Toyota Debuts Yaris M Prototype With Mid-Engine Layout And Coupe Styling

Toyota has introduced the Yaris M concept, a further developed prototype featuring full-on coupe bodywork with massive rear flares and a mid-engine layout. Previously shown at last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon as a Yaris hatchback shell housing a turbocharged engine where the rear seats belong, the new iteration adopts a silhouette that closely matches Toyota’s 2027 WRC concept spotted testing in Portugal this past spring. This Super Taikyu racer serves as the tarmac version of that prototype. Powering the Yaris M concept is a new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine called the G20, rather than the GR Yaris’s three-cylinder unit. Displacing 2.0 liters, the G20 pushes out around 400 to 450 horsepower and has demonstrated its capabilities in endurance racing. One of the four drivers who will campaign the car in Japan’s Super Taikyu series is Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda, competing under his Morizo nom de guerre. The development of the G20 turbo four engine hints at potential future applications, including rumors surrounding the return of the Celica as a replacement for the GR Corolla.