We love a good wild sports car rumor here at GP. And the latest one from Japan (first spotted by CarBuzz) is a doozy. The Japanese site Best Car Web says Toyota and Mazda are collaborating on a pair of sports cars. But it’s not a Subaru BRZ/Toyota GR86 situation. It will be two different cars on the same platform.
Per the rumors, Toyota will launch a GR-branded EV in 2026. It will be a two-seater sports car about the size of the Supra. It will use dual motors to put out 500 hp and pack a newly developed all-wheel-drive system. It will use Toyota’s new, revolutionary solid-state battery technology. The report also says the new GR sports EV won’t replace the GR Supra. It will launch after a battery-electric version of the GR Supra.
Mazda would also get a sports car from this partnership. But theirs would be the long-awaited RX-7 successor with a rotary engine. — sort of. Mazda’s car would use the same platform as Toyota’s car and the GR electric motor but be rear-wheel drive, have a smaller battery pack and use the rotary engine as a range extender. It would be a lighter car than the version Toyota is planning to build.
These rumors could make some sense. Mazda and Toyota co-developing a battery electric sports car platform would reduce the costs vs. either manufacturer taking up that project on their own. Toyota would probably look for a flashy vehicle to show off its new solid-state battery tech in 2026 — although Lexus has already said it is developing a new electric LFA supercar that would fulfill that role.
Mazda has been among the most skeptical manufacturers regarding battery-electric vehicles. And we know the brand is planning a rotary range extender for the interesting but incredibly low-range MX-30. So the rumored sports car feels like something Mazda would build if it was determined to make an RX successor.
