Toyota Presents the Successor to Last Year’s MR2 Study with the New GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept II

At last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota showcased a concept study of an all-wheel drive hybrid sports car (see here) loosely based on the now obsolete MR2 roadster, developed in partnership with Japan’s GAZOO Racing.

Now the time has come for Toyota to unwrap its successor in the form of the GRMN SPORTS HYBRID Concept II that will receive both its public and racing debut at this weekend’s highly anticipated 39th Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race in Germany.

The name “GRMN” stands for GAZOO Racing tuned by Meister of Nürburgring, in honor of the late Hiromu Naruse (1944-2010), the Toyota chief test driver and head of the GAZOO Racing team who died in an accident last summer driving a prototype of the Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition in Germany.

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DragStar F1 Dragon is a Lesson in what not to do to a Toyota MR-2

Unless you take a peek at the interior, there's no way you'll be able to recognize the Toyota MR-2 hiding under the exaggerated Ferrari Testarossa-style strakes of this Japanese creation (or is that abomination?). Crafted by Value Progress, the Dragstar F1 Dragon is built on a third generation Toyota MR-2 and despite the extra-long nose, it keeps the donor car's mid-engine layout intact.

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Toyota Unveils MR2 Sports Hybrid Concept, Combines 3.3-liter V6 and Electric Motor for 400HP

It may only be a concept for now, but Toyota's GRMN MR2 Sports Hybrid study that was unveiled today at the Tokyo Auto Salon may very well form the technological base for a similar production sports car in the very near future, according to reports from Japan.

Developed in cooperation with Toyota's racing and tuning partner Gazoo, the concept is a two-seater, all-wheel drive hybrid sports car based on a modified version of the platform used in the now obsolete MR2 roadster.

Underneath its widened body, the MR2 concept gets a mid-mounted 3.3-liter V6 petrol engine that drives the rear wheels and the company's THSII hybrid system with the electric motor propelling the front wheels.

The combined output of the hybrid system and petrol engine is estimated to be in the range of 400 horsepower

Power is transferred to the wheels through a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with paddle shifts.

Toyota did not release any performance figures, but if you take into consideration that the 400HP plus roadster tips the scales at just 1,300 kg or 2,866 pounds (official data), this pocket rocket promises to be nothing less than fast.