While most manufacturers are pitching the inevitability of the electric vehicle, Toyota is operating on a beautifully diversified strategy. They pioneered hybrids and are developing both PHEVs and BEVs. But under the passionate shadow of Akio Toyoda, the company seems equally devoted to keeping the internal combustion sports car alive. We owe him wonders like the GR Supra and GR Yaris.
Now, Toyota’s skunkworks are delivering something truly exciting. Earlier this year, they unveiled the bizarre GR Yaris M-Concept. Crucially, it featured not the standard 1.6-liter three-cylinder G16E-GTS, but the highly anticipated 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, the G20E.
This G20E unit is a serious piece of kit, estimated to crank out between 400 and 600 HP, depending on its turbo setup. It’s more powerful than the brand’s existing 2.4-liter engine yet a full 10% more compact. An architecture perfectly suited not just for road-going sports cars, but for serious motorsport applications like Super GT or Super Formula.
But the engineering obsession doesn’t stop there. Toyota is reportedly developing another engine even more compact than the G20E. While its cylinder count remains a mystery, its architecture mirrors that of a prototype GR Yaris already seen competing in the Super Taikyu endurance series. The main target for this rumored engine? The long-awaited return of the Toyota GR Celica.
As Mitsuto Sakai, head of engine development, noted, the goal is to design something “very powerful in a compact format” by improving combustion efficiency. However, packing this much heat into a small space creates predictable problems. The cooling challenge looks immense. Even the Super Taikyu prototype required enormous air scoops in the rear wheel arches.
Toyota engineers are already grappling with the current GR Yaris’s idiosyncrasies. Its three-cylinder vibrations require special dampers, and the combined weight of the front-mounted engine and all-wheel drive system causes the front tires to wear out three times faster than the rears on the track.
