Supra and MR2 to make return, says Toyota

[Xenos]

The MR2 may even be mid-engine once again.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/toyota-p...-strategy.html

[ECHOKnight2000]

^^The MR2 wouldn't be an MR2 if it weren't mid-engine. We have the FR-S/GT-86 for that.

I won't believe it until its really confirmed or we see near production versions at the show stands. Trick me once shame on you Toyota, Trick me 50 other times with rumors, shame on me

[zythr]

Toyota has other issues to deal with before considering bringing back the MR2 or Supra if they are coming back, The market for 2 door coupes is small.

[silver04rollas]

Ofcourse, it won't be.

The 'MR' stands for midship-rear.

Originally Posted by ECHOKnight2000

^^The MR2 wouldn't be an MR2 if it weren't mid-engine. We have the FR-S/GT-86 for that.

I won't believe it until its really confirmed or we see near production versions at the show stands. Trick me once shame on you Toyota, Trick me 50 other times with rumors, shame on me

[Xenos]

Originally Posted by zythr

Toyota has other issues to deal with before considering bringing back the MR2 or Supra if they are coming back, The market for 2 door coupes is small.

Uh, no they don't have any issues to deal with. They have the number 1 selling midsize sedan. The Corolla is consistently in the top three every month and is about to be improved. The Tacoma has literally crushed the competition in the midsize pickup market. I guess you could argue that the Tundra isn't number #1 in the full size pickup class but frankly I don't see anyone taking Ford out of that spot. The FR-S has been a success despite it's early glitches and to top it all off Scion, Toyota and Lexus are the top three in the reliability survey. I think it's safe to say that Toyota has their game down. In point of fact the only real issue that Toyota needs to deal with is their lack of sports car offerings.

Personally I sincerely hope they move ahead with this plan because if they do I'll go get an MR2 after I pay off the tC and park them both in the garage.

[IronNam]

MR-2 should get a turbo-4.
or a 3.5L GR with yamaha heads and D4-S with the whole shebang

Supra, just give it the 2UR-GSE with a 6spd transaxle.

[hardtopte72]

MR-2 is Midship Runabout 2 seater.

I would love to see these cars hit the road. A real MR2 like the SW20 not a back track like the ZZW31 which could have been so much better with a 2ZZ (the car had Toyotas only sequential manual transmission).

A supra would be a let down. A Supra should be a car to compete with Corvettes and GTRs. Ultimately it would likely compete with the Hyundai Genesis and 370Z if it ever hit the streets.

[Camread]

3 sport cars in toyota lineup? yeah.....

[zythr]

Originally Posted by Xenos

Uh, no they don't have any issues to deal with. They have the number 1 selling midsize sedan. The Corolla is consistently in the top three every month and is about to be improved. The Tacoma has literally crushed the competition in the midsize pickup market. I guess you could argue that the Tundra isn't number #1 in the full size pickup class but frankly I don't see anyone taking Ford out of that spot. The FR-S has been a success despite it's early glitches and to top it all off Scion, Toyota and Lexus are the top three in the reliability survey. I think it's safe to say that Toyota has their game down. In point of fact the only real issue that Toyota needs to deal with is their lack of sports car offerings.

Personally I sincerely hope they move ahead with this plan because if they do I'll go get an MR2 after I pay off the tC and park them both in the garage.

My bad. I kind of forgot there for a while

[Zmon]

Originally Posted by hardtopte72

MR-2 is Midship Runabout 2 seater.

I would love to see these cars hit the road. A real MR2 like the SW20 not a back track like the ZZW31 which could have been so much better with a 2ZZ (the car had Toyotas only sequential manual transmission).

A supra would be a let down. A Supra should be a car to compete with Corvettes and GTRs. Ultimately it would likely compete with the Hyundai Genesis and 370Z if it ever hit the streets.

I'm sure if Toyota wanted to, they could do something.. GTR-ish with the 2gr-fe. I don't really see much room for the MR2 with the FR-S currently, unless you really want that rear engine layout.

[PhatRoyale]

There's always room for another sports car, or 3.

[Jegan_V]

Originally Posted by hardtopte72

MR-2 is Midship Runabout 2 seater.

I would love to see these cars hit the road. A real MR2 like the SW20 not a back track like the ZZW31 which could have been so much better with a 2ZZ (the car had Toyotas only sequential manual transmission).

A supra would be a let down. A Supra should be a car to compete with Corvettes and GTRs. Ultimately it would likely compete with the Hyundai Genesis and 370Z if it ever hit the streets.

I wouldn't dismiss the W31 MR2 as such a bad thing. In terms of weight shedding its the best of all the MR2s. The SW20s were slightly more grand tourers than either AW11 or ZZW31s hence the heavier weight but much better power output. The flaw of the ZZW31 was primarily its lousy practicality and it was forced to be a roadster(I've seen hardtops in HK, they're ugly), even the AW11 has trunk space, the W31 didn't and was only good as a 2nd car not a primary one. Toyota learned its lesson with the GT-86 by ensuring it can be used as a primary car, that it must be able to fit all 4 tires lying flat on the trunk floor with the seats down something most sports coupes fail at.

As for a new Supra, the only way it'll be a true successor to the originals is that they'll power future Toyotas. All the mechanical tech intended for performance will be shared among the mid to high end luxury Toyotas. That's what the Supra has always been, Toyota's mechanical testbed. All the early Lexus cars apart from the LS and ES were powered by a JZ engine and Supra mechanics. The idea being this car will lose money but reduce the development costs and test durability and performance parts for expensive sedan models to ensure their mechanical competitiveness. Many mid to high end Toyotas owe their success to the Supras. I mean, my Cressida would probably suck at satisfying the enthusiast in me if it hadn't been a huge benefactor of Supra tech and development.

[toyotaholic]

Supposedly the Supra will be electric, with help from Tesla

Rumors of a revival of the Toyota Supra and MR2 have been swirling for years right up until just this week when high-level Toyota employees all but confirmed their return.

But now The Detroit Bureau has put together news from different sources suggesting that the next Supra might be all electric. The report cites recent comments from Toyota senior executives hinting at plans to work with Tesla on a new joint project. The FT-HS Concept (shown above) seems a logical inspiration for a new Supra.

And on the other side of the equation is Tesla's design chief Franz von Holzhausen who was quoted last year saying his company was looking at its next project, probably a sports car, that would follow next year's intro of the Model X. He went on to suggest the car would compete directly with BMW's 3 Series, which, in coupe form, could be a worthy competitor to a Supra as well.

Such a sporty, up-market car could easily take advantage of the Model S platform while the electric drivetrain would fit with what Toyota's chief engineer Tetsuya Tada says is an effort to balance a green image with products that offer "driving fun."

Last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company was already working on "a few other variants of the Model S" that would be "pretty exciting."

Toyota's Tada says there's no target date for introduction of either a Supra or MR2, but he would expect development to take up to five years to engineer the pair and for the Supra to take priority over the MR2.

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/14/s...esla-mr2-retu/

[hardtopte72]

Originally Posted by Jegan_V

I wouldn't dismiss the W31 MR2 as such a bad thing. In terms of weight shedding its the best of all the MR2s. The SW20s were slightly more grand tourers than either AW11 or ZZW31s hence the heavier weight but much better power output. The flaw of the ZZW31 was primarily its lousy practicality and it was forced to be a roadster(I've seen hardtops in HK, they're ugly), even the AW11 has trunk space, the W31 didn't and was only good as a 2nd car not a primary one. Toyota learned its lesson with the GT-86 by ensuring it can be used as a primary car, that it must be able to fit all 4 tires lying flat on the trunk floor with the seats down something most sports coupes fail at.

As for a new Supra, the only way it'll be a true successor to the originals is that they'll power future Toyotas. All the mechanical tech intended for performance will be shared among the mid to high end luxury Toyotas. That's what the Supra has always been, Toyota's mechanical testbed. All the early Lexus cars apart from the LS and ES were powered by a JZ engine and Supra mechanics. The idea being this car will lose money but reduce the development costs and test durability and performance parts for expensive sedan models to ensure their mechanical competitiveness. Many mid to high end Toyotas owe their success to the Supras. I mean, my Cressida would probably suck at satisfying the enthusiast in me if it hadn't been a huge benefactor of Supra tech and development.

I am not discounting the W31 completely but it could have been a much better car with some tweaks and a 2ZZGE. Having driven both SW20's and ZZW31's I felt the 3SGTE SW20 was more raw and exciting.

With the Supra the point I am making is that the game has changed so much and a Supra revival would likely end up as an overpriced second rate car.

I also absolutely think you could share tech. A 3.8 liter 5GR-GTSE with 550-590HP and a nice DCT with a high price tag (100K) would market the Supra nicely. A Z06/ZR1 competitor that makes you remember what Toyota can do. You can then create AMG like F sport GS and maye even IS models with some of the same tech. It's a losing market but Toyota has enough money to blow to appease our minds (I couldn't afford the car anyway).

I don't see any of this happening. Heck look how long they room to build the 86. Toyota with sports cars nowadays is like Gran Turismo taking 5 years to release GT5 only to have it be subpar compared to Forza right off the bat. They aren't in it to win it because Camry and Corolla sell so well.

[Camread]

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