Toyota’s grip on the automotive world has never been tighter. While rivals chip away with flashier tech or sharper styling, the Japanese giant keeps winning where it matters most: long-term dependability and relentless sales momentum. Yes, some of its designs court controversy, and yes, you can find more powerful or more fuel-efficient alternatives elsewhere. But none of those alternatives carry Toyota’s near-mythical reputation for reliability — and that combination of trust and volume gives the brand room to take bold swings.
One of those swings is a new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine modeled after the legendary 2JZ, with a conservative output starting at 450 horsepower and the headroom to climb past 600 horsepower. With a unit like that on the shelf, we started thinking about which Toyota models deserve it most — and the list runs the gamut from pure sports cars to family-friendly crossovers.
Lexus LBX
The first vehicle on this list is one you may not be familiar with. Lexus unveiled the LBX as the luxury brand’s new smallest crossover — a pint-sized machine that sits over a foot shorter than the UX. The company has already announced the LBX Morizo RR, pairing the same 300-horsepower three-cylinder and six-speed manual found in the GR Corolla with the crossover’s compact body.
There’s still no word on whether the model will make it to the US, even though the name has been trademarked here. If it does arrive stateside, we think it’s the ideal candidate to showcase this four-cylinder, since the extra power would place it firmly above the GR Corolla in the performance pecking order.
Toyota RAV4
The all-new 2026 RAV4 is set to be another success for the brand. It’s now exclusively a hybrid, with the top PHEV powertrain delivering an impressive 320 horsepower to all four wheels.
With the introduction of the GR Sport trim — which sharpens the model’s profile and gives it a more aggressive attitude — this feels like the perfect moment for Toyota to consider an even hotter performance variant. A properly quick RAV4 could give buyers of fast German SUVs something to think about.
Toyota Corolla Cross
The Corolla Cross is one of those vehicles that simply prints money for Toyota. It’s a small, fuel-efficient, and affordable crossover, and it does everything a car should. An intriguing addition is the GR Sport version in Japan, which stiffens the suspension and steering, lowers the ride height, and gives the crossover a more dramatic look consistent with the RAV4 GR Sport.
There’s no word on further performance enhancements, and that GR Sport variant isn’t slated to come to the US, but this would be an even better vehicle to fit this powerful four-cylinder into. It’d be like the Hyundai Kona N on steroids — and if Toyota could keep the price under $50,000, something genuinely attainable.
Toyota Prius
We haven’t been shy about our love for the current-generation Prius here at CarBuzz. Toyota took a car that had become synonymous with bland transportation and gave it a genuine personality. The Prius is now a vehicle we’d actually consider buying — a far cry from one we wouldn’t be caught dead in — and the 220-horsepower PHEV variant delivers a surprising punch.
The company has also been open about its desire to offer a higher-performance model, although such vehicles are likely to be hybrids. While that’s cool and all, a true AWD GR Prius monster with 450 horsepower would be a nightmare for the likes of the VW Golf R and Subaru WRX. We’d welcome it with open arms.
Toyota Celica
We’re prefacing these next few entries by saying we’d be thrilled to see any of them debut with the new 2.0-liter powertrain, but since this and the next one aren’t fully confirmed yet, they sit a little lower on the list. The Celica was Toyota’s affordable sports car long before the GR86 entered the conversation, occupying a spot in the lineup as a kind of rally Yin to the MR2’s classic sports car Yang. A revival has been confirmed in every way except for Toyota outright saying so.
Toyota MR2
Even more likely than the Celica appears to be an MR2 revival, as the mule Toyota has been using to test the new 2.0-liter powertrain feels eerily like an MR2 preview. The GR Yaris M concept was born out of motorsport, so nothing is guaranteed. But why else would the company be perfecting this powertrain in a mid-engined vehicle if not to prepare it for the brand’s highly anticipated — and heavily rumored — upcoming mid-engined sports car?
The MR2 was a genuinely special machine, even if the Spyder left a little to be desired. The simple fact that an automaker was producing an affordable mid-engined sports car is something to appreciate. A new MR2 would be a fantastic addition to the sports car world, especially now that Porsche has stopped making the 718.
Toyota GR Corolla
Of course, we can’t talk about the new engine without mentioning the current rally king itself: the GR Corolla. As one of the most extreme hatchbacks on the market, Toyota made no compromises, equipping it with a torque-vectoring AWD system, a high-strung turbocharged three-cylinder producing 300 horsepower, and initially pairing it exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission. The hot hatch is already a dream come true, and the only thing better would be a performance-focused Corolla with even more power — 450 horsepower, to be exact.
Toyota GR86
We admit it was a bit of a toss-up deciding which model would claim the top spot, but we ultimately landed on the GR86 because of what it would mean for the lineup.
The GR Supra is on the way out, and even though another generation should arrive sooner rather than later, there will be a gap in the lineup in the meantime. A powertrain like this wouldn’t suit the Supra anyway — buyers have already pushed back on a four-cylinder version of that car.
But the engine would be right at home in the GR86. What better way to fill the void until the next Supra arrives than by offering the hottest GR86 yet? A sports car with the looks, poise, and performance to take on the best from Europe and the US. We know we’d be first in line.
Sources: Toyota
