Next-gen Toyota GR86, Mazda MX-5 to be siblings

Rumour has it two of the world’s most beloved sports cars will share DNA in their next generation: the Toyota GR86 and Mazda MX-5.

According to Japanese outlet Best Car (via Forbes), the intriguing collaboration will see Toyota and Mazda collaborate primarily on the platform and chassis development, with the current ND MX-5’s underpinnings set to serve as the starting point.

Word is senior engineers from Mazda have already arrived in Toyota City to work on the project which will reportedly see the MX-5 retain its smaller two-seat roadster configuration alongside the larger GR86’s familiar 2+2 coupe recipe – the latter’s wheelbase will be longer.

Toyota is said to have fronted up a considerable sum to secure the partnership and ensure its prosperous future, even though it’s already a minority shareholder of Mazda.

The next-gen sports cars will supposedly be built by Mazda at its Hiroshima plant and crucially, feature independently developed powertrains under the bonnet: a 2.0-litre hybrid for the GR86 and an ND-sourced 2.0-litre for the MX-5, however there are rumours of a new 2.5-litre for the latter.

Both will retain their signature rear-drive configurations and sharp, dainty handling.

Concrete timelines for the new models haven’t been announced yet but the expectation, according to Best Car, is for the new duo to be on public roads by mid-2028.

Where this leaves the third-gen Subaru BRZ is even more unclear – there had been rumours of Toyota and Subaru parting ways on the development of the third-gen coupes which now seem to have been true.

Executive comments, gossip and recent concepts loosely suggest Subaru could be plotting an EV transformation for the BRZ seeing as an electric coupe would be “easier” to develop than a hybrid one.

* Image generated by AI

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