New Toyota Supra Hits the Streets in First Spy Photos
Toyota is bringing back the Supra and we finally have spy photos showing the new sports car.
The photos show a fixed roof coupe that appears to have proportions similar to the FT-1 Concept, the stunning show car that teased this new machine. The style all around the development car is toned down compared to the concept, but it still looks plenty aggressive. Thick plastic is hiding the front end well, while small round taillights are visible in the back, though these might just be used for the prototype. We see shades of previous Supras in the design of this prototype, but Toyota might be doing that to throw us off.
Two of the photos also offer a glimpse of the interior, which looks more BMW than Toyota. The steering wheel and gauges appear to be out of a BMW, while the small wheel that controls the German brand’s iDrive infotainment system can also be seen.
SEE ALSO: 5 Reasons that Prove the Toyota Supra is Coming Back
Concrete details on the new Toyota sports car are slim, though plenty of rumors are circling the car. BMW is said to have done most of the development on the rear-wheel drive chassis and engine, while Toyota provided its hybrid technology for the new car. That means that turbocharged four- and six-cylinder BMW engines are possibilities to provide power, mated to a hybrid system.
As for body styles, the Supra is said to be a coupe only, while its sister car, the BMW Z5, is rumored to be only a roadster with a soft-top. Early on in development, BMW and Toyota said that the two cars will not be direct competitors, despite sharing many of the same internal components.
The Supra is expected to arrive after the new BMW Z5, likely as a 2019 model year vehicle.
Discuss this story at our Toyota Supra Forum
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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Unfortunately a new Supra would not succeed in America today and here is why. Most consumers today in the market for a performance car will look at hp:price ratio. If this Supra will indeed have 400hp it will also cost around 100k, knowing Japanese makes they will overprice the hell out of this car, Japanese makes (other than maybe Nissan/Subaru) are no longer interested in performance cars, especially not Toyota. So what else can a consumer look for that offers 400+hp and doesn't cost 100k, easy, V8 muscle cars. -2016 Mustang GT - $35k -2016 Camaro SS - $37k -2016 Dodge Challenger RT - $31k These are just base model v8 muscle cars w/o mentioning the GT350R, ZL1, Hellcat which would all still be much more cheaper than a brand new Supra. If the Japanese really want to revive the JDM golden era of the 90s...well you need to make sure that most people can comfortably go out and buy one of these cars, hence why these muscle cars are so successful today, and why the Supra went out of commission in the first place. A lot of performance for not a lot of price is what consumers today want. Nissan seems to be doing it right with the Z cars and of course the GTR as their halo, Subaru as well with the STi and even the BRZ. Hyundai/Genesis is actually getting up there along with Lexus, but the Toyota Supra would not survive in the market today, it'll just be an overpriced car show car for oohs and ahhs .
I saw the FT-1 Concept at the Detroit auto show last year and this looks nothing like it. Either they ditched the design entirely or this isn't the Supra.