Here we go again! MR2 real this time?
 

https://images.autofun.ph/file1/41a4...bf3d0_1200.jpg



https://www.autofun.ph/news/an-mrs-c...MqlHUNDtRI0bHo

It is a rendering. "May" was used 5 times in the article, "likely" twice, "purported" once.
In other words, just more speculation.

assuming any of it is truth, which isn't likely, if they're teaming up with suzuki, it won't be for the american market, as suzuki left a long time ago and it'd cost too much to federalize a budget sports car to compete with the 2 sports cars toyota already has in their lineup.

Nit picking a bit, Toy now has 3 GR's in the line-up up here …
In Europe and Australia it also has the Yaris GR somewhat available.

But I agree the more Toy toy’s out there would be a good thing.

Computer graphics are great, but it makes it so easy to add visual "credence" to speculation.

The styling is busy for my tastes, but that's the norm in the 21st century.

A lot to like; 2 doors, a hatch (I think), not too tall like most other vehicles, if on a Yaris platform I presume not too big.

IF I fit inside,IF they made it, IF they imported to the US, IF still in production in 2030 when I plan to replace my Boxster... yeah, something like this might be on my list of vehicles to consider.

Oh goody. Another car no one can afford at the MSRP because of inflation and dealer mark ups. Cool.

yeah, completely forgot about the gr corolla and gr yaris. i've mostly forgotten about them because they're both a special edition/limited run, and there's slim to no chance of most people getting one.

I doubt I will ever see a GR Corolla around here in the wild. Limited editions and with our currency rates and
MSRP provincial laws for new cars pricing I suspect some of our allocations may be diverted to the U$…

At least they sure look purdy in the real pictures and not renders to dream about…

Slow news week for the clickbaits. The Best Car article they are "quoting" is a year old. The "information" in that article is eight to ten years old. This isn't news of any type but just a rehashing of speculation that goes back at least 10 years.
All in all they were looking for clicks so they could make some cash and it worked.

https://bestcarweb.jp/backnumber/348053

$75k for underpowered 4cyl mid engine

So you're saying an overpowered or 'sufficient' powered 4cyl mid engine car is worth $75k? lol

3 Cylinder.

This isnt a new rumor, nor is it that old either (probably several months ago i heard about this)

As far as i remember the rumored Daihatsu/Suzuki/Toyota collab was to create a new sports car in the Kei car class.....

So think Daihatsu Copen, Suzuki Cappucino, Honda S660 class.

Heck it might just be a new generation Daihatsu Copen/Suzuki Cappucino.

These cars would never make it to North America....They're way too small and underpowered.

The clickbaits have had a new MR2 "just around the corner" for a decade. This particular version (the collab) first appeared in 2015 when the S-FR concept was announced. The sites just tack the name MR-2 onto the story because it generates clicks. It has come back with almost the exact same details a couple of times a year since then. Hell, at one point it was a confirmed joint venture with Lotus! It is persistent if nothing else.

Besides I am pretty sure Toyota all ready gave a peak at the new "MR2" and it isn't what people were wishing for.
https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/ef...ebp&width=1200

well if you pair MR2 with enough manufacturers (i especially liked the suggestion that Toyota WOULD LOVE TO WORK WITH Porsche for an MR2 and it became "OMG PORSCHE AND TOYOTA WORKING ON MR2 collab????? EXCLUSIVE!!!")

One of them is bound to stick and be right....righrt?

Hell i'll start one...Toyota and Land Rover will work together on the ultimate off roader....The Toyota LCR (Land Cruiser Rover) and its twin the Land Rover Cruiser!

How about $130k used?


https://www.autotrader.ca/a/lotus/el...%202C0&sprx=-2

God I love mark ups. It's what makes the world go round.

Newton and Einstein were wrong?

Here we go again with the clickbait rumour mill! A joint Toyota-Suzuki MR with a 1.0 engine is just around the corner… as it has been for years!

https://www.motor1.com/news/652582/t...car-rumor/amp/

Thing is, this car as stated makes zero production sense. At 1.0 it’s engine is too big to fit in the Kei car regulations in Japan, but it is also too weak at 120HP to be appealing against the likes of an ND MX-5 or a GR 86. What’s the point, then? The 1.5 engine from the GR cars would make far more sense.

A full EV like the 2021 EV sports concept, on the other hand, makes more sense if Toyota want to dip their toes into the full EV waters. But then why partner with Suzuki? None of the rumours make sense to me.

i'd really like to know where the suzuki/toyota partnership keeps coming from. i don't believe the companies have anything in common.

Most likely someone just added the kei cars together:

Daihatsu = Copen
Suzuki = Cappucino
Toyota = owns Diahatsu and the forever rumor of having an MR2.
And the fact that there was supposely a collab between Toyota and Daihatsu for small cars (dunno if this is considered a collab though....mahybe it was Toyota commisisioning Daihatsu to make some small cars)

Add it all together and......

OMG DAIHATSU + SUZUKI + TOYOTA COLLABING ON A SMALL KEI CAR SIZED SPORTS CAR CONFIRMED!!!!

They joined forces back in 2019 so that part is semi accurate.

But...

It was very specifically for the Indian market to make cars that are not going to be sold outside of the country. People have taken that joint venture and ran with it!
https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/co.../37494346.html

Mind you the MR2 rumours go back as far as 2010 so the Suzuki inclusion is just another wrinkle recently added.

Actually the HP is about the same as a 1985 MR2, and the vehicles have similar weights. I never considered my '85 underpowered.

Needs at least 300 bruh

I looked but I couldn't find a conversion rate for hp or kW. Must be another non-metric unit.

14 hp. Just sayin'.

Bruh and panties.


Attachment 218660

In Europe too. You can get Suzuki-badged Rav4s and Corollas:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...e_1X7A0433.jpg

https://www.motortrend.com/uploads/s..._Across_01.jpg

Sure, in 1985 terms… adequately powered in 1985 is generally considered underpowered in 2023 by the market. The game moves on. Imagine if the 2023 Mustang V8 still had just 165-210HP!

Also, cars don’t exist in isolation, they have to compete in the contemporary market. 120HP for 1,000kg is right about where the 1.5L MX-5 was… and that was removed from sale in our countries as it wasn’t considered powerful enough and buyers preferred the 2.0L.

I think the alleged car and its outputs make more sense in Japan, which has a Kei car culture and where cars like the 1.5L MX-5 are still appreciated. But I think it would be DOA in the USA or Australia. Which is probably why Honda scrapped any plans for an S1000 based on their cool S660 Kei car.

Those aren’t the Indian built ones.

Nah, but a wee more than 120HP would be nice in 2023. 120HP per L for a modern turbo engine is very under stressed, they could probably squeeze 150HP out of it with a little effort. Afterall, they are getting nearly 190HP per L out of the G16E 3 cylinder they are putting in the GR Corolla.

Alternately… make it lighter. The Suzuki Swift Sport with 5 doors and seating for 5 people is 970kg, makes 140HP, and meets all modern safety regulations in Japan and Australia. So why is this alleged dedicated 2 seat sports car (to be built by Suzuki?) not lighter than that, especially since it is less powerful? If the rumours are true, big IF, it seems like they aren’t really trying very hard.

Those aren’t the Indian built ones.

All those innocent bystanders saved....

Oh I get it. Frankly I don't want some overly turbocharged sewing machine engine anyway. I like to keep my cars too long for that.

I meant they're working together in Europe as well ;-)

Not sure the current over-abundance of hp is a good thing. I'd get insanely frustrated in a car that gets me into jailtime levels of speeding in a matter of seconds. Or in a car that can -theoretically- never see the top end of second gear outside of a track or the German autobahn (looking at you recent Porsches).

I'm also pretty sure the early NDs got better reviews with the 1.5 than the 2.0. But it was mostly down to the ND1 2.0 being a bit disappointing.

AHHH I get it now!

Needs at least double that.

THEN it might be fast enough.

Remember the current benchmark for 0-60 is like 3 seconds, otherwise it'll be too slow and underpowered.

There's a reason to go down under!

I'm not saying this 1,000kg car would need an 'over-abundance of hp.' I'm saying that 120HP is a bit low for non-JDM markets by 2023 standards.

In Japan that level of HP is acceptable as they have a kei car culture and accept that in their tight cities and towns low HP is fine. But I think we all know that a 120HP MR sports car isn't going to sell well in the USA or Australia (which explains why Honda never proceeded with the S1000 that they apparently briefly considered, and why Toyota didn't proceed with the SF-R).

Sure, a handful of enthusiasts would snap them up, but it wouldn't have the mass appeal of cars like the MX-5 or the Twins. Their power levels are fine and yet they get panned routinely for being under-powered. Imagine the vitriol this 120HP sports car would cop.

Which this car, even with 150-170HP, is not going to do. We're not talking about it needing 300HP, just 30-40% more than it reportedly has would make it a lot more appealing to Western enthusiasts and enable it to get out of its own shadow on our highways.

Completely different discussion. No-one here seriously suggested this tiny MR car needs 300HP, or even 200HP. That was other posters being facetious. I simply pointed out that it would need more than the rumoured 120HP if it was to be sold in our (non-JDM) markets with any success. I stand by that assessment.

By motoring journalists, who thrash the cars at the redline for a day on track and then throw the keys back to the manufacturers. I almost never hear of those same journos putting their own money where their mouths are and buying cars like the 1.5 MX-5, however. Famously Chris 'I love low powered purity cars like the 86' Harris nonetheless gets around in a GT3 Touring as his daily when he has the choice...

The buying public, however, whose opinion is the only one that really counts, voted with their wallets overwhelmingly for the 2.0 engine over the 1.5 in the MX-5. The take up rate in Australia of the 2.0 compared to the 1.5 was like 95% (not sure what it was overseas), which is why Mazda finally cut the 1.5 from our market entirely. The public who actually bought the cars voted and Mazda (thankfully) listened.

Right, and as soon as they tuned the 2.0 for the ND2 and had it rev out to 7,500 it quickly became the default choice of buyers, despite whatever motoring journos said about the 1.5 being sweeter or more pure.

In any case this is all probably moot, because I don't put much stock in this rumour. If any ICE car results from this I suspect it will be Japan only, as noted already.