Everything To Look Out For At The 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon

Reports of the death of the old-school motor show appear to have been greatly exaggerated, especially in Tokyo, which has not one but two big automotive expos to its name. There’s the Japan Mobility Show – the one everyone still calls the Tokyo Motor Show – which takes place every other autumn and is Very Serious Indeed in its focus on buzzwords like ‘mobility’, ‘autonomy’ and ‘electrification’.

But then there’s the Tokyo Auto Salon, which helps clear the post-New Year cobwebs every January. Traditionally focused on Japan’s enormous aftermarket tuning scene, it’s increasingly used by the nation’s OEMs to remind car enthusiasts that they are still seen and heard, and 2026 looks to be no different.

There are lots of exciting things set to be shown off when the event kicks off on Friday 9 January, so join us for a roundup of our expected highlights.

A new Subaru WRX STI?

Could it really be? It seemed as though Subaru’s beloved rally-bred hero had been laid to rest once and for all with the demise of the last generation model in 2021, but it looks increasingly likely that a comeback is imminent.

Subaru has been teasing a version of the current-gen WRX complete with STI badges and a manual gearbox, and resplendent in WR Blue, no less. Of course, we’ve been burned before, but we can at least be certain from the above teaser that this one doesn’t have a CVT. A full reveal is earmarked for 9 January.

Honda Prelude HRC Concept

We’re sure happy about the return of the Honda Prelude – any new honest-to-goodness two-door coupe is something to be celebrated in 2026. A knuckled-down hardcore sports car it very much ain’t, though, given that it’s basically just a Civic Hybrid underneath.

Could that change with a Honda Racing Corporation-concept that the company’s bringing to TAS? We’ll have to wait and see – Honda just promises it’ll be fitted with ‘HRC parts designed to further pursue the “joy of driving.”’ Whether that means any extra power or just some visual and possible chassis tweaks, only time will tell.

Also getting the HRC concept treatment is the Civic Type R, dead in Europe as of last year but still going strong in North America and Japan. We suspect it’ll be something similar to the Acura Integra HRC prototype unveiled in the US in 2024.

Finally, the Civic RS, a semi-sporty Japanese trim level currently available with the appealing-sounding combo of a 1.5-litre turbo engine and a manual gearbox, is also debuting as a hybrid. It’ll gain the S+ Shift simulated gearbox tech from the Prelude, and given that the Hybrid is the only version of the Civic left in Europe, it could theoretically appear over here too.

Mystery Nissan Nismo concept

Nissan is preparing to embark on a massive expansion of its Nismo-badged performance offerings over the next few years, and that kicks off at TAS with a mystery concept. Details on it are scarce for now, but based on the one picture we’ve had so far, we think it’s set to be a mad widebody version of, of all things, the Nissan Note, which remains on sale in Japan as an otherwise sensible hatchback (albeit with a lightly warmed-over Nismo version already available).

Another Nismo model already on sale in some markets (not Europe, though. Booo) is the fettled version of the Z sports car. Launched in 2023, it brought power and aero gains over the standard car but lost the option of a manual gearbox. That’s being put right with the arrival of a three-pedal Z Nismo at TAS.

Lots from Toyota, obviously

The big news over at Toyota is that it's teasing a mid-engined two-seater that's been 'acquired' by company chairman Akio Toyoda. We're hoping it could be something concrete on that long-rumoured new MR2, but there's an equally large chance that it's just a custom job on an old one, or something else entirely.

Toyota’s press release on its exhibits, meanwhile, makes mention of two new variants of the sensational little GR Yaris, although details on either are very scarce right now. 

One is called the Morizo RR – Morizo, as keen Toyota-ists will know, is the pseudonym used by Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda when he goes racing, and the last time the name appeared on a GR-badged car, it was on a more hardcore two-seater version of the GR Corolla. The Morizo RR badge, though, is already used for a hot version of Lexus’ baby LBX crossover, stuffed with the GR Yaris’ turbo three-cylinder and GR-Four all-wheel drive system and only sold in Japan, so your guess as to what the GR Yaris Morizo RR could be is as good as ours.

The other is a bit easier to work out – it’s currently got the catchy name of Toyota GR Yaris Sébastien Ogier 9x World Champion Edition, so it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes levels of deduction to work out that it’ll be a special edition marking the French rally ace’s record-equalling ninth WRC title, which he secured with Toyota in 2025. There’s already been an Ogier Edition GR Yaris, which brought matt grey paint and a special rear-biased ‘Seb Mode’ for the all-wheel drive system, so perhaps it could build on this. At any rate, both of these models are still under development, so will be displayed in their prototype forms at the shows.

Already revealed but being shown off to the general public for the first time are the GR GT and its GT3 racing sibling. Toyota’s new flagship V8 hybrid sports car – which technically isn’t being sold as a Toyota, but simply with Gazoo Racing badges – will be getting a physical demo run in addition to being on display at the show.