It’s all purely speculation right now – although it does sound feasible – but the two sports cars may share a platform
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Automakers are rivals in the marketplace, but many of them are also associates in assembly. Toyota and Mazda already share a factory in Huntsville, Alabama that jointly makes the Toyota Corolla Cross and the Mazda CX-50. But will the two companies – as the rumour mill is buzzing about – co-develop their Mazda MX-5 and Toyota GR86 sports cars on a new shared platform?
The two Japanese automakers entered into their business and capital alliance in 2017. The agreement included that above-mentioned factory, known as Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA (MTM), along with a plan for jointly developing electric vehicles and connected-car technology; collaborating on advanced safety technologies; and expanding “complementary products.” At that time, Mazda was supplying its Mazda2 to Toyota in North America, which rebadged it as the Yaris Hatchback; while Toyota provided a commercial van to Mazda in Japan. Fast-forward to today, where the Mazda CX-50 is available with a hybrid powertrain supplied by Toyota.
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But will the two companies actually join forces to build their next generations of the MX-5 Miata and the GR86? Anything is possible, but we’ll add that right now, nothing seems to be set in stone.
The rumours of a “GR-5” (or would that be an “MX-86”?) seem to stem from articles in the Japanese magazine Best Car that have speculated on joint development of such a beast. According to those on this side of the pond who have reported on it, the cars would share a platform but have different engines.
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The major point here is that redesigning the GR86 would mean Toyota would end its collaboration with Subaru on it, since the GR86 shares its bones with the Subaru BRZ and is built in Subaru’s factory in Japan. In 2024, Best Car speculated that the next-generation GR86 would be separated from Subaru, arriving in 2028 with a Toyota-developed engine. And that does seem like a distinct possibility, since neither car is sold in Europe anymore, due to new safety regulations that they didn’t meet.
In a story from January 2025, Best Car said a new GR86 will be developed under Toyota’s leadership, not Subaru’s; and while the magazine’s previous speculation was that it would be a 1.6L hybrid, it now said it would be a naturally-aspirated 2.0L engine. It was also suggested it could ride on a new platform based on that under the Lexus IS.
And then, in February 2025, Best Car speculated that a joint Toyota-Mazda sports car could be a version of the Toyota Supra—that model, we’ll remind you, is currently built out of a joint venture with the BMW Z4. And further speculation was that Mazda’s version would be a “four-door coupe” alongside a new Toyota Supra two-door coupe.
A few outlets are reporting the new GR86 will indeed be the new MX-5; that Toyota’s version will be a hybrid while Mazda’s might be hybridized; that Mazda engineers are already working with Toyota on it; and that both models would be built by Mazda at its plant in Hiroshima, which will be upgraded through investments made by Toyota in it. And if so, it wouldn’t be the first time the MX-5 has joined forces with other automakers; back in 2017, the little MX-5 was also co-developed into the Fiat 124 Spyder, nicknamed the “Fiata” by owners.
And again, we add that while Best Car is reporting directly from Japan, it also adds that all of this is “potential.” But if does happen, we’re eager to get behind the wheels of whatever it is Toyota and Mazda turn out in the small-and-lightweight sports-car category, because we know it’ll be fun.
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· Professional writer for more than 35 years, appearing in some of the top publications in Canada and the U.S.
· Specialties include new-vehicle reviews, old cars and automotive history, automotive news, and “How It Works” columns that explain vehicle features and technology
· Member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) since 2003; voting member for AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Awards; juror on the Women’s World Car of the Year Awards
Jil McIntosh graduated from East York Collegiate in Toronto, and then continued her education at the School of Hard Knocks. Her early jobs including driving a taxi in Toronto; and warranty administration in a new-vehicle dealership, where she also held information classes for customers, explaining the inner mechanical workings of vehicles and their features.
Jil McIntosh is a freelance writer who has been writing for Driving.ca since 2016, but she’s been a professional writer starting when most cars still had carburetors. At the age of eleven, she had a story published in the defunct Toronto Telegram newspaper, for which she was paid $25; given the short length of the story and the dollar’s buying power at the time, that might have been the relatively best-paid piece she’s ever written.
An old-car enthusiast who owns a 1947 Cadillac and 1949 Studebaker truck, she began her writing career crafting stories for antique-car and hot-rod car club magazines. When the Ontario-based newspaper Old Autos started up in 1987, dedicated to the antique-car hobby, she became a columnist starting with its second issue; the newspaper is still around and she still writes for it. Not long after the Toronto Star launched its Wheels section in 1986 – the first Canadian newspaper to include an auto section – she became one of its regular writers. She started out writing feature stories, and then added “new-vehicle reviewer” to her resume in 1999. She stayed with Wheels, in print and later digital as well, until the publication made a cost-cutting decision to shed its freelance writers. She joined Driving.ca the very next day.
In addition to Driving.ca, she writes for industry-focused publications, including Automotive News Canada and Autosphere. Over the years, her automotive work also appeared in such publications as Cars & Parts, Street Rodder, Canadian Hot Rods, AutoTrader, Sharp, Taxi News, Maclean’s, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes Wheels, Canadian Driver, Sympatico Autos, and Reader’s Digest. Her non-automotive work, covering such topics as travel, food and drink, rural living, fountain pen collecting, and celebrity interviews, has appeared in publications including Harrowsmith, Where New Orleans, Pen World, The Book for Men, Rural Delivery, and Gambit.
2016 AJAC Journalist of the Year; Car Care Canada / CAA Safety Journalism award winner in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013, runner-up in 2021; Pirelli Photography Award 2015; Environmental Journalism Award 2019; Technical Writing Award 2020; Vehicle Testing Review award 2020, runner-up in 2022; Feature Story award winner 2020; inducted into the Street Rodding Hall of Fame in 1994.
Email: jil@ca.inter.net
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jilmcintosh/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JilMcIntosh
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