Has Toyota just revealed its big secret? Official Anime cartoon hints at future GR sports car range with next-gen Toyota 86, Celica, MR2 and Supra rumoured to be on the cards

Toyota has dropped another breadcrumb for us to follow on the path to a rumoured sports car onslaught.

Rumours and speculation started to appear a few years ago about the revival of classic performance cars such as the Celica and MR2.

Now an official Toyota Anime series, Grip, has hinted at the next-generation icons.

Hidden on a whiteboard in the back of the frame were a range of cars: Supra Mk6, Celica Mk 8, MR2 Mk4, GR86 Mk3 and GR GT3.

The GT3 car has been shown in concept form and the road going version was spied testing at the Nurburgring recently in the form of the Lexus LF-R and next-gen 86 and Supra are likely to follow.

Japanese outlets such as Best Car, which is known for well placed sources in Toyota, has been reporting on the next-gen GR86 and the rebirth of the Celica and MR2 for some time.

At the 2023 Tokyo motor show Toyota showed the FT-Se concept that screamed an electric MR2. It is expected to reach production in 2027 using Toyota's next-gen 'square cell' performance batteries.

The company is also working on solid state batteries that are lighter, smaller, more energy dense, faster charging and less prone to fire than current cells and has earmarked 2028 for the first application to a production car.

The Celica and GR86 could be hybrid-powered, though.

Earlier this year it also revealed it was hard at work developing new engines that work better with hybrid power.

A 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre turbocharged engine are under development.

Best Car has repeatedly reported the mooted next-gen Celica would use a turbocharged 2.0-litre unit paired with hybrid power to deliver an astounding 300kW.

Toyota 86 render (Image: Best Car)

The GR86 has previously been linked to hybrid power with the 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo engine found in the Yaris GR. The recent engine developments could mean it’ll house a 1.5-litre engine and hybrid set-up under its bonnet, though.

It has been previously speculated to be able to produce 220kW, which is a massive jump over the current version’s 152kW.

Toyota isn’t alone, though, there is a groundswell of support for small, fun sports cars out of Japan.

Mazda is believed to be turning its head-turning Iconic SP concept into a reality with a rotary-hybrid range extender at it heart.

Honda is likely to bring back the swoopy Prelude as hybrid answer to its Japanese rivals.