10 Vehicles Toyota’s New 450 Horsepower Engine Could Transform

It’s Toyota’s world, and we’re just living in it. The Japanese automaker has made all the right moves over the last decade, resulting in a practically unparalleled market dominance. Are some of these designs polarizing? Sure. There are also more practical, fuel-efficient, and powerful options from competitors. However, those vehicles don’t have Toyota’s famed reputation for reliability.

toyota-logo


Toyota

Founded

August 28, 1937

Founder

Kiichiro Toyoda

Headquarters

Aichi, Japan

Owned By

Publicly Traded

Current CEO

Koji Sato

Part of Toyota’s recent strategy has been a concerted effort to produce more engaging and exciting vehicles. To do so, it needs the right powertrains, and one of its upcoming engines looks to be an absolute monster. The new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder was modeled after the famed 2JZ, with plans for a conservative output starting at 450 horsepower and the ability to grow to upwards of 600 horsepower. With a unit like this on the shelf, we started thinking of models Toyota should consider dropping the engine into, and they consist of everything from upcoming sports cars to family-friendly crossovers.

We explore 10 vehicles that Toyota should consider putting their new engine into, ranked in order from the cars we’d least like to see with the engine to the ones we’d most like to see with it.

10

Lexus LBX

  • Built on the GA-B platform shared with the Yaris
  • Premium small crossover aimed at European and Japanese buyers
  • Could evolve into a GR Sport or Lexus F performance with four-cylinder power

The first vehicle on this list is one you may not be aware of yet. Lexus unveiled the LBX last year as the luxury brand’s new smallest crossover. At over a foot shorter than the UX, it’s a pint-sized vehicle. The company has already gone so far as to announce the LBX Morizo RR, featuring the same 300-horsepower three-cylinder and six-speed manual as the GR Corolla.

However, there’s still no word on whether the model could make it to the US, even if the name has been trademarked here. If the vehicle comes to the US, we think it’s the perfect vehicle to test out this four-cylinder engine because the powerplant would put the crossover on a pedestal above the GR Corolla.

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9

Toyota S-FR

  • Lightweight rear-wheel-drive concept originally revealed in 2015
  • Smaller than the GR86, with a traditional two-seat layout
  • Begging for a high-output, small-displacement engine

You may remember this concept from 2015 when Toyota debuted a small sports car that looked like the perfect Mazda Miata fighter. The idea resurfaced in 2023 when Toyota’s subsidiary, Daihatsu, unveiled the Vision Copen concept, a larger and presumably more powerful version of the brand’s famed kei car.

The dimensions were only a little shorter than the Miata. While it would be ridiculous to give such a small sports car 450 horsepower, we know how fantastic V8 conversions of the Miata can be, so maybe there’s something to the formula. There’s still no word on if the S-FR could go into production, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed, even if it isn’t likely to come to the US.

8

Toyota RAV4

  • Toyota’s best-selling global nameplate
  • Strong AWD platform and broad trim diversity
  • The new GR Sport version opens the door to performance.

The Toyota RAV4 has been thoroughly updated for 2026. While not quite an all-new vehicle, the company made significant changes in every area that counts. It’s now exclusively a hybrid, with the top PHEV powertrain putting out an impressive 320 horsepower to all four wheels.

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With the introduction of the GR Sport trim, which sharpens the model’s profile and gives it a more aggressive attitude, we say this is the perfect time for Toyota to consider an even hotter performance variant. The powerful SUV could give customers of vehicles such as the X3M and GLC AMG pause before pulling the trigger.

7

Toyota Corolla Cross

  • TNGA-C platform shared with Corolla and Prius
  • Room for AWD and aggressive tuning
  • Extremely popular, so a high-performance trim would have an audience

The Corolla Cross is one of those vehicles that simply prints money for Toyota. It’s a small, fuel-efficient, and affordable crossover, and for 2026, it receives some subtle changes aimed at maintaining high sales. An interesting addition is the introduction of the GR Sport version in Japan, which stiffens the suspension and steering, lowers the ride height, and gives it a more dramatic look in line with the RAV4 GR Sport.

There’s no word on further performance enhancements, and the model 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 price it under $50,000, something attainable.

6

Toyota Prius

  • Radical design with striking new fastback styling
  • Toyota has hinted at performance hybrid variants
  • Aerodynamic shape and low stance pair well with added power

We haven’t been shy about our love for the current-generation Prius here at CarBuzz. Toyota took a boring-looking model and completely gave it new life. The Prius is now a vehicle we’d actually consider buying instead of one we wouldn’t be caught dead in before, and the 220-horsepower PHEV variant gives the model a surprising amount of performance.

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.

5

Toyota Compact Pickup

  • Rumored unibody model targeting Ford Maverick
  • Expected to use Corolla or Prius architecture
  • Compact size makes it ripe for sporty street truck treatment

It’s no secret that the Ford Maverick is selling like hotcakes. The small, unibody pickup has been a home run for Ford, causing such a stir that automakers like Toyota are now looking to counter it. The company’s dealers are clamoring for a small, affordable pickup truck, and Toyota executives are also exploring whether they can make it work. However, it will still be some time before we see anything in the flesh.

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However, if they do, it would behoove them to come out swinging. A hybrid model is a foregone conclusion, but offering a high-performance variant at the top of the range built to dominate the streets would be the perfect way to grab the public’s attention. Basing it on the TNGA-C platform, shared with the likes of the Corolla Cross, would be smart, too, and it would make offering a 450-horsepower version of both much more feasible.

4

Toyota Celica

  • A famous vehicle associated with WRC and street performance
  • Last offered in 2006 as a front-wheel-drive sports coupe
  • Frequently teased in GR and anime-themed promotions

We are prefacing these next few entries by saying we’d be thrilled to see any of them debut with the new 2.0-liter dynamite powertrain, but since this and the next one aren’t 100% confirmed yet, they sit a little bit lower. The Celica was the brand’s affordable sports car before the GR86 was ever in the conversation, and it occupied a spot in the lineup as a bit of a rally Yin to the MR2’s classic sports car, Yang. A revival has been confirmed in every way except for Toyota outright stating it.

Last year, the company revealed the GR86 Rally Legacy at SEMA and had the entire world salivating at a genuine AWD sports car from Toyota with 300 horsepower under the hood. While that’s great and all, we’d also like to see a 450-horsepower version, something that will have the Audi RS3 and BMW M2 looking over their shoulders during track days across the country.

3

Toyota MR2

  • Toyota’s most iconic mid-engine model
  • Frequently rumored to return as part of the GR sports car trio
  • Lightweight layout is ideal for a compact, high-output engine

Even more likely than the Celica appears to be the MR2 revival, as the mule the company has been using to test the new 2.0-liter powertrain feels eerily like an MR2 preview as well. The GR Yaris M concept was born out of motorsport, so we can’t say it’s a given. However, why else would the company be perfecting the powertrain in a mid-engined vehicle if not to prepare it for use in the brand’s highly anticipated, yet heavily rumored, upcoming mid-engined sports car?

The MR2 was awesome, even if the Spyder left a little to be desired. The fact that an automaker was producing an affordable mid-engined sports car is something to appreciate. It’d be a fantastic Porsche Cayman or Alpine A110 fighter, but here’s hoping it comes in a slightly more affordable version, perhaps with the four-cylinder engine in the top trim and the three-cylinder engine in the base trim.

2

Toyota GR Corolla

  • Currently powered by a 300-hp 1.6-liter turbo three-cylinder
  • AWD rally-inspired hot hatch platform
  • Rumored GRMN version expected in the near future

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 engine producing 300 horsepower, and initially pairing the powerplant only with a 6-speed manual transmission. The hot hatch would be a dream come true, and the only thing better would be a performance-oriented Corolla with even more power – 450 horsepower, to be exact.

Toyota has been teasing a hotter variant of the hot hatch for quite some time, and many believe the car could wear the famed GRMN moniker, a badge reserved only for the rarest and most powerful Toyota models.

1

Toyota GR86

  • Lightweight, RWD sports coupe praised for handling
  • Currently powered by a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter flat-four
  • Enthusiasts have long demanded more power

We admit that it was a bit of a toss-up between which model would take the first spot on this list, but we ultimately decided on the GR86 because of the implications. We know a hotter variant of the GR Corolla is coming, but a more powerful GR86 still isn’t here. Now is the right time to give the fans what they want.

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The GR Supra is on the way out, and even though another generation should arrive sooner rather than later, there is going to be a gap in the lineup in the meantime. A powertrain like this wouldn’t work in the Supra anyway, because buyers have already rebuked a four-cylinder model. However, the engine would be right at home in the GR86. What better way to fill the gap until the next Supra arrives than by offering the hottest GR86 yet? A sports car with looks, poise, and performance to take on the best coming out of Europe and the US. We know we’d be on board.

Sources: Toyota

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