The last time Toyota debuted a concept thought to be the return of the Supra — the FT-HS, to be exact — the end result was a three-pack of boxer-powered, rear-driven madness with a low price point. Could Toyota’s latest upcoming concept for the 2014 Detroit Auto Show finally be the one?
According to insiders within Toyota, the rear-driven supercar concept was conceived in the automaker’s California-based CLATY design studio. Alas, no images have been leaked to the automotive press so far, nor word of what might be under the bonnet beyond rumor of a hybrid drivetrain made for high performance. Said drivetrain could also be the first product from the partnership struck between Toyota and BMW earlier this year to share car-building and hybrid tech for their respective entrants into the sports car game.
Toyota desperately needs some excitment in their lineup, I was in a Toyota dealer the other day getting my MIL’s oil changed and while killing time in the showroom I was put to sleep by the bland appliances…quality cars for sure but jeebus are they dull!
What I don’t get is why Toyota won’t just admit that they already HAVE a Mark V Supra.
It’s called the Lexus LFA.
But the LFA is too expensive to be a Supra.
The Supra was always priced comparably with the Z-cars, and whatever Mistubishi had at the time. On the high end, a Supra should be priced with a GT-R, not at $375K+.
Yeah, but look at the parallels.
Both the Mark IV Supra and the LFA top their manufacturer’s ranges. Both cars are sleek, fast, expensive two-seat sports cars. Both have great engines, and the LFA DOES look like a Supra redesigned for modern aesthetic sensibilities.
Plus, while never Lamborghini-expensive or limited-production like the LFA, the Supra was always fairly costly for a Toyota.
I think there are more similarities than differences with the two cars.
I still think the Supra should be a somewhat attainable performance car. I will not speak ill of the LFA because I am glad cars like that exist (or existed since I think they are done with production), but it isn’t a Supra. Its like saying the Cadillac XLR was a Camaro after GM halted Camaro production.
Supra has always been a 2+2 high performance GT and not a super-car.
Yes yes. The LFA priced itself into irrelevance for Toyota consumers.
It’s called the Lexus RC.
I hope that isn’t the new Supra. The last Supra turbo in the US had an engine with more HP than the non-F version of the RC. It is also grotesque.
I’m sure the styling will be different (no spindle grill). The 1st gen Lexus SC shared suspension and drivetrain parts with the Supra, so it would be logical to assume that the Supra would be based on a platform with Lexus. The RC is the only RWD coupe platform that Toyota has right now, unless you count the IS C as coupe.
The RC looks good when I don’t see its face. I don’t doubt that would be the platform they would use. Turbocharge the 3.5 V6 and let there be a Supra.
Or a TRD supercharger.
That would work too.
The LFA actually seems more akin to the 2000GT. Both were moonshot projects with Yamaha collaboration and extremely limited volume.
Ooh fancy RHD Euro-spec Supra there with side blinkers.
That design IS what a fast Japanese car should look like. I don’t know how they’ll ever do any better. I’d like one in pearl white, with gold emblems. Ha.
CLATY? Really? It is spelled (and cased) Calty.
What I’m hoping for is a tall order… but if they can make it based on the GT-86, with a 3.0-4.0L F6, a light small electric motor essentially acting as a clutch and regenerative brake, all for under 3000lb and ~60K I think it will really be a smash.
Unfortunately, I think this “Supra” is going to be based on a sedan platform. As the platforms get more expensive (and capable), we are losing dedicated sports car platforms.
Sedan-based sports cars like the 370Z, M3/4 and the GT-R can be impressive, but they just don’t have provide the same sports car joy in my book as dedicated platform cars like the FT86, Miata, Corvette, and the Cayman/911. And even the FT86 had to borrow a lot of hardware from other Subarus.
Even in the good old days, the Supra was basically a Mark II in sports car clothing, so that would hardly be the end of the world.
I did not know that. TIL.
The Supra should be a GT, not an all out vicious sports car. Someone else has already mentioned this.
Put it over a good-sized RWD platform from Lexus, give it like 400 horsepower, and you’ve got a winner.
Funny how Toyota always had to collab with somebody else to make a good sports car like 2000GT w/ Yamaha, MR2 w/ Lotus, GT86 w/ Subaru, Matrix w/ GM, oh wait..
Funny how that’s not true. The Celica, Supra, and MR2 have always been Toyota engineered. Yahama has done some work with engine head designs on some engines, like the 2ZZ-GE, and helped Toyota perfect the exhaust note on the LFA, but Toyota is an expert at making their own sports cars. They also worked on the heads for the 3M, the engine in the 2000GT and they assembled the car in one of their plants, but the engine and car itself are all engineered by Toyota.
As for the original MR2 and Lotus:
“Lotus (Roger Becker) did a lot of work in Japan with Toyota on ride & handling work, and actually set up a number of MR2 prototypes for them. It was almost a training program for them, as we (Lotus) had (a little!) more experience in mid-engined sports cars than they did at that time. However, the production spec. was finalized by Toyota themselves, rather than being done by Lotus. So you could say Lotus had a hand in it, but were not ultimately responsible for the finished product.”
http://mr2wiki.com/MKI/History
I hope they’ll at least give the dealers some training for when this car’s on the lot. I drove an FR-S last night, after spending some time in a Miata. I mentioned this to the dealer, who told me that he’d never heard of the Miata, and that the FR-S had a Corolla engine.
The typical sales associate at a car dealer has been there for less than six months, probably will leave within the next six months, and is there to convince you to Buy! Today! (whatever they happen to sell there). Product knowledge doesn’t enter into it at all, apart from maybe knowing what colors and trim options the cars in the front of the lot might have.
Yeah, I just felt kind of embarrassed for him. It’s an aspect of quality control – if you’re salesmen aren’t competent, how can I trust anything else the dealer is doing?
I had similar experience with dealer when buying wifey’s Pony car (she just had to have a Camaro). We test-drove a Challenger among others that day, and I asked the salesman (riding shotgun) if Hemi engines were still Hemi engines (I don’t keep up with planet Mopar and genuinely didn’t know), or just called that as a marketing gimmick anymore.
He assured me that yes, indeed, a Hemi was still a Hemi. Smelling a rat, I asked the guy if the Hemi had four overhead cams ‘like those nice German V8’s.’ Well, of course the Dodge V8 had all those cams, it was as good as any German V8. So, according to the salesman, we were driving an overhead quad cam V8 with hemispherical heads.
Ugh.