Report: Toyota’s Tetsuya Tada confirms Supra revival, to have hybrid variant
It seems Australia’sĀ Motoring.com does have some pull after they were the first to report the confirmation of Mazda’s new rotary concept for the Tokyo Motor Show.
Now, they apparently received confirmation that the FT-1 Concept will in fact lead to the revival of the Supra, something that hasn’t been officially confirmed until now. Word came from Toyota’s own head honcho of the company’s sports car division, Tetsuya Tada.
Click here for more news on the BMW-Toyota midsize sports coupe under the tag, “Toyota Supra.”
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Word is the FT-1 will get its first new follow-up sometime in 2016, with speculation pointing at a reveal as early as the Detroit Auto Show in 2016. Tada continued to say the new Supra will have a sequential gearbox, and an engine with just enough power to make the car fun to drive, rather than be about sheer power–like the GT86/Scion FRS/Subaru BRZ.
The big claim though from Tada was the production FT-1 will have an engine capable of outperforming the German rivals and promises the car to be better than a Porsche 911.
Speaking of which, power should come from a 3.0L inline-six with assistance from a snail, to produce around 335hp and 331 lb-ft of twist, while a plug-in hybrid version with around 473hp will be a higher-spec model.
Should all really hold to be true, the production model should be launched sometime in 2017 with a near-ready concept due next year.
We’re crossing our fingers and toes for this one…
– By: Chris Chin
Source: Motoring