Toyota to Show Supra Concept in October (Plus Two More Sports Concepts)

[supra93]

Japan’s signature auto show, the Tokyo auto show, was a must-see extravaganza of the country’s future sports-car ideas and eccentric concept cars throughout the 1990s. Then, as the Shanghai and Beijing auto shows grew in prominence and Korean cars started eating into Japan’s global market share, the Tokyo event lost its luster, dropping to second-tier status on the international calendar of car shows. And there it has stayed for the past decade. (It doesn’t help that the show is held only every other year.) But that won’t be the case in 2017, in large part because of one debut: the Toyota Supra concept.

The Supra concept leads a show-car trio from Toyota that also will include, according to the Japanese magazine Best Car, Toyota’s S-FR and Corolla GTI concepts. We first saw the next-generation Supra’s design direction when the company unveiled its FT-1 concept in January 2014, and the final product will take strong styling hints from that car, as the rendering published here shows. The final design is a collaboration between Toyota’s headquarters in Toyota City and the company’s Calty studio, located in California. Although still a concept, the Tokyo car is described as very close to production.

The BMW Z5, on the other hand, will employ the German company’s turbocharged inline-four and straight-six powerplants and incorporate special lightweight carbon-fiber technology borrowed from the i3 and i8. It’s slated for a Frankfurt auto show debut in September.

In an attempt to show that Toyota means business with its effort to create a stronger sports-car range—one that encompasses small, medium and large sports cars—Japan’s number-one automaker also will unveil a purist coupe called the S-FR II concept, an evolution of the concept seen at the 2015 Tokyo auto show. With its huge grille, funky proportions, and short overhangs, the tiny rear-wheel-drive coupe will slot in at the bottom of Toyota’s sports-car lineup. It’s powered by a 116-hp turbocharged 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine or a 130-hp naturally aspirated 1.5-liter inline-four, with both versions expected to be offered with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission. Toyota’s “Mr. 86,” Tetsuya Tada, father of the Scion FR-S (now the Toyota 86), has been tasked with bringing the S-FR to global markets at a starting price under $15,000—and, yes, that potentially could include the United States.

Rounding out Toyota’s sporty concepts will be a GTI version of the Corolla. Based on the new 12th-generation car due out later this year, which will use Toyota’s New Global Architecture (TNGA), the GTI is a four-door hatchback packing a 250-hp 2.0-liter turbo four and a specially tuned suspension in an effort to go up against the Volkswagen GTI.

Combine the high-profile splash of three sports-car debuts at the Tokyo show with a hoped-for win at Le Mans after last year’s engine failure on the final lap, a welcome return to the World Rally Championships, and the all-new Lexus LC500–based GT3 challenging the top runners in Japan’s Super GT series, and it looks like 2017 could reshape Toyota’s image and inject some passion back into the brand.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/toyota-...orts-concepts/

[Red Bread]

Aside from the Alice the Goon beak and the door sill, that render is pretty nice.

[R N M]

How many concepts do we need?
Just release the real Supra already!

[jpnh]

I'd buy this as a DD

Rounding out Toyota’s sporty concepts will be a GTI version of the Corolla. Based on the new 12th-generation car due out later this year, which will use Toyota’s New Global Architecture (TNGA), the GTI is a four-door hatchback packing a 250-hp 2.0-liter turbo four and a specially tuned suspension in an effort to go up against the Volkswagen GTI.

[jpnh]

I admit I have long had a thing/desire for a Mini Cooper/JCW as a DD "someday"

At the same time I battle with the practical side of me that screams for the corrolla that will go 200k without blinking and require no maint other than oil, brakes and tires.....

If Toyota releases a GTI Corrolla that has 250hp and looks ANYTHING like the above picture I suspect it will further decimate the Mini Cooper/JCW market which is already struggling/fighting against market losses due to high initial cost, lower performance/power than competitors and relatively poor reliability ratings/cost to maintain

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by jpnh

I admit I have long had a thing/desire for a Mini Cooper/JCW as a DD "someday"

At the same time I battle with the practical side of me that screams for the corrolla that will go 200k without blinking and require no maint other than oil, brakes and tires.....

If Toyota releases a GTI Corrolla that has 250hp and looks ANYTHING like the above picture I suspect it will further decimate the Mini Cooper/JCW market which is already struggling/fighting against market losses due to high initial cost, lower performance/power than competitors and relatively poor reliability ratings/cost to maintain

And that's the point. Minis have average reliability; GTIs are similar. Thing is, for Toyota to get into the Hot Hatch game isn't necessarily a U.S.-market decision. It's a Euro-market decision, and somewhat of an Asian-market decision -- those cars are far more popular in those markets (and there's more competition). I wouldn't even be surprised if that Corolla GTI doesn't even make it to the U.S., in the same way that the top-of-the-heap Civic R isn't coming here.

I'm just happy that Toyota is starting to make exciting enthusiast cars again.

Think globally! America isn't Great Again yet ...

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by jpnh

I'd buy this as a DD

Needs more grill.

[Mingwan]

Let's hope that this car actually makes it to production on time, and not wither away the interest of enthusiasts while simultaneously age on the grape vine like the NSX did.

[supra93]

New renderings (updated with less wheel gap).

[Red Bread]

Let's hope the BMW looks better. Way to porky and lumpy for my eyes.

[Sam_M]

Someone copy/pasta'd the GTR side window profile on that one!

Been getting a lot of (friendly) shit from a Supra loving colleague after I went from Rice to Schnitzel for my performance car fix

She shutup pretty quick when I pointed out the new Supra is a BMW joint venture

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by jpnh

I'd buy this as a DD

FWD? If so, that kills it for me.

[Never_Enough]

What is the new Supra supposed to cost? Probably another car that most people cannot afford. Smh

[yousefnjr]

Originally Posted by supra93

New renderings

I quite like these. I think I'd be more tempted with a Z5 M Coupe, but this looks good and if the price is right....

Going to be a good year, at least in the car world lol

[shay2nak]

goddamn, they're ugly.

[wdb]

Front fender pregnancy ending in c-section?

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Satan'sChariot

What is the new Supra supposed to cost? Probably another car that most people cannot afford. Smh

Reports are that there will be three 'tiers' of Supra:
- Base model with a RWD turbo 4 (two trims)
- Mid model with RWD/AWD with the same V8 that's in the new Lexus LC coupe
- AWD hybrid. No solid word on the gas powerplant, but the electric motor is rumored to be built within the transmission. That's just a rumor, though.

Run wild with the projected prices. If Toyota's smart -- and it usually is with pricing as product positioning -- it'll start the base models around $45K, the V8 at $65K, and the hybrid at $75K -- all undercutting the LC's equivalents by a substantial amount while competing with the right 'other' models.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

Reports are that there will be three 'tiers' of Supra:
- Base model with a RWD turbo 4 (two trims)
- Mid model with RWD/AWD with the same V8 that's in the new Lexus LC coupe
- AWD hybrid. No solid word on the gas powerplant, but the electric motor is rumored to be built within the transmission. That's just a rumor, though.

Run wild with the projected prices. If Toyota's smart -- and it usually is with pricing as product positioning -- it'll start the base models around $45K, the V8 at $65K, and the hybrid at $75K -- all undercutting the LC's equivalents by a substantial amount while competing with the right 'other' models.

$65k? Pass.

[supra93]

Comparison with the Z5 prototype.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Satan'sChariot

$65k? Pass.

Think about it. The new Supra will compete with the Cayman/Corvette/Jag F-Type/etc. with a V8 in it -- and the Z5 will never, ever have a V8 in it, even if BMW makes a Z5M. Offer it at $65K with solid standard equipment -- which, as we all know, the Cayman and F-Type are both bare-bones cars at that price; one needs to go north of $80k to equip either well -- and you'll undercut the competition considerably.

We shall see. Toyota's not stupid.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

Think about it. The new Supra will compete with the Cayman/Corvette/Jag F-Type/etc. with a V8 in it -- and the Z5 will never, ever have a V8 in it, even if BMW makes a Z5M. Offer it at $65K with solid standard equipment -- which, as we all know, the Cayman and F-Type are both bare-bones cars at that price; one needs to go north of $80k to equip either well -- and you'll undercut the competition considerably.

We shall see. Toyota's not stupid.

$65k I'm buying a C7 Vette over a new Supra. That's just me. I doubt the new Supra will be able to best the C7Z or GS in performance.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Satan'sChariot

$65k I'm buying a C7 Vette over a new Supra. That's just me. I doubt the new Supra will be able to best the C7Z or GS in performance.

Point taken. But think about it again: By the time the V8 Supra is released, the Emperor mid-engine 'Vette will be imminent ... and I'd say the chances are 50/50 that the front-engined 'Vette will even be retained as an offering.

Besides: Frankly, I don't think there'll be much crossover between Supra buyers and Corvette buyers, just as there's not much crossover between GT-R buyers and 911 buyers -- two different approaches to going fast. Where there will be a lot of crossover is between the Z5 Coupe (partially a Supra), the 911, and the Emperor 'vette, which I figure will start in the $80-$85k range. THAT's going to be a really interesting market to keep an eye on in two years' time.