Toyota Supra Fans Won’t Have To Wait Another 20 Years For The Mk6

There were a lot of benefits to Toyota’s decision to shack up with BMW for the co-development of the Toyota Supra and BMW Z4 sports cars, including cost savings and reduced production complexity, and I think most people would agree that both ended up being very satisfying to drive for their owners. Now, we face the downside, which is the question of what comes next for those nameplates? It doesn’t seem like there are plans to co-develop a next generation of each together again yet, so will Toyota go it alone for a next-gen Mk6 Supra? Plans are still up in the air.

A Next-Gen Supra Should Happen Sooner Than Later

“It would be logical that we would have a next-gen Supra. But when and how is still TBD,” Senior Vice President of Product Planning and Strategy for Toyota Motor North America Cooper Ericksen told MotorTrend in an interview. “Definitely there will be a gap. The question is how big that gap will be. It is our goal to have a gap that is significantly less [than the last one].”

So, you can expect a new Supra by 2045, if that’s any reassurance. That should be plenty of time to save up money for it, since the most desirable Mk4 and Mk5 Supras are rapidly approaching “more than you can afford, pal” territory.

Toyota Is Still Open To Partnerships

The interview also hints that Toyota is still open to partnering with BMW again for a next generation of their sports models, which are currently assembled by the independent Magna Steyr contract factory in Austria, but no clear decision has been made by either party. Because of this partnership, both the Supra and Z4 share an inline-six engine, though each car has been individually tuned and comes with bespoke options from their individual manufacturers. It’s also possible Toyota seeks a different automaker to partner with; Mazda is also reportedly currently developing a new RX sports model that could have potential for partnership.

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Emissions Are A Problem

Apparently, looming updated global emissions regulations are forcing the end of production in Spring 2026, and Toyota claims it is too costly to attempt to update the powertrain and keep the desired performance. “A product like Supra, it’s made it to a point where now we have a Final Edition and the reason is it’s just not cost-effective with all the new regulations and investment we have to make,” Ericksen said. “It needs to be a new house. When we can get the new house built is the question.”

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Toyota’s corporate leadership in Japan will ultimately decide the fate of the next-gen Supra. “We’ll just have to wait and see. My goal is to get a great next-gen product that our enthusiast crowd can fall in love with again,” said Ericksen.

Source: MotorTrend