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The grand revival of the Toyota sports car has been no secret in recent years. The earliest hints came in 2014 with the arrival of the racy Toyota FT-1 concept (pictured), followed soon after by Toyota’s trademarking of the “Supra” moniker with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
As reported by the SupraMKV forum, a site dedicated to the not-yet-officially-crowned next-generation Toyota Supra, a trademark application for the storied nameplate has also been filed (on June 3rd) with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Oh yes, the Supra is coming back…
Though much of the sports car remains shrouded in mystery, a few key details have surfaced over the past two years. The new Toyota Supra is part of a joint BMW-Toyota partnership to develop a shared sports car platform, which will bear two fruits—a successor to the aging BMW Z4 and of course, a Toyota branded sibling.
Though unconfirmed, the sports car twins are said to feature different exterior and interior styling elements all while sharing BMW turbocharged four- and six-cylinder engines. A Toyota hybrid variant has been rumored as well.
The latest reports also suggest engineering firm Magna-Steyr will handle production of the low-volume sports cars at one of its facilities in Graz, Austria, and the group is alleged to build around 60,000 units per year.
This relatively low global production total jibes well considering sales of sports cars have lagged compared to today’s hot-selling crossover SUVs. Worryingly, the market also looks to be flooded with newcomers within the next three to five years, as a new Nissan GT-R, Honda S2000, and Mazda RX-7 successor are reported to be in development as well.
That said, new models ought to rekindle new interest in sporty, lithe two-seaters, and they don’t get more hallowed than the rebirth of the Supra.
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