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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Unless you take a peek at the interior, there's no way you'll be able to recognize the Toyota MR-2 hiding under the exaggerated Ferrari Testarossa-style strakes of this Japanese creation (or is that abomination?). Crafted by Value Progress, the Dragstar F1 Dragon is built on a third generation Toyota MR-2 and despite the extra-long nose, it keeps the donor car's mid-engine layout intact.

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This isn't the first time we've seen a Toyota MR2 dressed up as something else, in this case a Ferrari F430 Spider, but the story here is that the owner of the replica took it to a classic / sports car meeting of some sorts in The Netherlands parking it close to the real Italian deal. Talk about having faith in your creation... See all the pictures after the break.

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