This hands-on approach to development has guided the mid-engined Toyota project to motorsport, something Toyoda is extremely passionate about.
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Motorsport influence for mid-engined sports car
The last mid-engined car from Toyota was the third-generation MR2, which bowed out in 2006. As a result, the development of the new model had to start almost from scratch.
The new Celica is, however, benefiting from the GR Yaris hot hatch to a certain extent. Gazoo Racing, Toyota’s motorsport arm, has been running the Concept M – a mid-engined prototype closely related to the GR Yaris – in the Japanese-only Super Taikyu endurance series.
At the most recent Super Taikyu meeting at Fuji Speedway with the Concept M on the grid, Akio Toyoda told our parent brand Carwow about the importance of motorsport in Toyota’s performance-focused road cars. “If we don’t challenge [ourselves in motorsport] maybe we don’t fail, but if we challenge then maybe we fail,” said Toyoda, highlighting the benefits of gaining comprehensive data from the uncontrolled environments that racing creates.
“If we decided to make such a car in a meeting, it would never exist,” Toyoda added. “We are showing to our employees that you can challenge, you can say anything you want, because we’re doing it, we’re showing in front of everybody.”
In October 2026, Toyoda was once again behind the wheel of a prototype at a Super Taikyu race under his Morizo pseudonym. The mule used at Okayama International Circuit in the experimental class was a radical departure from the GR Yaris-shaped machines we’ve seen before, featuring more of a traditional sports car silhouette with a lower roof and longer front and rear overhangs. The finished article might yet look quite different, however, with the car at Okayama still having a clear Yaris influence.
New Toyota Celica prototype driven
Our sister site Carwow also had the exclusive opportunity to drive a Toyota mid-engined prototype related to the Concept M competition car on a gravel rally stage in Japan.
