That would be nice, but then… It wouldn’t really be a true MR2 replacement, would it?
The MR2 was a compact segment, or even a D segment vehicle, a true sporty sports car, which came in either the 2.0 3SGE/3SGTE Turbo or a 3.0 V6! Going from 2.0 to 1.0 in two decades time isn’t an impossible feat and is quite common, but it’s the vehicle segment that worries me. Selling a kei car or subcompact car with the MR2 nameplate wouldn’t really be justified, it’s better if Toyota launches that as it’s own vehicle with it’s own name rather than to use an old name with good history to it. Toyota could possibly make the same mistake as Mitsubishi and Chevrolet with their Eclipse/Blazer with this one if they go this way…

Daihatsu is an old company from 1907 whereas Toyota was founded much later in 1937.

Now Diahatsu is Toyota’s wholly-owned kei-car subsidiary. Toyota does not make kei cars! So they purchased Daihatsu piecemeal over the years, beginning from 1967 and complete ownership in 2016.

The new MR2 could be a Daihatsu Copen underneath with a 1,000 cc turbo!

Let me get this straight. Toyota is developing a Mid engined sports car with Daihatsu and Suzuki (of which Toyota owns shares of both companies). This makes sense, since Toyota developed their GT86 and current GR86 with the help of Subaru, and it yielded great results.

HOWEVER, the fact that it’s rumored to use a 1.0L engine developed by Suzuki and also the fact that they will sell it under all three brands is concerning. This could probably mean that they’re launching the MR2 as a small compact/subcompact segment car. Daihatsu has mainly small vehicles in their portfolio that don’t go above the compact segment at all, followed similarly by Suzuki (unless we count in the rebadged Toyotas in their lineup), so it’s unlikely in this scenario that they will launch it as a direct segment replacement for the original MR2.

But still, it is possible they are using a heavily turbocharged 1.0L or a hybrid system for it to make up for sports car-like power figures, but then… I was hoping for an electric mid “motor” sports car like the concept Toyota showed a few days earlier.