Two more years separate enthusiasts from catching a glimpse of the all-new Toyota Supra, which will share the same architecture as the BMW Z5.
According to Autocar, quoting undisclosed sources, the new Japanese sports car will show its fangs in 2018, shortly after its BMW counterpart, and will serve as a successor to the discontinued coupe, which left production in 2002. The vehicle will sit above the GT86 and will be inspired from the FT-1 Concept displayed a couple of years ago in Detroit.
The new Supra will feature a hybrid four-wheel drive setup, with a BMW petrol engine and electric motors that will store energy in supercapacitors. The same recipe will be used on its German cousin, too, which is believed to use carbon fiber in its architecture, just like the i range and the 7-Series.
Despite being similar in so many ways, the two sports cars will not cannibalize each other, as they will satisfy different areas of the segment due to the versatile platform: “The one thing we’re clear on now is that a platform for both companies can work. The cars themselves don’t actually need to be positioned the same. The platform can spawn two positionings“, said Ian Robertson, BMW Board Member for Sales and Marketing.
A final decision to where the two models will hit the assembly line has yet to be taken, but Robertson suggested that a single factory would be used for both of them and the most likely candidate to be Magna Steyer’s facility in Graz, Austria.
Note: Toyota FT-1 Concept pictured
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