Toyota again hints that a new Supra is under development [w/video]
Fri, 30 Aug 2013
Now that the NSX is on its way back, the list of sports car revivals most yearned for by US enthusiasts is probably down to the Mazda RX-7, Nissan 240SX, Lotus Elise and Toyota Supra. There's been a lot of talk about that last one over the past year especially, with rumors of an all-wheel-drive coupe utilizing a CVT last May, a Toyota engineer declaring he was instructed to develop a new Supra in November (and another MR2 in case you're wondering), a tie-up with BMW in January of this year that highlighted a "mid-size sports vehicle" and the incoming company chairman saying he wants something "comparable" to the Supra just two months ago. Oh, and there was Toyota UK going on a public stroll down Supra History Lane last month.
This week, Bloomberg spoke to Toyota USA Sales CEO Kazuo Ohara on a variety of topics, from pickup trucks to US hybrid sales to the value of the yen, then opened up the Supra issue in the last 40 seconds. While making sure to start his answer with the fact that nothing is confirmed, Ohara's reply to the resurrection of the coupe was "We have several options... and a kind of Supra successor is one of the options we have." That doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know, but Ohara's last line was, "In the future we can give you better news." We don't know if "better news" means confirmation of a Supra, or the announcement that they've confirmed something at all. So if you thought you could get off the edge of your seat, well, not just yet.
You can watch the complete Bloomberg interview below.
By Jonathon Ramsey