RUMOR: Is a Manual Toyota Hybrid Sports Wagon on the Way?
Popular Japanese magazine predicts that a manual and hybrid shooting brake sports wagon could be the successor to the current GR86.
There are always rumors floating around about future releases from a car company. A lot of times they’re pretty outlandish and easy to dismiss. For example, something as wild as a hybrid drivetrain high-performance station wagon with a manual transmission from Toyota sounds completely impossible. However, there’s now reason to believe that very thing may not be far from reality.
Automotive YouTuber Kirk Kreifels recently uploaded a video that shines some light on the subject. Though the prospect of a hybrid manual sports wagon from Toyota might seem a bit out of the question, it turns out the stem of this rumor comes from a fairly reliable source.
Japanese Magazine Has A Solid Track Record
The magazine Kreifels showcases in his video has a tendency to predict upcoming models to a certain extent. In the past, the magazine’s design predictions for Toyota vehicles have been pretty dang good. Its pre-release design approximations for the GR Corolla, enthusiast-loved new Prius, and even the new Land Cruiser were remarkably close to reality. Importantly, their designs came before Toyota released the cars officially.
The wagon rumor in question is an alleged replacement for the GR86. The magazine renders it as both a four-door sedan and a five-door “shooting brake” high-performance wagon design. The magazine also predicts around 300 horsepower of output courtesy of a hybrid variant of the turbo three-cylinder found in the GR Corolla. In addition, Kreifels highlights the fact that setting it up like the Toyota i-FORCE Max system in Tundras and Sequoias would allow the use of a manual transmission.
While replacing the GR86 with a sedan may seem a bit out of the question, Kreifels brings up a good point in the concept’s favor. With the GR Supra spearheading the performance coupe lineup and the incoming MR2 reboot also likely sporting two doors, having an oversaturated offering of coupes might just push Toyota to a rear-wheel-drive performance sedan and/or wagon.
Don’t Get Your Hopes Up Too High
As with all automotive rumors, only time will tell how much of this comes to fruition. The magazine’s track record is impressive on the surface. However, without knowing how many rumors it has put out that didn’t quite pan out, we can’t get too excited. That said, Toyota did explore a rear-wheel-drive wagon in 2016 on the heels of the success of the original FR-S/GT86, according to Japanese Nostalgic Car.
Let’s be honest about it, too. Even if the turbo, manual, and hybrid performance wagon of automotive enthusiasts’ dreams really does become reality, there’s a decent chance it wouldn’t make its way to U.S. soil. That is something you could more safely bet money on. We’re still holding out hope that we might just get the GR Yaris before it disappears. At any rate, check out the full video below and let us know what you think!
