As the largest automotive manufacturer, Toyota rarely disappoints its fans during the Tokyo Auto Salon events.

For the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota unveiled a prototype hot hatch known as the GR Yaris M Concept.

Unlike the standard GR Yaris, the GR Yaris M Concept is equipped with a 2.0-liter inline-four engine (code-named G20E) that replaces the existing three-cylinder G16E-GTS engine.

What’s even more surprising is that the new engine is not positioned at the front; instead, it is placed in a mid-ship layout.

According to Toyota, these changes aim to explore the potential of the GR Yaris hot hatch, and they also plan to race this vehicle in the Super Taikyu series.

This prototype will be fully tested on the racetrack while receiving valuable feedback from professional drivers, including Morizo (Akio Toyoda).

The existence of the GR Yaris M Concept raises a question: is this a significant indicator of the upcoming new MR2 model?