Toyota has been spotted testing what appears to be its long-rumoured mid-engined sports car. Whether it’ll wear anMR2 badge, a Celica badge, or simply be called GR Something With Too Many Capital Letters, nobody knows. What we do know is this: it’s definitely not another crossover.

The prototype looks gloriously homemade. Imagine if someone raided Toyota’s parts bin at three in the morning armed only with a socket set and boundless optimism. It wears Yaris headlights and taillights, massive wheel arches, enormous cooling ducts, and a rear wing large enough to provide shade for a family picnic. It’s less “finished sports car” and more “engineering project that’s escaped the lab.”

The proportions, however, tell the real story. Those huge side intakes and the vented bonnet scream one thing: the engine is in the middle. Which, in a world where everything seems to have become an SUV with an iPad glued to the dashboard, is tremendously exciting.

And then there’s the engine itself.

Toyota’s new 2.0-litre turbocharged G20E four-cylinder is expected to replace the current three-cylinder GR motor. In road trim it’ll produce around 300 horsepower, while hotter versions could hit 400 horsepower. Motorsport versions? Try 600 horsepower. That’s enough to turn your average B-road into an exercise in existential reflection.

Even more intriguing is the rumoured drivetrain. Rather than sticking with the original MR2’s simple rear-wheel-drive setup, this one is expected to feature an intelligent all-wheel-drive system that can send all the power to the rear—or split up to half to the front when things get… enthusiastic.

The only question that really matters now is this: will there be a manual gearbox?

Because if Toyota builds a mid-engined, 400-horsepower sports car and only lets you interact with it via paddles, that’s a bit like serving Wagyu beef through a paper straw.

Still, the signs are promising. Gazoo Racing has spent the last few years quietly reminding the world that driving should be fun, and this mystery machine might just be its boldest project yet.

If it really is the return of the MR2, the wait may finally be over.