The 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon has come to an end, with the famed event for modified and exciting manufacturer-made cars wrapping up without what was expected to be its centrepiece unveiling.
In the lead up to the event, Toyota posted its most serious teasers yet about the long-rumoured revival of the MR2, hinting it was going to pull the covers off a mid-engined, two-seater concept.
With its mid-engined GR Yaris concept having logged extensive testing kilometres, trademarks for the MR2 name surfacing and the GR department becoming its own brand, the stage was set for a new mid-ship Toyota.
And we got one… in the form of a modified kei truck.
Yes, instead of giving us a new MR2, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda showed off the Daihatsu ‘GR HiJet Morizo K-Trail’, giving his racing pseudonym Morizo to the popular work truck of the car giant’s small-vehicle brand.
Fitted with big off-road tyres, a Morizo livery and racing seats (including two in the tray, technically making it a four-seater), it was far from the low-slung sports car many expected Toyota to uncover.
It was a part of the first of three rounds of ‘battles’, going head-to-head with Daihatsu’s own ‘HiJet Truck Jumbo Star Climber’, while later on in its presentation Toyota’s GR rally and new Toyota Racing WEC departments faced off.
At the very end of the presentation, Toyoda and Toyota’s chief technology officer Hiroki Nakajima teased there would be a ‘customisation showdown’, with a shadowy teaser previewing an upcoming reveal.
Unfortunately, this turned out to be the Toyota Camry NASCAR, off the back of Toyota announcing it would start to source the road-going Camry from the US for Japan.
While the non-reveal of the MR2 was a surprise to many at the Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota did unveil a new model in the limited edition GR Yaris Morizo RR Edition, though it did so without mentioning it in the long-running presentation.
It’s now not yet known when we may finally see the MR2, which is expected to be a part of a large upcoming lineup of Gazoo Racing products including a new-generation Supra and a reborn Celica.
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