The nature of the next Toyota Supra, including whether it would even exist, has fluctuated slightly over the last few years as uncertainty around electrification, the feasibility of sports cars, or even the petrol engine, has been prominent.
But, there’s good news for Supra fans, it seems, as the latest reports from Japan say a next generation is coming, and that there could be something for those on both sides of the electric fence.
According to Japanese auto magazine Best Car, Toyota is planning a new generation of the Supra, and BMW will still be involved – likely with another Z4 convertible coming from its own half of the deal.
With the EU not set to ban the sale of new ICE-powered cars until 2035, there’s still time to plonk petrol engines into cars for at least one more generation, and it seems Toyota plans to do just that.
Insiders tell Best Car that the plan for the Supra has changed behind the scenes to the point where market and legislative factors will allow the sports car to live on as we know it.
The next Supra will come with a basis developed mostly by BMW, and then each brand will continue the designs and tweaking in-house – much the same way the current Supra and Z4 were developed.
This reportedly suits Toyota as the brand tends not to build electric cars based on petrol engine cars – in fact it tends not to build electric cars much at all yet, with its bZ4X still in low production numbers.
The most likely outcome, according to the information in Japan, is that the Supra will continue to be powered by a version of its current turbocharged 3.0-litre BMW inline six-cylinder, but with hybridisation.
Whether it becomes a plug-in hybrid as is more common for BMW, or a traditional hybrid as Toyota is known for, is unclear, but Best Car is informed its front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout will remain.
This comes after the future of the Supra looked to be electric-only based on previous plans from Toyota, which followed rumours there would be no Supra at all after the current generation ends.
Keyword: A hybrid Toyota Supra could be on the way thanks to its BMW Z4 cousin - report