Toyota Europe Vice President Talks Of New Car Above GT86. Supra Coming Soon?

Things are looking up for BMW and Toyota, in regards to their collaborative sports car effort, to produce the next-generation Z4 and perhaps to even resurrect the Supra name. 

In a report by Autocar, Karl Schlicht, vice-president of Toyota Europe said during the 2015 Geneva Motor Show “The intention with the new car is for it to sit above the GT86. It doesn’t replace that model; the GT86 goes on with its own mission.”

This joint effort was announced in 2012 and little has been revealed about its progress since then until BMW commented that the project had entered the “concept phase” as well as the “successfully completed” technical feasibility study.

This confirmation of the unannounced model’s place in the automakers line up suggest it will sit right where the Supra would have been if it were still around, signaling a potential comeback might be likelier than Toyota forming an entirely new brand with which to endow its sports car flagship.

The gap in price separating this future model and the GT86 could be high enough to merit its construction with more expensive lightweight materials and a more complex engine. BMW brings to the table some formidable expertise in hybrid powertrains with its i3 and i8, and this could be an ideal platform to explore its more high performance applications.

The recent Toyota FT-1 concept does echo the Supra in a number of ways such as overall dimensions and layout; it could be interpreted as a preview of the Supra's next form.

There should be a lot of forthcoming buzz surrounding the birth of this new Toyota model along with its platform-sharing BMW half-brother, and we honestly cannot wait until each new development breaks cover.