丰田计划恢复Supra的传言已经有好几年了，直到2013年丰田和宝马签署协议开发运动车平台，这件事才真正进入正轨。丰田随后在2014年北美车展发布了FT-1概念车，该车似乎就是未来运动轿跑车的概念版车型。虽然一直没有谍照，但据报道，新款Supra很多设计元素都将取自FT-1概念车，如果真是这样，Supra将是一款非常有吸引力的车型。这款概念车结合了长引擎盖和偏后排乘客座舱这两个丰田运动车经典设计。富有侵略性的车头和底部的进气口给人强烈的赛车感受，而自适应尾翼则为过于圆润的车身增添了力量感。而从最近拍到的宝马版车型谍照看，这款双座车似乎更像是Z4的后继车型。由于这两款车共享平台，因此从宝马版车型可以推测丰田版的车身尺寸大致也差不多。虽然宝马版是敞篷车，但丰田版仍是硬顶车型。不过，更大的悬念是丰田Supra的动力系统。一个可能是丰田采用宝马的直列六缸引擎，由于两款车共享平台，这样的推测是合理的。不过，丰田的高管可能不会愿意让自己的旗舰级运动车采用其它车厂的引擎。丰田运动车部门总工程师最近证实，车厂正在开发涡轮混动系统。虽然他没有透露究竟哪款车会采用该引擎，但很可能是为Supra开发的。另外，作为一款运动车，Supra也会提供全轮驱动。如果采用双电机驱动前轮，另一台电机驱动后轮，加上宝马提供的2.0升四缸涡轮引擎就是一个不错的组合。但丰田FT-1概念车采用前置引擎和后轮驱动布局，因此上述说法也存在不确定性。据传丰田和宝马与奥地利麦格纳斯太尔签署协议，Z5和Supra将于2018年在奥地利格拉茨的工厂生产。如果真是这样，那么宝马Z5和丰田Supra的量产版将在2017或2018年初发布。而北美车展则是Supra发布的最合适场合，毕竟，宝马和丰田是在2013年北美车展宣布双方合作开发运动车，而丰田TF-1概念车也是在2014年北美车展发布的。
2018 Toyota Supra: Everything we know
Rumors of a Supra revival have been happening for years, but the genesis of the latest rebirth came from Toyota and BMW’s January 2013 agreement to partner on a sports car platform. The rumormill kicked into high gear a year later when Toyota debuted the FT-1 Concept at the North American International Auto Show, which looked like a perfect successor to the brand’s iconic sports coupe.
While there are no spy shots yet, the new Supra reportedly takes strong cues from the FT-1 concept, which is great news if true. The show car uses the classic combination of a long hood and rear-biased passenger compartment. The strong center nose and flanking intakes provides a race-inspired look, and an adaptive wing slides away for a slippery silhouette.
Spy photographers have snapped pics of BMW’s side of the project, though. The German vehicle is a two-seat roadster and reported is a back-to-basics successor to the Z4. Because the pair share a platform, the droptop provides a small hint at the Supra’s general size. The Toyota would be a coupe rather than a convertible, though.
Unfortunately, the new Supra’s powerplant is an even bigger mystery than what it looks like. There are a few prospects, though.
One possibility is that the Supra has a BMW-sourced turbocharged inline six. The speculation makes sense because a forced induction six-cylinder has a strong connection to the Supra’s history. The German mill should also fit under the hood because the two models share a platform.
However, Toyota execs might not want to use another automaker’s engine in the brand’s flagship. A top engineer at Toyota Motorsport GmbH recently confirmed the company’s development of a turbocharged hybrid powerplant. He wouldn’t say the model it’s for, but the mill might make sense for the Supra.
If you want to consider something really off the wall, one rumor even speculates the Supra could be all-wheel drive. Two electric motors in the front and one in the rear would allegedly combine with a BMW-sourced 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder. This prospect seems especially dubious to us, though, because of Toyota's assertions about the FT-1's front engine and rear drive layout.
A number of rumors tell us BMW and Toyota have a contract with Magna Steyr for assembling the Z5 and Supra. Production would begin at the company’s facility in Graz, Austria, in 2018. If that timeframe is correct, the automakers would likely debut both models’ production forms in 2017 or in very early 2018 at the absolute latest.
The North American International Auto Show in Detroit would be a fitting place for the Supra’s introduction. After all, BMW and Toyota announced their sports car partnership at the 2013 event, and the Japanese company unveiled the FT-1 in the Motor City in 2014.