Toyota to Revive MR2 as Hybrid Competitor to Honda CR-Z? Japanese Magazine Believes So
Cars

Toyota to Revive MR2 as Hybrid Competitor to Honda CR-Z? Japanese Magazine Believes So


Ever since Honda announced the CR-Z hybrid sports coupe, there have been rumors going around about the possibility of a corresponding Toyota model. Just to make it clear, we haven't heard anything official, but Japan's Best Car magazine is reporting/speculating/imagining (take your pick) that Toyota may revive the MR2 as a hybrid model called the MR-S to compete with Honda's CR-Z coupe that will go on sale in 2010.

We'll have to wait until some of our Japanese-fluent readers give us all the details from the article, but from what we gather, the MR-S would probably use a specially developed version of the Toyota Prius' hybrid powertrain.

The magazine's article is accompanied by an artist's impression on how the MR-S could like. Judging by the air-inlets at the back, the proposed MR-S most likely features a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout.

If true, this would make the MR-S a sportier proposal than the front-wheel drive CR-Z.

As we said before, there's nothing official about the existence of such a model, but we can't say that it sounds improbable for Toyota to develop a second sports car after the FT-86, especially if it's a smaller, lightweight hybrid.

Source: Best Car









- Honda S2000 Successor Rumored To Get Awd And Hybrid Powertrain
Earlier this year, Honda announced that the S2000 Roadster's decade-long production run will come to an end this year, leaving the company without a proper sports car. However, in addition to the launch of the production version of the front-wheel...

- Toyota Prius Minivan Proposal Makes Total Sense
If there was ever a totally plausible speculative rendering, then this is it. Created by the CGI-loving crew from Japan's Best Car magazine, this computer generated image depicts a proposal for a Toyota Prius Minivan (MPV) based on the latest generation...

- Toyota's 2011 Low-cost Dedicated Hybrid To Be Based On The Yaris
A news report has shed light on Toyota's plans to develop a dedicated small hybrid model to take on Honda's Insight hybrid that just went on sale in the USA. Speaking with Japan's Nikkei business newspaper Akihiko Otsuka, chief engineer of...

- Toyota Rumored To Develop New Low-price Hybrid To Compete With Honda Insight
With the new 2010 Honda Insight hybrid already undercutting the current generation Prius in price, it's a no-brainer that Toyota execs are starting to worry that Honda's hybrid proposal will have a serious advantage over the next-generation 2010...

- Rumorville: Lexus To Unveil Hs250h Dedicated Hybrid In Detroit
There are rumors and there are rumors. And while we don't know if the report from the latest issue of the Japanese car magazine Mag-X concerning the introduction of a dedicated Lexus hybrid sedan at the Detroit Show in January is based on cold hard...



Cars








.