The Next Car • Five Maybes • One Dog With the Deciding Vote
What ReplacesVeleno?
A new MR2, a new Celica, the next Miata, a rotary RX-9 and an electric Lexus LFA walk into a spreadsheet. I'm not shopping. Boone might be.
I Am Not Shopping
Let's get this on the record before anyone at a dealership gets excited: I am not shopping. Veleno, my 2018 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth, is fine. It's a Miata wearing an Italian suit and a turbocharged 1.4, and I recently wrote an entire post about replacing its passenger mirror, which is not the behavior of a man looking to trade in.
But the 124 has been out of production since 2020, and suddenly every carmaker in Japan is building, or threatening to build, a sports car again. So this is a thought experiment with rules. Engine in front driving the rear wheels, engine in the middle, or all-wheel drive. No front-drivers. A convertible is strongly preferred.
That last rule isn't mine. The final vote belongs to Boone, who rides shotgun in Veleno and has made his position on fixed roofs extremely clear.
Five contenders. Specs, rumors, patents, best-guess prices. Here we go.
Contender 1 • Toyota • Mid-Engine, Almost Certainly AWD
The MR2 Is Back, and It Hit the Gym
This one is real. In January, Gazoo Racing president Tomoya Takahashi told Automotive News that a new MR2 is in development, though AutoGuide noted the engineers were only in the first of four development stages at the time. Translation: real, but not soon.
The engine is the headline. Toyota built a new 2.0-liter turbocharged four, code G20E, and tested it by stuffing it behind the seats of a GR Yaris and calling the result the GR Yaris M Concept. Autoblog reports road versions should land around 400 horsepower, with race versions good for 600. For scale, Veleno makes 164. The MR2 would be bringing a chainsaw to a butter-knife fight.
The twist: Toyota's GR engineering boss told reporters that pairing the mid-engine layout with all-wheel drive is the best way to hit its targets, according to Carscoops. The old MR2s were rear-drive and famous for snap oversteer. This one wants the drama without the trip backwards into a ditch. Expect the engine mounted sideways and an eight-speed automatic borrowed from the GR Corolla.
Spy watch: in July a camouflaged mid-engine "Frankenstein" prototype was caught lapping Fuji Speedway wearing parts from an LC 500 and a GR Yaris. In August, Carscoops reported a 2028 on-sale target and possible standalone GR branding. Toyota has trademarked both GR MR2 and GR MR-S. The styling should borrow from the 2023 FT-Se concept.
Roof: nothing announced. The last MR2 was a convertible Spyder. This one, so far, is a coupe. Price: nobody credible has published one. My CPA guess is GR Corolla money plus a mid-engine tax, call it $55,000 to $70,000. That's a guess, not a leak.
Four hundred horsepower behind your head. Boone is unmoved.
Contender 2 • Toyota • Front-Engine AWD Hybrid
The Celica Returns as a Rally Car With a Day Job
Akio Toyoda confirmed the Celica comeback back in 2024, and the picture is finally filling in. Autocar reported in August that the eighth-generation Celica, called Celica Sport internally, will be the entry model in the GR lineup, built off the next Corolla, with the same G20E engine mounted up front as part of a hybrid system driving all four wheels. Autoblog says Toyota has confirmed the AWD and the engine, and that output could reach around 450 horsepower with the hybrid help. Carscoops reports a manual is on the table.
Meanwhile, Toyota's next World Rally Championship car keeps getting caught testing in Spain looking a lot like a Celica, widened and angry. Don't get too excited about what's under that hood: WRC rules require a 1.6-liter turbo, so it's running the GR Yaris three-cylinder, not the G20E. The road car is reportedly aimed at the 2028 model year.
Roof: Toyota has built Celica convertibles before. Nobody is talking about one now. Price: nothing published. My guess is $45,000 to $60,000, which also makes it the car most likely to embarrass a Honda Prelude at a stoplight.
Boone has never heard of the Prelude. Boone does not care.
Contender 3 • Mazda • Front-Engine RWD Roadster
The NE Miata, Which Is Also What I Already Own
Here's the awkward part. Veleno is built on the current ND Miata. And CarBuzz points out that "NE," the code for the next Miata, was already used internally for the Fiat 124 Spider. So technically, the car I already own is the NE. Mazda is going to have to explain that to Boone.
The real next Miata is coming, slowly. Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro has confirmed it's being engineered to accept electric power while targeting 1,000 to 1,200 kilograms, per Carscoops. That's roughly 2,200 to 2,650 pounds, in the same neighborhood as today's car. The gas version is expected to get Mazda's new 2.5-liter Skyactiv-Z four. Japan's Best Car reports it's being co-developed with Toyota alongside the next GR86 and built in Hiroshima, with a debut around mid-2028. That's a rumor magazine, so treat it like one.
The patents are the fun part. In September, CarBuzz found a Mazda filing for a front structure built from cast frame sections instead of stamped steel, which is how you make something stiffer without making it fatter.
Roof: yes. It's a Miata. The soft top is the whole point, and the RF folding hardtop will likely follow. Price: today's 2026 MX-5 runs $30,730 to $36,950 before destination, according to iSeeCars. The NE will cost more. How much more is anyone's guess.
Contender 4 • Mazda • Rotary, Allegedly
The RX-9: A Rotary Rumor With Pop-Up Headlights
Quick correction for the record: the RX-8 died in 2012. What everyone actually wants is the production version of the 2023 Iconic SP concept, and the rumor mill has been calling it RX-9 for years. Mazda has not confirmed RX-9, RX-7 or anything else. What Mazda's chief technical officer Ryuichi Umeshita did say is that the Iconic SP would be "a good successor for RX-7."
The concept is gorgeous: FD RX-7 inspiration, pop-up headlights, and a two-rotor rotary working as a generator for an electric motor, about 365 horsepower combined. It's 105 millimeters shorter, 90 wider and 80 lower than an FD, per CarExpert. Then the cold water: Mazda has trimmed its investment in electrified models, including that range-extender setup, by about a third, according to TorqueCafe, and a Mazda Europe executive reminded everyone that Mazda has to bring in revenue.
And yet the patents keep coming. A filing published in August covers an exhaust-gas recirculation system for a turbocharged two-rotor engine. CarExpert points out that a turbo suggests a rotary that actually drives the wheels, which hasn't happened since the RX-8. Another July filing shows an unnamed rear-drive convertible with butterfly doors and a lengthwise four-cylinder. Nobody knows if that's the Miata, the RX-9 or a third thing. Mazda also showed the Vision X-Coupe last fall, a four-door with a turbo two-rotor plug-in hybrid making 503 horsepower. Not a sports car. Proof the rotary is still breathing.
Roof: the concept is a coupe, but a butterfly-door convertible exists in a patent drawing, which is the most Boone thing in this entire post. Price: unknown. It's positioned above the Miata. Bring money.
Contender 5 • Lexus • Battery Electric, Two Seats
The Lexus They Kept Teasing Is the LFA, and It's Electric
The Lexus everyone kept squinting at was the Lexus Sport Concept, shown at The Quail in August 2025. In December it got a real name: the LFA Concept, revealed alongside Toyota's V8 GR GT. Same aluminum frame, same 2,725-millimeter wheelbase as the GR GT, but battery electric instead of a twin-turbo V8 hybrid.
It's real. The concept drove up the hill at Goodwood in July, and its lead designer, Shogo Kasamatsu, told Autocar the production car is almost finished and due in 2027. Toyota's long-promised solid-state battery is expected to debut here, though Lexus hasn't confirmed it. A Toyota patent published last week describes how the paddles will fake sequential gear changes by briefly cutting motor torque, because Lexus knows the original LFA's V10 is a tough act to follow with no engine.
For scale, its V8 twin, the GR GT, promises at least 641 horsepower and is expected around $225,000, per The Drive. The original LFA was $375,000. The new one hasn't been priced.
Roof: no. And with the LC 500 Convertible having ended production in August, Lexus currently has no drop-top on the way. Price: a lot.
Boone does not ride in six-figure coupes. Boone has standards.
The Spreadsheet
Here's everything in one place. Anything labeled "guess" is mine, not a leak.
| Car | Layout | Power (reported) | Price | Timing | Convertible? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veleno (2018 Fiat 124 Abarth) | Front-engine RWD | 164 hp, 1.4 turbo four | ~$16,000 private party (KBB) | In my garage | Yes |
| Toyota MR2 (GR MR2) | Mid-engine AWD (likely) | ~400 hp, 2.0 turbo G20E | $55k–$70k (guess) | 2028 (reported) | Nothing announced |
| Toyota Celica | Front-engine AWD hybrid | Up to ~450 hp (reported) | $45k–$60k (guess) | 2028 model year (reported) | Nothing announced |
| Mazda MX-5 (NE) | Front-engine RWD | 2.5 Skyactiv-Z, electrified in some form | Above today's $30,730 start | Mid-2028 (rumor) | Yes |
| Mazda "RX-9" (Iconic SP) | Front-mid, rotary + electric (concept) | ~365 hp (concept) | Unknown | Not approved | Coupe concept; convertible patent |
| Lexus LFA (electric) | Battery electric, two seats | Not announced | Not announced; GR GT twin ~$225k (est.) | 2027 (designer) | No |
Sources: Automotive News via AutoGuide, Autoblog, Carscoops, Autocar, CarBuzz, CarExpert, Best Car via GoAuto, The Drive, iSeeCars and KBB. Specs on unreleased cars are reported, not official, and will change.
Patents, Engines and Things Lawyers Filed
The Engine Nerd Section
Toyota G20E. One 2.0-liter turbo four, three jobs: mid-mounted in the MR2, front-mounted in the hybrid Celica, and in race trim up to about 600 horsepower. Autoblog reports Toyota built it to be tunable, which is a polite way of saying it knows exactly what you're going to do to it.
Mazda turbo rotary. The August patent sends hot exhaust from the side ports to a turbo and cooler exhaust back through the engine to cut emissions. Emissions are what killed the RX-8. A turbo means Mazda is at least thinking about a rotary that drives the wheels again.
Mazda butterfly doors. Two July patents describe a rear-drive convertible with doors that swing up, braced to make that work without a roof. Unnamed car. Boone has questions about getting in and out.
Toyota's fake shifter. The LFA patent uses torque cuts and paddles to feel like a sequential gearbox. No clutch, no stalling, plenty of theater.
Spy Shots and Renderings
Where to See the Real Spy Photos
Spy photos and independent renderings belong to the photographers and artists who made them, so I'm linking to them instead of reposting them. Every image above is an official manufacturer photo.
- The mid-engine MR2 prototype caught at Fuji Speedway (Carscoops)
- Toyota's Celica-shaped WRC prototype testing in Spain (Carscoops)
- Rendering of the hybrid AWD GR Celica (Carscoops)
- What the NE Miata might look like, rendered (autoevolution)
- Mazda's butterfly-door convertible patent drawings (Carscoops)
- Mazda's turbo rotary patent diagram (CarExpert)
Things That Exist Right Now
Other Stuff I'd Actually Consider
2027 Corvette Stingray Convertible. Mid-engine, power-folding hardtop, a new 6.7-liter V8 with 535 horsepower, $80,495 to start per Motor1. Checks every box on my list. Boone approves. My accountant, who is me, does not.
The current Miata or MX-5 RF. The ND is still on sale and still the best $31,000 open-top car you can buy. Just ask Veleno's mother.
BMW Z4 M40i. Front-engine, rear-drive, inline-six, available with a six-speed manual. Production ended in April with a $78,675 Final Edition. Leftovers and lightly used ones are the play now. BMW says no successor.
Lexus LC 500 Convertible. A naturally aspirated V8 grand tourer with the roof off, $109,300 for 2026. Production ended in August, so this one is officially a "find one" car.
A used Porsche 718 Boxster. Mid-engine, convertible, and the gas version is done. Porsche says the next Boxster is electric only, with 2028 its first full production year. A good used one may be the smartest buy on this page.
A 1991 Honda Beat. Mid-engine. Convertible. 656cc and 63 horsepower. I'm a Honda guy now, and I already have one. This may be the actual answer.
Boone's Decision
I could weigh horsepower against weight and depreciation against dealer markup. But that isn't how this decision gets made in my house.
If I put the spreadsheet in front of Boone, he'd skip every column except the last one. He'd look at the MR2, the Celica, the RX-9 and the LFA and see four very expensive ways to keep the wind off his face. Then he'd see the word "Yes" next to the Miata.
So the winner is a convertible, rear-drive, two-seat Mazda roadster.
Which is what I already have.
Good dog.
DRIVE FAST · TAKE CHANCES · NEVER LIFT
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