Summary
- Toyota Supra will continue on for the next generation, dispelling rumors of discontinuation.
- Next-gen Supra may utilize in-house technology and platforms, like the TNGA modular architecture.
- Hybrid power may feature in the new Supra, with potential changes in design.
Dear Toyota Supra fans, have no fear, as the famed Japanese sports coupe isn’t going anywhere, despite rumors floating around about its potential discontinuation. According to Australia’s CarExpert, who spoke with Toyota Australia’s sales, marketing, and franchising vice president, Sean Hanley, at the recent Bathurst 1000 motorsports event down yonder, the publication learned that the Supra will continue on for another generation after the current “A90” model, putting to rest some previous hearsay suggesting that it will go the way of the dodo completely.
Earlier this year, rumors began surfacing suggesting that the Supra could disappear after BMW ends production of its current Z4 sometime in 2026. That date also coincided with the conclusion of BMW’s and Toyota’s contract with Magna Steyr, who’s responsible for assembling both the Supra and its platform mate, the Z4, in Graz, Austria. The news of the Z4’s and Supra’s production end with Magna Steyr originally surfaced in May of this year when AutomotiveNews and German automobile publication, Automobilewoche, learned of the details.
A Next-Gen Supra Is On The Way, Could Arrive With Hybrid Power
“There is no plan to discontinue the Supra brand in this car company. I know that,” Hanley reportedly explicitly said to the Australian automotive publication during an interview. “BMW is not Toyota. The notion that Supra is stopping is purely speculative. And, quite frankly, I have no expectation, sitting here today, that the Supra brand will disappear. At all.”
Some began speculating that the Supra would disappear since BMW is discontinuing its Z4 by 2026,. That’s because the Supra shares its platform and powertrain with the Z4 and such speculation is under the assumption that the Supra would retain its BMW-sourced roots. However, Toyota isn’t obligated to strictly depend on BMW for the underpinnings of the Supra, as we all know, the Japanese company is thoroughly capable of designing, engineering, and supplying its own chassis and powertrain components, many of which underpin some excellent driving rear-wheel-drive Lexus models.
Though because BMW is ending production of its Z4 and Toyota plans to keep the Supra around, this leaves room and potential for Toyota to utilize its own in-house technology, powertrains, and platforms. Such potential includes the use of the company’s current TNGA modular platform, or Toyota New Global Architecture. Today, the car that closest resembles the Supra’s front-engine, rear-wheel-drive underpinnings, is the Lexus LC 500, which utilizes the TNGA-L portion of the modular architecture.
“Quite frankly, I can tell you the car you saw today will be on this track for years. I know that,” Hanley continued while speaking with CarExpert, following the reveal of Toyota’s latest Supra-based touring race car at the Bathurst 1000 event. “The Supra nameplate goes back for years. There is a lot of legacy there. It is an incredibly important brand. If you get it right, people will start to gravitate to your brand and go ‘Wow, that’s a fun brand. They are doing well, they know what they’re doing’.”
However, Hanley didn’t disclose any details about the next-gen Supra, other than hinting at the fact that “it might change, it might morph, shape-wise,” he remarked.
Currently, the only speculative information regarding the next-gen Supra is that it might arrive using gas-electric hybrid propulsion with a turbocharged four-cylinder being the main internal combustion component.
Source: CarExpert – Australia
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