Toyota Anime Series Drops Heavy Hints At New MR2, Celica And More

We seem to have spent a good bit of the last year reporting on the multitude of sports cars Toyota is rumoured to be working on. There are ever-increasing reports that both the MR2 and Celica are poised for a comeback, suggestions that next-gen versions of the Supra and GR86 are in the works, and it’s all but confirmed that there’ll be a new flagship front-engined GT car to be used as the base for a new GT3 racer.

However, there’s been no official word so far from Toyota that any of these are happening. The company, though, has just dropped its biggest hint yet that they’re all on the way, and it comes in an unexpected place.

Earlier this year, Toyota launched Grip, an anime series hosted on its US division’s YouTube channel, which sees its heroes use various current Toyota performance cars to take on a nefarious organisation run by a CEO hellbent on eradicating human-driven cars.

The anime, which consists of quick minute-long episodes, recently returned for a second series, and the first episode features a tantalising hint about Toyota’s performance car plans. In a brief scene, we see a whiteboard in a Toyota GR workshop. Alongside drawings of some engine bits and an ST165 Celica, this whiteboard includes the following list: Supra Mk6, Celica Mk8, MR2 Mk4, GR86 Mk3, GR GT3.

The MR2’s rumoured return will see it retain its mid-engined layout, albeit this time likely as a coupe rather than a roadster or targa-top. The Celica, meanwhile, is said to be returning as a more luxury-geared, four-wheel drive coupe. Both are rumoured to make use of Toyota’s new in-development 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, with nearly 400bhp.

The latest talk of a replacement for the brilliant GR86 suggests it could use the GR Yaris’s excellent turbocharged three-cylinder, paired with some sort of hybrid power. Meanwhile, a Toyota exec in Australia recently said he firmly believes there’ll be another Supra, even if BMW, with whom Toyota developed the current car, is no longer onboard.

Perhaps the car we’ll see soonest, though, is the GR GT3, which may also be called the Lexus LFR. A big, front-engined GT car rumoured to be running a hybrid V8 setup, it’ll serve as the basis for Toyota’s next GT3 race car, and prototypes have already been seen testing around the world.

The list covers pretty much all the sports cars Toyota’s rumoured to be working on, bar the little S-FR roadster. So, is this tacit confirmation of the manufacturer’s plans, or is Toyota just massively trolling us? We’ll have to wait a little longer to find out, but this is one of the strongest hints yet that the company wants to even further expand its already admirable performance car offering.