Toyota’s long-rumored revival of its mid-engine sports car just took another unexpected twist. For years, the company has been circling the idea of bringing back the MR2, a name that still makes enthusiasts sit up a little straighter. But a new onslaught of global trademark filings—some for MR2, others for MR-S, the badge the MR2 once wore in Japan—suggests Toyota may be considering more than one path to resurrecting one of its most beloved two-seaters.
A New MR-Something Sure Seems Inbound
The latest development comes out of Europe, where Toyota recently filed for the MR-S trademark with the Danish Patent and Trademark Office. On paper, it’s a simple administrative move. In practice, it’s a potentially huge signal. Denmark often acts as a gateway for EU-wide trademark protection, though it’s not yet clear whether Toyota is seeking continent-wide coverage or a Denmark-specific safeguard. Complicating the story further, Toyota also filed for a GR MR-S trademark in Australia—hinting at performance branding baked in from the start.
This is especially interesting because Toyota hasn’t touched the MR-S name in most of the world for decades. When the third-generation MR2 launched in 1999, the naming strategy was famously inconsistent: MR2 Spyder in the U.S., MR2 Roadster across much of Europe, and the simplified MR Roadster in France and Belgium, where “MR2” sounded too close to a vulgar slang term for making a toilet deposit. Only in Japan did the car take on the MR-S badge—short for Midship Runabout-Sports.
Denmark Has No Problem Calling It The MR2
But unlike France or Belgium, Denmark has no slang issue with “MR2,” and—crucially—no other party holds the MR2 trademark there. In other words, Toyota didn’t need to file MR-S to avoid conflict. This choice seems intentional.
Then came the update that turned quiet trademark housekeeping into a headline: Toyota has filed additional MR2 and MR-S applications with 10 more intellectual property offices worldwide. The new filings span Estonia, Norway, Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland, Latvia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Argentina. That’s well beyond routine protection. That’s groundwork for a global product.
MR2 Still Feels Likely In The U.S.
Meanwhile, Toyota still appears committed to protecting the MR2 name in the U.S. It reapplied for the MR2 trademark last year, though its status with the USPTO remains “filed,” not active. Notably, Toyota does not currently hold the MR-S trademark in the U.S., which hints that if the car returns here, MR2 is still the intended badge.
The timing lines up with Toyota’s growing push to put more “fun cars” back into its lineup. The company has publicly said it doesn’t want performance to start and stop with the GR Corolla, the GR Supra, or the GR86. And the biggest tease came in 2023, when it revealed the FT-Se, an electric sports concept with unmistakably mid-engine proportions—even if the powertrain lived in the floor instead of behind the seats.
Toyota Rumors Keep Enthusiasts Up At Night
Rumors have only fueled the fire. One source claimed the MR2’s spiritual successor might wear the Celica name—an idea plausible enough to spark debate yet unreliable enough to ignore until proven. Meanwhile, Toyota’s engineers have been testing a GR Yaris mule with the engine mounted behind the driver, a bizarre prototype that makes no sense unless there’s a deeper mid-engine development program underway.
None of these filings guarantees a production car. They never do. But when a company starts locking down old nameplates across half the globe—MR2 in some regions, MR-S in others—it usually means something is in motion. And for the first time in two decades, it feels like Toyota’s mid-engine legend might actually be on the way back. Whether it returns as MR2, MR-S, or something entirely new, the message is clear: Toyota’s most intriguing sports car story isn’t over.
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