The recent deal signed between the BMW Group and Toyota Motor Corp that includes the joint development of platform architecture and components for a future sports car, has spurred speculation and rumors about the type of model that could come out of the partnership.
The Japanese company’s president Akio Toyoda opened up a bag of clues during his speech in Germany by saying that he is “looking forward to a sports car that is environment-friendly and truly excites car fans around the world.”
Now, a BMW spokeswoman in Munich is providing the next set of clues. Speaking to Autonews, she said that unlike the Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S and Toyota 86 / GT86 coupes, the sports cars that will evolve from the BMW-Toyota partnership will “not be identical or share a common exterior design”.
The spokesperson added that BMW’s model “will be a sustainable sports car with environmentally friendly technology,” and that “We [BMW] are developing the architecture and components for this future car.”
From there on, it’s less facts and more speculation ranging from an unnamed BMW insider telling Autonews that the collaboration may result in the rebirth of the Toyota Supra, possibly based on the 6-Series platform (which doesn’t sound plausible to be honest), while Jim Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics Inc. says Lexus may borrow tech from BMW’s i8 plug-in hybrid sports car.
We’d say a brand new platform and drivetrain for a mainstream plug-in hybrid sports coupe with a unique design for each carmaker, is a more credible and possibly relevant speculation, but ultimately, we will have to wait until BMW and Toyota decide to share more details.
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