the faux MR2 kei trucks.
That pretty much leaves round three and as much as we pray to the gasoline gods that it will be the new MR2, the live press conference below displayed what appears to be more of the silhouette belonging to a Nascar Camry (pictured below).
Nonetheless, hope is all we have and even if the MR2 does not bless TAS with its presence, the fact that Toyota has trademarked the names indicates that it could eventually be launched later in the year.