Toyota's Upcoming Supra To Feature German Like Complexity With Turbocharged Hybrid Powerplant

There’s a lot of hype hovering around the next-generation Toyota Supra, a supposed revival of the famed midsize coupe, thanks to a joint venture with BMW.

But really, all it is just a lot of hype piled on top of hype, to make one big dog pile of hype. And more hype has been posted at AutoRAI, a Dutch automotive outlet, who supposedly learned that the next-gen Supra will sport a turbocharged hybrid powerplant. To no surprise however, specifics of this powertrain were not available.

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MDarringer - 7/26/2016 11:59:52 AM

+1 Boost

So, if that's true, the Supra will be another masturbatory bauble like the LFA, GTR, and NSX i.e. lots of technology for the sake of technology but a footnote at best when all is said and done.

TheSteve - 7/26/2016 12:25:30 PM

0 Boost

^^^ +1
Dale Klapmeier, co-founder and CEO of Cirrus Aircraft (FYI, the Cirrus SR22 is the most popular piston single GA craft by far), once spoke of designing cool planes. He said (paraphrased): “If you want to compromise an aircraft, or even ruin it, design it to conform to a concept rather than designing it to meet mission requirements.” He was talking about planes with “cool factor,” such as exotic wing configurations, pusher engines, cool doors, cool cabin designs, and such.

The same applies to automotive design. If your concept is “high tech”, then you’re doing tech for tech’s sake, rather than using what’s best or appropriate, some of which *might* be high-tech, and some of which will surely be “tried and true,” but not a marketing buzzword.

Today’s noteworthy aircraft (such as the Pilatus PC-12 NG, or the DAHER TBM930) are not revolutionary in any way; they just excel at their specific mission.

MDarringer - 7/26/2016 1:12:17 PM

0 Boost

If this were a vehicle priced like a Mustang GT to base Stingray, it would absolutely be a halo car for Toyota.

The Supra probably should have been a Lexus just as the GTR should have been an Infiniti.