I’ll be honest—when I first caught wind of Toyota’s G20E engine rumors, I nearly did a spit take. A 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder pumping out more than 600 horsepower, straight from the factory and backed by a warranty? That is absolutely bonkers. We’re talking McLaren F1 V12 levels of shove from a humble Toyota four-banger. According to Auto Motor und Sport, Toyota development engineers said the new engine could hit that number 'easily.' I’ve been around long enough to know that when engineers use the word 'easily,' they’re usually sandbagging, and that makes my inner gearhead do backflips.

As of 2026, the G20E is still the forbidden fruit of the ICE world—plenty of smoke, but no official production confirmation yet. Still, the chatter has only gotten louder. Toyota already proved it wasn’t playing around with the G16 three-cylinder in the GR Corolla. That little 1.6-liter turbo mill makes 300 horsepower, which works out to 100 horses per cylinder. Sure, you get a bit of turbo lag, but once the boost hits, the GR Corolla is one of the fastest point-to-point machines in the real world. Now scale that ethos up to a 2.0-liter and add Toyota’s current development muscle, and the G20E starts to look like a straight-up ace up the company’s sleeve. Toyota is also developing a 1.5-liter four-cylinder alongside the G20E, both designed to handle boost, but the G20E is the one that has enthusiasts losing sleep.

Let’s chew on the possibilities, because this is where it gets fun. Toyota could drop the G20E into the entire enthusiast lineup and then some. In some alternate universe, Toyota would pull a Mopar Hellcat move and stuff this engine into everything with a pulse. A 600-horsepower Toyota Sienna would be the perfect level of ridiculous, no doubt, but the GR Corolla is a far more likely recipient. The GR Corolla already has the chassis, the all-wheel-drive system, and the rally-bred attitude to handle that kind of power. Give it the G20E and you’d have a hatchback that could humble supercars at a stoplight while still hauling groceries.

Another huge advantage is packaging. Toyota’s new engines are compact, especially in the vertical dimension. That means lower hood lines for just about anything they go into, which is a big deal for sports car proportions and pedestrian safety. It also opens the door for a lightweight, purpose-built sports car like the GR86. Even the hybridized 1.5-liter turbo version could be an absolute riot in the GR86, assuming Toyota keeps the curb weight under 2,900 pounds and nails the tune. I’m not going to pretend I wouldn’t love a sub-2,900-pound coupe with a high-strung turbo four and a manual gearbox. That’s the kind of recipe that makes enthusiasts weep happy tears.

Beyond hot Corollas and lightweight sports machines, the rumor mill keeps churning about the Celica and MR2. Both names carry serious weight for Toyota fans, and depending on pricing, both could use the G20E as their party piece. There’s even talk of a high-end MR2 aimed at the Porsche Cayman, with the G20E doing the heavy lifting and hybridization adding extra electric shove. A mid-engine all-wheel-drive Toyota Cayman fighter with 600-plus combined horsepower? I’ll believe it when I drive it, but the fact that it’s even on the table tells you how serious Toyota has gotten about performance.

Here’s a quick look at where I’d put my money:

Honestly, the G20E feels like one of those engines we’ll look back on as a turning point. Stock four-cylinders used to be the sensible choice; now they’re flirting with numbers that would have embarrassed supercars a few decades ago. The best part? Toyota is doing this while keeping reliability and warranty in the conversation, which is the true mic drop. If the production version lands anywhere near the claimed 600 horsepower mark, the A90 Supra’s B58 will suddenly look a little tame, even if some Supra loyalists object to a four-cylinder on principle. Cylinder count arguments aside, I’m just here for the horsepower war, and the G20E is bringing plenty of heat.