Toyota's MR2 Based GRMN SPORTS HYBRID Concept II gets its Motorshow Debut

Visitors at this week's 2011 Tokyo Motor Show will have the chance to see Toyota's MR2 roadster-based GRMN SPORTS HYBRID Concept II in the flesh.

Developed by Toyota and its motorsports partner Gazoo Racing, the prototype made its debut at this year’s 24-hour endurance race at the Nürburgring in Germany.

For those of you wondering, "GRMN" is an acronym for “Gazoo Racing tuned by the Meister of the Nürburgring,” the latter being a nickname for Toyota’s late test driver Hiromu Naruse who died in an accident last summer while driving a prototype of the Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition.

The GRMN SPORTS HYBRID Concept II is a development of last year's racing prototype that was based on production MR-2. The second iteration of Toyota's hybrid sports car features a brand new body while also improving upon the first concept on the powertrain front.

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Toyota Presents the Successor to Last Year’s MR2 Study with the New GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept II

At last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota showcased a concept study of an all-wheel drive hybrid sports car (see here) loosely based on the now obsolete MR2 roadster, developed in partnership with Japan’s GAZOO Racing.

Now the time has come for Toyota to unwrap its successor in the form of the GRMN SPORTS HYBRID Concept II that will receive both its public and racing debut at this weekend’s highly anticipated 39th Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race in Germany.

The name “GRMN” stands for GAZOO Racing tuned by Meister of Nürburgring, in honor of the late Hiromu Naruse (1944-2010), the Toyota chief test driver and head of the GAZOO Racing team who died in an accident last summer driving a prototype of the Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition in Germany.

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Toyota MR2 Dressed Up as a Gumpert Apollo

We came across this Gumpert Apollo replica that's based on a second generation Toyota MR2 (1990-1999) on eBay. While the original mid-engined Apollo supercar gets an Audi-sourced 4.2-liter, twin-turbo V8 with 650HP or an insane 800HP in Sport form, the Toyota-based replica makes do with a modified version of the Japanese sports car's four-cylinder turbo engine, with the seller claiming it yields "255 WHP at 15psi and 303 WHP at around 19psi" on the dyno. Hit the 'read more' button below for the full image gallery.

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