Toyota Considered Making The New Supra Mid-Engined

The first opinions are out and it seems as though the new-age Toyota Supra is everything we’d hope it would be. However, there was a time when the new Supra could have launched as a very different sports car.

Speaking with Top Gear during a recent interview when he confirmed a more track-focused Supra, Gazoo Racing chief Tetsuya Tada revealed that there was a time when Toyota was considering a mid-engined layout for the new Supra.

“In the planning stages we suggested a mid-engined layout and BMW was happy to go with it, but I took the idea to Akio Toyoda and he told me off,” Tada said.

While mid-engined vehicles have inherently more balance than front-engined cars, Tada said that there are numerous advantages to fitting the engine up front.

“We stuck with front engine because of feel and control. We know how to control a front-engine car, we already have that capability,” he stated.

While we won’t be getting a Toyota Supra with its engine in the middle just like a Porsche Cayman or Alpine A110, the new Supra will continue the Japanese marque’s recent strong form of launching enthusiast-focused vehicles, something it revived with the Toyota GT86 and Subaru BRZ twins.

The range-topping Supra will come outfitted with a single-turbo 3.0-liter B58B30 engine shared with BMW. This engine is tipped to deliver roughly 335 hp and will be mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission sending power through the rear wheels. A manual gearbox looks unlikely.

The all-new Toyota Supra is set to launch next year.