Although Toyota's current tagline is
"going places," it appears that the Japanese carmaker only truly
wants to travel in a sportier path. (Aside from a truckier one, of course,
considering the new 4Runner SUV, Land Cruiser, and Tacoma pickup that were just
redesigned.) The bottom line is that Toyota is enjoying itself, and it appears
that this trend will continue in the years to come.
In one of its promotional GRIP anime series episodes on YouTube, Toyota itself
has stoked speculation that we would see a third-generation GR86 sports car, a
revived Celica sports coupe, and possibly even a Toyota MR2 sports car.
Ø Supra Mk6
Ø Celica Mk8
Ø MR2 Mk4
Ø GR86 Mk3
Ø GR GT3
The "Mk6" mentioned above
is the prospective next-generation model that would come after the
current-generation Supra, which is the fifth nameplate in the series. The same
is true for the "Mk8" Celica; the seventh-generation Celica, which
was the last one sold before that model was essentially superseded by a mix of
the Scion tC coupe and, later, the FR-S, which would eventually become the
Toyota 86/GR86 when the Scion brand was shut down. The last MR2 sports vehicle
was the third-generation model, the current GR86 is the second-generation
(Mk2), and the GR GT3 is a true racer from the GR brand that might lead to a
Lexus version.
The GR86 may get a new generation
that differs from Subaru's BRZ, meaning Toyota will develop it independently,
while the MR2 is believed to make a comeback as an EV sports car. Additionally,
as hinted at in the GR86 Rally Legacy concept that is making its way to SEMA
this week, Toyota might be able to eliminate the Subie's flat-four engine and
even add the GR Corolla's turbocharged three-cylinder engine.
A sixth-generation Supra would be
the Supra's first appearance as a regular member of the Toyota lineup, which
would be intriguing given that the fifth-generation model emerged decades after
the fourth-generation model died away in the late 1990s. It's debatable if it
would continue to be produced alongside the mechanically similar BMW Z4. For
instance, BMW might lose interest in a low-volume roadster, which would leave
Toyota without a manufacturing partner (both the Z4 and the Supra are built by
Magna in Germany) and an inline-six engine to power a potential sixth-generation
Supra. But, hey, we're not
complaining here; we'd love to see all of these models come to fruition, not
least because they'd keep affordable performance cars alive and well.
Naturally, all of this is just
conjecture, at least in regards to Toyota's intentions about the cars mentioned
in the GRIP anime episode. Perhaps it's giving its supporters enticing clues,
or perhaps it was just trying to fill in some blank space on a whiteboard in a
scenario. In any case, let's hope Toyota is indeed developing these cars, since
it would position the company as one of the most popular and sporty brands
available.
