I love the idea of another MR2.

Toyota, are you listening? My thoughts, as an owner of an '85 MR2:

• Mid engine is good
• Hard top version should be the primary offering
• Choice of powerplants would be good. Gas and Hybrid
• Make it lightweight
• Keep the MSRP between $22K and $28K

Oh... and make sure it's FUN!

 

I owned several MR2s and raced them in auto-x's, it was by far the best sports car I've ever owned. I always said I'd buy the new model when it came out, then they dropped the MRS on us and I said no way, it couldn't hold a candle to the MR2 Turbo or Supercharged ones of the past (not to mention a patetic trunk and I couldn't get my knees in the darn thing).

I don't think they will ever be able to match the MKI or MKII, the car was very easy to spin out because of the weight distribution, I wonder if the battery pack would hinder its nimbleness... I'm going to take a wait and see approach on this one and buy a Cayman for the time being.

 

At that price it'd clash with the FT-86.

 

Because batteries and electric motors add both weight and cost?

It's okay for Lexus as a luxury brand to make a performance hybrid since a luxury car with all the gadgets and sound proofing is usually heavy anyway and cost is less of an issue. But for the Toyota MR2 it's all about lightness and affordability, and adding a hybrid system simply won't help.Such as using exotic lightweight materials for the chassis and body panels?

It's called a $47k Lotus Elise.

 

The tesla cough cough lol

odd styling and a high price tag with low hp killed the last model. Most reviews found it a better driver than the miata. Mid engine to boot and Toyota even had a smg option I believe later on.

Hope the new one fares better!!

 

what killed it is end of product cycle, same as Celica.... Car handles great, it is only Toyota to score 5/5 in CAR magazine. But Toyota did not have enough engineers to cover sports cars development which is why we had to wait this much for the next one.

 

Li-Io batteries are almost here, and Electric motors weigh about as much as a turbo setup. The last MR2 weighed 930kg. The MkII was ~1250kg.

I think a hybrid MR2 could quite probably find a happy medium between both those weights, even with Nmh batteries. Even at 1250kg, it'd still be lighter than anything on the market today that you could call a sports car (barring an Elise and a Miata), including the boxter RS, Cayman etc etc.

The problem with a Toyota MR2 would be where in the market to price it.

With the FT-86 soon upon us, a 2 seat coupe without any useful storage space could not compete in the same price bracket. It has to find a new gimmick, a new position, and be pretty damned good.

I personally wouldn't mind seeing a "Lexus MR2" as long as it could be kept at MOST 3000lbs and keep the good dynamics of it's predecessors. Lexus needs a roadster anyway, and having an MR2 that competes with a much more practical but potentially equal as fun ft-86 is redundant (just like a $30+k Toyota MR2).

Now the MR-2 as a scion would be another option, but with the MR2 Spyder costing ~24k, I really doubt they could make a good car in that (sub $18k) price bracket.

 

A Lexus MR-2 would likely cost $45K to $50K (see:Boxter). I think that the Toyota MR-2 is dead, especially after Toyota proved with the LFA that perfect center balance can be achieved with a more economical FR platform.

 

To be perfectly honest, what killed the last MR2 was the complete lack of storage space. It was often cross shopped with the Miata and S2000 but the fact that you only had room for a duffle bag was the real deal breaker time and time again.

I would love for the MR2 to return but Toyota really needs to do a better job of engineering the car the next time around.

As far as the Celica GT-S (2ZZ-GE) engine is concerned, supposedly that engine was in the running for production but engineers were concerned about the engine hitting "lift" in a corner, being that the car is mid engine, super light, and RWD. Numerous inside reports said that the car was hard to control with that engine, thus the watered down powerplant that we got.

 

Well, you're correct that the MR2, in luggage space, was not exactly a Chevy Suburban.......but people who buy small sports cars don't expect vast cargo room.

And, IMO, you can't really place the S2000 in the same class as the Miata or MR2, except (maybe) for the turbo MRS's built in the early 90's. The S2000 not only cost more than most Miatas and non-turbo MR2s, but had more top-end power.....but a ridiculous 8000-9000 RPM.



Agreed.....I dealt with that issue myself, in other posts.

That particular engine, probably more so than any other Toyota-designed powerplant, was very much like the Honda VVT-i fours, particularly the one in the S-2000.....very little torque, and all high-end HP at stratospheric revs.

In fact, I saw several of those engines, in Toyota service bays, that got damaged or ruined in the Celica GT-S because young kids would take them out, drag-race them, and carry out the RPMs so high that they went far enough past redline to damage or ruin it.

 

Uhhh...yes? Obviously so, but there is a difference between having little cargo room and being forced to pack everything you need into an area that is 3 sq ft. The Miata is much more liveable than the MR2 was.

 

OK...agreed. The Miata, partially due to the superb design of its drop-top-fabric roof, does seem to have at least a minimally usable trunk. I haven't seen the trunk space of the optional power-hard top Miata version to compare, so I can't comment on it.

 

Li-ion batteries are almost here but cheap Li-ion batteries are not. NiMH batteries are cheaper but weigh too much and occupy too much space for the MR2. The MkII weighs a lot more than the MkI and the MkIII only because of the larger dimensions and heavier chassis, not because of the optional turbo. The MR2 Turbo weighs 1310kg, only 45kg heavier than the 1265kg non-turbo MkII. Batteries and electric motors worthy of a performance hybrid are guaranteed to weigh a lot more than a 45kg turbo setup.

No matter how you slice it, a hybrid MR2 would be simply too heavy or too expensive, or both, to be true to the original MR2. A hybrid Supra is a much better idea though IMO.

The ideal MR2 in my mind would be a MkIII designed as a true coupe (cheaper and lighter structure, more storage space), with 200hp from a turbo'd or a high-revving 2.0L engine and a less cartoonish styling. I hope Toyota will do it right this time with Toyoda's input.

 

lack of 2zzge engine in MR2 was lack of planning by the marketing research team... same engine works great in Elise. To date, it is the best 4cly Toyota powerplant.

Hopefully for both FT and MR2, they have 200+ hp engine options.

 

The Elise, though, is so light that, let's face it, almost anything can power it....Toyota-designed or not. I don't remember the exact weight figure of the Elise I reviewed in August 2007, but, empty, it couldn't have been much more than 1700-1800 lbs. (Yes, at 6' 2 "-270 lbs., I managed to shoehorn myself into one for the test-drive and then back out again, but don't ask me how......that, alone, is another whole story in itself)