Ever since the Toyota Supra went out of production over a decade ago rumours of a successor have raised their heads countless times, only to be shot down at the earliest possible opportunity. Another rumour surfaced over the weekend, but so far the guns have remained firmly in holsters. According to Autoblog a new Supra concept will take its bow at the Detroit Auto Show in January to gauge response to a Toyota halo sports car.
With the success of the GT86 and Toyota's continued push into the world of motorsports it would seem the timing may be right for the Japanese company, certainly better than when it unveiled the FT-HS in 2007 - just before the world economy fell off a cliff.
Since then president Akio Toyoda has said he wants to shed his company's staid image and according to reports tasked Tetsuya Tada, chief engineer of the GT86, with "making a successor to the Supra as soon as possible."
With the forthcoming Honda NSX going down the hybrid route and suggestions the next generation Nissan GT-R will do the same it stands to reasons that the Supra will follow suit, possibly with a variation of the drivetrain seen in the Hybrid R concept, which utilised the super-capacitor from the TS030 Le Mans car.
Anything else?
The final piece of the Supra shaped jigsaw may be the recent agreement between Toyota and BMW to jointly develop a sports car. While the direct result of that partnership is thought to be a Lexus LFA replacement the carbon fibre platform could also be utilised for a Supra successor.
Here's hoping...